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Padres Acquire Yonder Alonso

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The Padres have acquired first baseman Yonder Alonso from the Braves for cash, Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets. He’ll join the Padres’ taxi squad. Alonso had been with the Braves on a minor league contract since the winter, and he hasn’t accrued an at-bat this year.

Now 33 years old, Alonso’s a veteran of a handful of major league organizations since he joined the Reds as the seventh overall pick in 2008. Alonso’s no stranger to the Padres, who acquired him in a 2011 blockbuster with the Reds, but he made a minimal impact in San Diego before it dealt him to Oakland in 2015.

Alonso had his best season between Oakland and Seattle in 2017, but he has generally offered middling production relative to his offensively charged position. He has taken 3,773 plate appearances in the majors, including a combined 335 between the White Sox and Rockies last year, and batted .259/.332/.404 (102 wRC+) with 100 home runs.

Now that he’s back with the Padres, Alonso will give the club a bit of insurance at first behind Eric Hosmer, Jake Cronenworth and Ty France. He’s also now part of the same organization as brother-in-law Manny Machado, the Padres’ third baseman.

Latest On Cole Hamels

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Left-hander Cole Hamels, whom the Braves placed on the 45-day injured list July 23, still has not thrown off a mound during his recovery from a triceps problem, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. The Braves remain hopeful Hamels will pitch this year, though, per manager Brian Snitker. Of course, Hamels isn’t eligible to return until early September, so the Braves will get a very limited season from him at best. That wasn’t the outcome either side expected when the Braves signed the longtime workhorse to a one-year deal worth $18MM deal during the offseason. The Hamels injury is one of many issues the Braves’ rotation has encountered since then (most recently, they optioned lefty Sean Newcomb on Monday in the wake of a horrid performance), but the back-to-back NL East champions are still off to a solid start at 11-7.

Braves Option Sean Newcomb

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The Braves optioned lefty Sean Newcomb to the team’s alternate training site after tonight’s game. He’ll remain on the 40-man roster and in the 60-man player pool.

This is the latest in a series of hits to the Atlanta rotation. In this case, as with Mike Foltynewicz, it’s simply a matter of inadequate performance.

Newcomb, 27, was bombed in a forgettable start this evening. He recorded only four outs while doling out a pair of walks and a pair of long balls and permitting eight total earned runs.

That performance represented another segment of a roller coaster season … which is itself but a part of a rather topsy-turvy career. The southpaw has had his share of success but never quite fully found his groove in the majors.

In 2018, Newcomb emerged as a solid rotation piece, running a 3.90 ERA in 164 frames. He ended up spending most of last year in the bullpen, where he worked to a 3.04 ERA in 51 appearances.

The Braves had cause to hope that Newcomb might step up when the opportunity arose to return to the rotation. Instead, he’ll have to earn his way back to the active roster. It’s back to the drawing board for the club, which will have to dip into the farm for another arm to start (or help man a bullpen game).

Braves Add Robbie Erlin To Active Roster

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TODAY: The Braves announced that Erlin has been activated onto the big league roster.  Sobotka had been optioned to the minor league site but is now quickly back with the club to serve as the extra player for today’s doubleheader.

AUGUST 7: The Braves announced that they have claimed left-hander Robbie Erlin off waivers from the Pirates. In other moves, the Braves placed right-hander Chris Martin on the 10-day injured list with an esophageal constriction and recalled RHP Chad Sobotka.

The 29-year-old Erlin had been in limbo since Pittsburgh designated him Aug. 2. He threw 3 1/3 innings of two-run ball for the club before it bounced him.  Erlin was a quality prospect with the Padres during his younger days, but he has only managed a 4.58 ERA across 108 appearances (38 starts) and 316 1/3 innings since he debuted in 2013. To Erlin’s credit, though, he has logged a very solid 3.57 FIP with 7.2 K/9 and 1.79 BB/9 as a major leaguer.

Erlin could step into the Braves’ bullpen, which will suddenly go without one of its most prominent options in Martin, whom the team re-signed to a two-year, $14MM contract in free agency. Martin, 34, threw four innings and allowed one earned runs on two hits and one walk (three strikeouts) before his IL placement.

Soroka's Surgery Successful

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  • Mike Soroka’s surgery to repair his right Achilles tendon yesterday was successful, the team announced. The first step in a long recovery process is now in the books for the Braves’ ace. There’s no sugarcoating the severity of Soroka’s injury, though a number of people have made a point to say that Soroka has the temperament and work ethic to weather this storm and return to acedom. With a bevy of young pitching candidates in a much-hyped system, Soroka has stood out among the field, quickly becoming the ace of this Braves contender. In 29 starts last year, he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA/3.45 FIP, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting and 6th for Cy Young.

Braves Outright Chris Rusin

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Aug. 6: The Braves announced that Rusin has been assigned outright to their alternate training site after clearing waivers. He’ll remain in the team’s 60-player pool but is no longer on the 40-man roster. Because he’s still in the player pool, he’s eligible to rejoin the club later this season.

Aug. 4: The Braves have designated lefty Chris Rusin for assignment, per a club announcement. Additionally, the team placed righty Mike Soroka on the 45-day injured list. Those moves created a pair of active roster spots to enable the promotion of two pitchers. Righties Chad Sobotka and Huascar Ynoa will each join the MLB team.

Rusin, 33, earned a job out of Summer Camp but only got one appearance before he was set free. He allowed three earned runs in a 3 1/3-inning outing last night after Soroka departed with what turned out to be a season-ending injury. The former Cubs and Rockies southpaw was quite effective in Colorado from 2016-17, pitching to a 3.19 ERA in 169 1/3 frames, but success has been hard to come by outside of that two-year stretch. In 468 2/3 innings across part of nine MLB seasons (2020 included), Rusin has a 4.65 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.

Braves Activate Will Smith, Designate Scott Schebler

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The Braves have activated lefty Will Smith, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. He had not yet pitched this year due to a prior coronavirus infection.

Recently acquired outfielder Scott Schebler was designated for assignment to open 40-man and active roster space. The organization also optioned righty Chad Sobotka and catcher Alex Jackson to trim down to 28 men on the active roster.

Smith inked a three-year deal over the winter after serving as the Giants’ closer. He’ll likely function in a setup role in Atlanta, pitching in front of fellow former San Francisco 9th-inning man Mark Melancon.

Schebler, 29, recorded a lone plate appearance with the Braves before being cut loose. He logged a thirty homer campaign with the Reds, so power isn’t in short supply, but he has not been a consistent on-base threat and ran out of chances in Cincinnati.

Braves Place Albies, Adams On Injured List; Markakis Activated

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The Braves announced this morning that they’ve placed second baseman Ozzie Albies and first baseman Matt Adams on the 10-day injured list. Albies is dealing with a bone contusion in his right wrist, while Adams is hobbled by a hamstring strain. In a pair of corresponding moves, Atlanta reinstated outfielder Nick Markakis from the restricted list and recalled catcher Alex Jackson from their alternate training site.

Albies, 23, has gotten out to a slow start this season, hitting at just a .159/.196/.273 clip through his first 46 plate appearances. That, and the fact that he batted left-handed against a left-handed pitcher in last night’s game, seem like clear evidence that the issue has been hampering him of late. Jeff Schultz of The Athletic tweets that the Braves expect Albies’ wrist troubles to be a season-long issue; that’s not to say they expect him on the IL all year, of course, but rather that the issue likely won’t fully heal until he can rest it in the offseason. For now, there’s no timetable on Albies’ return to the active roster. Charlie Culberson and Johan Camargo can handle second base in his absence.

Adams strained his hamstring on the basepaths in last night’s game. He’s gotten out to a slow start as well, hitting just .212/.234/.425 with a pair of home runs. One of those long balls came against a lefty, but the Braves have unsurprisingly limited Adams to just three plate appearances against southpaws. He is, after all, a lifetime .211/.239/.381 hitter against same-handed opponents.

As for Markakis, he’ll return in rapid fashion after an unexpected about-face on his decision to opt out of the 2020 season. He’d previously cited the absence of fans and teammate Freddie Freeman’s struggles with Covid-19 symptoms in his decision to sit the current season out. He only just returned to the club a week ago, so there’s likely some rust that’ll need to be shaken off. Thankfully for the Braves, they have a relatively deep outfield mix that features Marcell Ozuna, Ender Inciarte, Ronald Acuna Jr., Adam Duvall, Scott Schebler, the aforementioned Culberson and now Markakis. That’ll give manager Brian Snitker ample time to ease Markakis back into the fold as he ramps back up with the big league club.

By recalling Jackson, the Braves give themselves not only a third catcher behind Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers, but also a potential backup at first base and in the outfield corners. Jackson opened the season as the club’s catcher after both d’Arnaud and Flowers exhibited Covid-19 symptoms and went 2-for-7 with a double and four strikeouts. He was optioned back to the team’s alternate site after d’Arnaud and Flowers ultimately tested negative.

Braves’ Anthopoulos On Possibility Of Pitching Trade

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Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos is still picking up the pieces after a stunning series of early-season pitching woes culminated in last night’s loss of Mike Soroka. Today, he discussed the possibility of swinging a trade with reporters including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links).

The Atlanta organization is now going without four of the five anticipated members of the starting staff that Anthopoulos constructed last winter. Soroka follows Cole Hamels in suffering an injury, though it’s still possible the veteran Hamels will return later in the year. Mike Foltynewicz was outrighted after showing much-reduced stuff, while Felix Hernandez opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns.

That volume of significant losses obviously puts the Braves in position to pursue new arms, and Anthopoulos acknowledged that he’s been exploring the marketplace since Summer Camp reopened. However, getting a deal done under the present circumstances represents a major challenge. “It’s very hard to say” whether the team can get something done, says the veteran executive.

“Today, the likelihood is we’ll stay internal,” Anthopoulos explained, “but we’ll continue to inquire and see if we can line up on a deal.”

Despite the unusual nature of the season, and despite these heavy pitching losses, Anthopoulos says the Atlanta organization is willing and ready to value a shot at winning a title this year. It seems the club will be heavily involved in whatever trade talks can be had, though it’s hardly clear how much appetite the team has for taking on additional salary.

As for Soroka, there’s still no timetable, but he’ll obviously miss the remainder of the current season. The lack of specificity is certainly understandable, due both to the serious nature of the injury and the many potential nuances in his recovery. Anthopoulos did say that he’ll undergo surgery this week.

Mike Soroka Suffers Season-Ending Achilles Tear

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Braves ace Mike Soroka suffered a torn right Achilles on Monday and will miss the rest of the season, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic was among those to report. The injury forced the right-handed Soroka out of his start early in a loss to the division-rival Mets.

Not only is this development horrible news for Soroka and the Braves, but it’s a blow to baseball fans who have been treated to his outstanding performance since he debuted in 2018. Still just 22 years old when he took the mound tonight — his birthday is tomorrow — Soroka was an All-Star last season who has registered a 2.72 ERA/3.34 FIP with 7.27 K/9, 2.17 BB/9 and a 50.4 percent groundball rate in 211 2/3 innings in the majors. Monday was just his third start of the current season, and considering the severity and timing of it, it seems fair to wonder whether Soroka will miss a chunk of time in 2021 as he works his way back.

Soroka’s year-ending injury continues a run of terrible luck in Atlanta’s rotation, which dealt with multiple problems before losing him. Righty Felix Hernandez opted out of the season over coronavirus concerns, and then big-money offseason pickup Cole Hamels went on the 45-day IL because of a triceps injury. After that, the Braves booted one-time All-Star Mike Foltynewicz from their roster in the wake of an alarming drop in velocity. Foltynewicz is still part of the organization, though, and may stand a greater chance of getting back to the majors this year in light of Soroka’s injury.

If Folty isn’t an option, the Braves could still look within, seek a trade or scour a rather uninspiring free-agent market to complement Max Fried, Sean Newcomb, Touki Toussaint and Kyle Wright in their rotation. One thing’s for sure: Even though Atlanta’s 7-4 and atop the NL East, this season has not gone according to plan for its group of starters.

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