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Mike Soroka To Undergo Exploratory Surgery On Achilles

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Braves right-hander Mike Soroka recently felt discomfort in his right Achilles and will have to undergo exploratory surgery, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

While it’s unknown how long this procedure will shelve Soroka, it’s yet another brutal injury blow to one of baseball’s most promising young hurlers. Soroka impressed during his first major league action in 2018 and was even better in 2019, when he logged a 2.68 ERA over 174 2/3 innings and earned an All-Star nod. Unfortunately, the 23-year-old has barely taken the mound since then.

Just three starts into the 2020 campaign, Soroka tore his Achilles and had to undergo season-ending surgery. Soroka wasn’t ready for the start of this season as a result, though the hope was he would make his 2021 debut sometime in mid-April. However, Soroka’s shoulder began to act up that month, and he has been slow in recovering from that issue. Still, indications before Wednesday were that Soroka would return in June; now, though, it looks as if this latest setback could prevent that from happening.

The Braves fared quite well without Soroka during a division-winning 2020 in which they advanced to the NLCS, but they haven’t carried that success over to this season so far. They’re just 17-18 and three games out of the NL East lead, thanks in part to a Soroka-less starting staff that owns the league’s eighth-highest ERA and sits fourth from the bottom in fWAR. Ian Anderson and Huascar Ynoa have done well to keep runs off the board across a combined 14 starts, though 2020 star Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Drew Smyly and Bryse Wilson have struggled in that regard.

Braves Claim Jay Flaa

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The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever Jay Flaa off waivers from the Orioles, who’d designated him for assignment over the weekend. The move fills Atlanta’s 40-man roster.

Flaa, who’ll turn 29 in a month, was selected to the big league roster for the first time in his career last month. The Orioles’ sixth-round pick in 2016, he made his MLB debut on April 27, tossing 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief with a pair of walks and a strikeout.

That was Flaa’s lone appearance before the Orioles designated him for assignment in order to open a roster spot for waiver claim Brandon Waddell. While Flaa has struggled in a total of 56 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level, he was excellent at both Double-A and Class-A Advanced while rising through the Orioles’ system. He’s tallied 260 1/3 professional innings since being drafted out of North Dakota State University, working to a 3.49 ERA with an above-average 26.7 percent strikeout rate but a somewhat bloated 11.2 percent walk rate.

Flaa’s fastball sat 93.2 mph in his lone MLB appearance, and he also showed a slider and splitter that day. Because he was selected to the MLB roster for the first time this year, he still has all three minor league option years remaining.

Braves Announce Roster Moves

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The Braves announced that they have released right-hander Nate Jones and outrighted infielder Sean Kazmar Jr. Additionally, righty Carl Edwards Jr. has elected free agency. The Braves designated him for assignment May 8.

The 35-year-old Jones was designated to make room for Edwards, who didn’t last long on the Braves’ roster. Edwards made one appearance and failed to make a good impression, as he allowed three earned runs on three hits in a third of an inning against the Phillies on May 7. Also a former, Cub, Padre and Mariner, Edwards will return to the open market with a 3.68 ERA and a strong 32.8 percent strikeout rate against a 13.8 walk rate over 181 major league innings.

Jones, another minor league signing, earned a spot on the Braves’ roster after an excellent spring training. But the former White Sox standout struggled in Atlanta across 9 2/3 frames, causing the club to go in a different direction. Jones allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and eight walks against seven strikeouts as a Brave.

Kazmar, a fifth-round pick of the Padres way back in 2004, climbed to the majors for the first time since 2008 this season, though the 36-year-old made a mere three appearances and collected two plate trips to the plate. He’s a .259/.313/.371 hitter with 98 home runs in 6,619 minor league PA.

Pitching Notes: Greene, Ynoa, Braves, Twins, Kuhl

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Shane Greene’s long free agent wait ended yesterday when he re-signed with the Braves on a one-year deal worth a prorated $1.5MM.  “It seemed early on that a return to the Braves was his preference,” SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson writes (Twitter link), as Wolfson notes that the Twins were willing to offer Greene more money.  This focus on Atlanta could explain why it took until May for Greene to land a contract, as David O’Brien of The Athletic estimated back in mid-March that the Braves were only willing to spend in the neighborhood of $1MM on Greene — given the prorated nature of Greene’s contract, he’ll end up earning around $1.1 or $1.2MM.

More pitching-related items from around baseball…

  • Another Braves/Twins link is explored by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, regarding how Atlanta acquired breakout star Huascar Ynoa from Minnesota back in 2017.  The Braves wanted to move Jaime Garcia at the trade deadline, and initially discussed a trade with the Yankees that would have sent Garcia to the Bronx for then-Yankees prospect Nick Solak.  Once those talks fell through, Atlanta pivoted and sent Garcia to Minnesota, and the Braves “did not do as much diligence on Ynoa as they normally would on a prospect” since their top priority was just to dump the rest of Garcia’s salary.  In fact, Ynoa wasn’t even Atlanta’s first ask from the Twins’ farm system, as Nick Burdi was initially part of the proposed trade.  From being a rather anonymous rookie ball pitcher and an apparent “plan C” type of pickup for the Braves, Ynoa has become an unexpected stalwart of the Atlanta rotation in 2021.  The righty has a 2.23 ERA/3.19 SIERA and an above-average 28.4% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate over 40 1/3 innings, plus Ynoa has augmented that pitching production with two home runs and a 1.267 OPS over 15 plate appearances.
  • Pirates right-hander Chad Kuhl threw a live batting practice on Saturday as he continues to recover from right shoulder discomfort.  In a radio interview on 93.7 FM (hat tip to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington said Kuhl will return “before too long” but will first require a minor league rehab assignment.  Kuhl has struggled in his first four starts of the year, posting a 6.32 ERA with more walks (16) than strikeouts (14) over 15 2/3 innings.

Braves To Sign Tanner Roark To Minor League Deal

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The Braves are signing right-hander Tanner Roark to a minor-league contract, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). The veteran righty was recently cut loose by the Blue Jays.

After an extended run as a generally productive starter with the Nationals, Athletics and Reds, Roark signed a two-year, $24MM deal with Toronto during the 2019-20 offseason. That proved to be a poor investment for the Jays, with whom Roark tossed 47 2/3 innings of 6.80 ERA/5.36 SIERA ball in 2020. In the process, Roark’s already-middling strikeout rate fell more than three percentage points to 18.6%, while his typically strong walk rate spiked to a lofty 10.5%.

On the heels of that dismal season, the Jays didn’t give Roark much of a leash in this season’s early going. They designated him for assignment after just three uninspiring appearances in 2021. Roark coughed up seven runs in as many innings (five earned), while serving up three homers and striking out just five. His 6.9% swinging strike rate over that small sample has been the worst mark of his career, so the Toronto front office clearly didn’t envision a future turnaround.

Despite the surprise emergence of Huascar Ynoa, Atlanta’s rotation has posted some unspectacular numbers as a whole. Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly (both signed to free agent deals last winter) have gotten off to slow starts and Max Fried has spent some time on the injured list. Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright, and Sean Newcomb are the club’s top depth option, though Roark has far more experience than any of those younger hurlers. While Roark might need some time at Triple-A to get himself back on track, he does represent at least an innings-eating possibility for the back end of the Braves’ pitching staff.

Braves To Re-Sign Shane Greene

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The Braves are in agreement on a contract with free agent reliever Shane Greene, confirms MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Talkin’ Jake of Jomboy Media was first to report the deal (via Twitter). It’s a one-year contract worth $1.5MM, which will wind up prorated in the $1.1MM – $1.2MM range given the amount of time in the season that has already passed, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (via Twitter). Greene will begin with Triple-A Gwinnett to build back up into game shape, per Rosenthal.

Greene will return to the team with which he’d spent the past year-plus. Atlanta acquired the veteran righty from the Tigers at the July 31 trade deadline in 2019, and he spent the next couple seasons in manager Brian Sntiker’s bullpen. Greene has logged 52 1/3 innings of 3.27 ERA/3.87 FIP ball since the deal, cementing himself as one of the team’s more reliable relievers.

The 32-year-old reached free agency at the end of last season, but his market moved incredibly slowly. He was linked to the Twins before Minnesota signed Alex Colomé, but there were no other clubs specifically tied to Greene in recent months. That lack of reported interest was a bit puzzling, considering Greene has been something of a bullpen workhorse over the years. After moving to relief in 2016, the former Yankee and Tiger eclipsed 60 innings in each season through 2019. Last year’s shortened campaign obviously brought an end to that streak, but Greene still appeared in 28 of Atlanta’s 60 contests.

Generally, Greene has paired that durability with quality production. He’s managed an ERA of 2.66 or lower in three of the past four years, with a 5.12 mark in 2018 standing as the exception. While he’s typically been adept at keeping runs off the board, Greene hasn’t racked up the gaudy strikeout totals of most high-end relievers. That was particularly true last season, when he punched out just 19.3% of opposing hitters, a far cry from the 24.1% league average for bullpen arms (and down from the 23-25% range in which he landed each of the four seasons before). Greene’s 7.5% swinging strike rate and 4.51 SIERA in 2020 were likewise below-average.

That discrepancy between Greene’s strong bottom line results and his downturn in whiffs could help explain why it took until May for he and a team to find a mutually agreeable term. It’s not especially surprising he’ll return to a place with which he’s obviously quite familiar and where he’s had plenty of success.

The Braves’ bullpen hasn’t been especially productive to this point in the season. Atlanta relievers currently sit 22nd in ERA (4.56), 19th in strikeout minus walk rate (12.9 percentage points) and 21st in SIERA (4.09). A.J. Minter, Will Smith and Tyler Matzek have each pitched fairly well, but Josh Tomlin, Grant Dayton, Jacob Webb and Sean Newcomb are off to tougher starts. Luke Jackson has a shiny 1.50 ERA but less inspiring peripherals.

Even with Greene re-signed and Chris Martin soon to return from the injured list, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Atlanta bolster the relief unit at the trade deadline. Despite an underwhelming 16-17 start, the Braves remain right in the thick of the National League East race. Even after factoring in Greene’s salary, Atlanta’s payroll commitments check in just shy of $133MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. That’s about $25MM south of the mark the Braves were slated to spend last season (prior to prorating), so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Liberty Media ownership group gives GM Alex Anthopoulos and company some leeway to make further midseason additions.

Snitker: Ronald Acuna Jr. Could Return To Lineup Today After Hit-By-Pitch

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MAY 9: Fortunately, it seems Acuna avoided any major injury. The Braves announced last night he was day-to-day with a left pinky contusion and that X-rays had come back negative. After the game, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Mark Bowman of MLB.com) the team “dodged a bullet” and said Acuna could be back in the starting lineup as soon as this evening if he feels fine during pregame batting practice.

8:59PM: Ronald Acuna Jr. was removed from tonight’s game in the seventh inning after the Braves star was hit in the left hand by a pitch.  Phillies reliever Sam Coonrod hit Acuna with a 97.8mph sinker, and Acuna almost immediately left the field (in visible pain) after a visit from the trainer.

More will be known post-game, though the worst-case scenario would be a serious hand injury that would sideline Acuna for several weeks or months.  Such a loss would be a potential disaster for an Atlanta lineup that has been inconsistent despite Acuna’s MVP-level performance thus far in the season.

Through 137 plate appearances, Acuna is hitting .313/.409/.652 with 10 home runs.  Entering Saturday’s action, Acuna was leading the NL in both slugging percentage and OPS, and was leading the majors in both homers and runs scored (29).  With Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna, Dansby Swanson, and (the currently injured) Travis d’Arnaud all off to slow starts in 2021, it isn’t a huge exaggeration to say that Acuna has carried the Braves’ offense.

This isn’t Acuna’s first injury scare of the season, as he suffered a mild abdominal strain that forced him out of a game back on April 18.  That issue ultimately didn’t require a visit to the injured list, however, and Acuna was back in action by April 23.  It should be noted that Acuna has hit only .200/.328/.400 in the first 61 PA since that abdominal injury, though some regression was probably inevitable after Acuna’s red-hot start.

Braves Designate Carl Edwards Jr. For Assignment

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The Braves announced a number of roster moves today, recalling Jasseel De La Cruz and Victor Arano from Triple-A. To create the roster space, Sean Kazmar Jr. was optioned to Triple-A and Carl Edwards Jr. was designated for assignment.

Edwards Jr. didn’t much of an audition with the Braves. The former Cub, Padre, and Mariner made just one appearance in Atlanta, serving up three earned runs on three hits and a walk. The only out he recorded was a strikeout.  On the bright side, the String Bean Slinger struck out the side in his only appearance in Triple-A. Kazmar Jr. has been called up a couple of times now, but he has just two plate appearances in three games.

As for the newcomers, the 23-year-old De La Cruz has yet to make his Major League debut. The right-hander finished 2019 in Double-A. Arano, meanwhile, made 73 appearances out of the Phillies’ bullpen from 2017 to 2019. He owns a 2.65 ERA across 74 2/3 innings. The Braves claimed him off waivers in January.

Braves Designate Nate Jones, Select Carl Edwards Jr.

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The Braves announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Nate Jones for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for fellow righty reliever Carl Edwards Jr., whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta also optioned right-hander Edgar Santana to Gwinnett.

Jones, 35, inked a minor league deal with the Braves over the winter and parlayed a dominant Spring Training effort into an Opening Day spot in the Atlanta ’pen. Unfortunately, the regular season didn’t bring about the same results as Jones enjoyed in Grapefruit League play. Through 10 1/3 innings this season, Jones has walked 10 batters, hit another and allowed eight hits (three homers). He’s limited the damage to six runs (four earned), but that lack of control ultimately cost him his roster spot.

The oft-injured Jones has scuffled in recent seasons but at one point was a lights-out setup man for the White Sox. He spent parts of eight seasons with the South Siders, pitching to a 3.12 ERA over the life of 291 1/3 innings out of the Chicago bullpen. Whether he can ever reclaim that form remains to be seen, but Jones came out of the gates in 2021 with a still-very-healthy 95.8 mph average velocity on his heater. The Braves will have a week to trade him, pass him through outright waivers or release him. He has more than enough service time to refuse an outright assignment if he clears waivers.

Edwards, 29, will be looking to bounce back from what has been a relatively swift decline in recent years. From 2016-18, he was one of the Cubs’ primary bullpen arms and was quite impressive along the way, compiling a 3.03 ERA while striking out nearly 35 percent of his opponents. Control was an issue (13.5 percent walk rate), but Edwards looked the part of a high-quality, late-inning arm.

However, Edwards began to unravel in Sept. 2018, when he walked 12 of the final 38 batters he faced in a total of just seven innings pitched. He began the 2019 campaign in similarly shaky fashion, pitching to a 5.87 ERA with nine walks, a hit batter and eight hits (three homers) allowed in 15 1/3 frames. The Cubs somewhat surprisingly moved on, and he’s been unable to find his stride again since that time. He looked sharp in a brief stint with the Mariners in 2020 but ended up missing the bulk of the season due to a forearm strain.

If Edwards is able to recapture his peak form, he’ll give the Braves a high-octane strikeout artist who can be controlled for another season via arbitration. Walks will likely to continue to be an issue even if he does find some success, however, which isn’t ideal for a club whose bullpen already has the fifth-highest walk rate in the Majors (12.2 percent).

Whether Edwards rebounds or not, Atlanta could eventually turn to the trade market to augment a bullpen that currently ranks 23rd in the Majors in ERA (4.58), 21st in FIP (4.41) and 25th in SIERA (4.23).

Braves Sign Tyler Flowers To Minor League Deal

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2:40pm: Flowers will earn a prorated $1.5MM base salary upon reaching the big leagues, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.

12:22pm: The Braves have re-signed veteran catcher Tyler Flowers to a minor league contract, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). The O’Connell Sports client will head to Triple-A Gwinnett for the time being.

O’Brien reported last month that Flowers had taken a non-playing role in the Braves organization, helping to blend data from the team’s analytics department with game preparation. The door for a potential return was seemingly left open, and the recent injuries to Travis d’Arnaud and Alex Jackson have brought about a more acute need. The Braves recently selected the contract of light-hitting but defensively sound veteran Jeff Mathis, and for now he’s being paired with prospect William Contreras behind the dish.

Flowers, 35, hit just .217/.325/.348 in a tiny sample of 80 plate appearances with the Braves last year. He racked up 1300 plate appearances from 2016-19, however, hitting at a .254/.350/.412 clip along the way. Flowers was one of the early focuses of the game’s increasing interest in pitch framing, as he’s long rated among the game’s best at getting borderline pitches called for his staff.

It’s not clear at this time whether the Braves will get d’Arnaud back in 2021. He’s slated to undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in the thumb on his catching hand, and while the Braves are hopeful he’ll be available late in the year, no official timeline has been provided.

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