Braves Activate Travis d’Arnaud, Tyler Flowers
JULY 29: Both d’Arnaud and Flowers are active and will be in uniform tonight. They’ll be joined by recently claimed outfielder Scott Schebler. To make active roster space, the Braves optioned backstops Alex Jackson and William Contreras along with righty Chad Sobotka.
JULY 28: The Braves have opened the season without first- and second-string catchers Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers, but it doesn’t seem as if either will be on the shelf for much longer. Manager Brian Snitker indicated Tuesday that the team could activate at least one of them before its game against the Rays on Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes.
Both d’Arnaud and Flowers have been shelved in the early stages of this season after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, though neither player has tested positive for the illness. Their absences have left the Braves with Alex Jackson and William Contreras behind the plate.
D’Arnaud was a key offseason pickup for the Braves, who signed him to a two-year, $16MM contract after he enjoyed one of his best seasons as a member of the Rays in 2019. The 31-year-old, once a premium prospect, saw injuries weigh him down all too often as a Met during his first several seasons in the league.
Flowers, 34, has been a reliable producer for the Braves dating back to 2016, having hit .254/.350/.412 (104 wRC+) across 1,301 plate appearances in their uniform. He is also known as one of the game’s premier pitch-framing backstops.
Pitching Notes: Strasburg, Smith, Teheran, Fulmer, Marlins
Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg missed his scheduled start Saturday on account of nerve irritation in his pitching hand, but he said at the time he wasn’t “extremely concerned” about it. Manager Dave Martinez issued another update on Strasburg on Monday, saying last year’s World Series MVP threw lightly, felt better and had less tingling in his hand, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets. It’s still unclear when Strasburg will debut this season, though. Having started 1-3 during a 60-game season, the Nats need him back sooner than later.
- In encouraging news for the Braves, left-handed closer Will Smith is no longer dealing with COVID-19 symptoms and hopes to be closing in on a return, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Smith has been down since July 4 because of the coronavirus; if he is able to pitch this year, the hope is that he’ll be a major part of Atlanta’s late-game setup. That’s what the team was banking on when it signed Smith to a three-year, $40MM contract in free agency last winter. Smith earned that payday on the heels of several strong seasons with the Royals, Brewers and Giants.
- Speaking of Atlanta, one of its former hurlers – Angels righty Julio Teheran – continues to progress toward a 2020 debut, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic relays. Teheran, who’s recovering from his own coronavirus diagnosis, is slated to throw three innings and 55 pitches in Long Beach, Calif., on Tuesday, per pitching coach Mickey Callaway. If all goes well then, Teheran could join the Angels’ rotation. The team signed Teheran, 29, to a one-year, $9MM guarantee over the winter after a successful run in Atlanta from 2011-19.
- The Tigers plan to use righty Michael Fulmer as an opener all year and are unlikely to let him go five to six innings in any of his appearances, pitching coach Rick Anderson revealed (via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic). Fulmer’s a former AL Rookie of the Year winner who topped out at 164 2/3 frames in his second season in 2017, but it’s understandable that the Tigers are taking a cautious approach with him. After all, the 27-year-old is just returning from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in March 2019. He took the mound Monday for the first time since September 2018 and surrendered four earned runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings during a blowout loss to the Royals.
- The coronavirus has deprived the Marlins of a slew of players, leaving them to scramble for replacements, but righty prospect Edward Cabrera is not a candidate for their roster as of now, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Cabrera is not dealing with the virus, fortunately, but “a minor arm issue” that has stopped him from throwing over the past week, Jackson writes. The 22-year-old was tremendous last season between High-A and Double-A, combining for a stingy 2.23 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 96 2/3 innings, and is widely regarded as a top 100 prospect.
Braves Designate Mike Foltynewicz For Assignment
The Braves have decided to designate righty Mike Foltynewicz for assignment, manager Brian Snitker told reporters including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). He’ll be replaced by reliever Chad Sobotka on the active roster.
This certainly rates as an early-season stunner. The 28-year-old Foltynewicz has had his ups and downs in Atlanta, to be sure. He was an All-Star just two seasons ago before experiencing enough difficulty last year that the Braves demoted him to the minors in late June. However, Foltynewicz rebounded when the Braves recalled him in early August, and they’re now committed to paying him a pro-rated portion of his $6,425,000 salary this season — unless another team makes a claim — and will be giving up another season of arbitration control.
Foltynewicz certainly didn’t look himself in his season debut today, coughing up six earned runs and three long balls while lasting just 3 1/3 innings in a blowout loss to the Rays. More importantly, he demonstrated a collapse in velocity that has been a concern during the pre-season ramp up.
“His stuff hasn’t been there,” Snitker told David O’Brien of The Athletic and other reporters in regards to Foltynewicz, who has averaged better than 95 mph on his fastball since he debuted with the Astros in 2014 but is now struggling to hit 90.
It seems as if the Braves have simply seen enough to determine that Folty won’t find another gear in 2020. No doubt the club will now count upon another team to take over the salary obligations — if not also to kick in something of value in return. Despite his current issues, Foltynewicz’s age and track record of production suggest any number of teams could take a chance on him. To this point, he has thrown 682 2/3 innings of matching 4.27 ERA/FIP ball with 8.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 at baseball’s highest level.
Atlanta, meanwhile, continues to deal with unexpected changes in its rotation. Perhaps in an ideal situation, Foltynewicz would have made up one-fifth of the back-to-back NL East champions’ starting staff alongside Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Cole Hamels and Felix Hernandez. Now, though, the only ones standing are Soroka and Fried – before the Foltynewicz DFA, Hamels went on the 45-day injured list because of a triceps issue and Hernandez opted out of the campaign as a result of coronavirus concerns.
Without Folty, Hamels and Hernandez, the Braves are down to Sean Newcomb and Kyle Wright as complements to Soroka and Fried. And while the likes of Jhoulys Chacin and Josh Tomlin carry plenty of experience as starters, Snitker said the Braves could use an opener instead of a traditional rotation option for the time being.
Predict The NL East Division Winner
With final roster decisions in the books and the 2020 season underway at long last, it’s time to make some predictions. We’re polling the MLBTR readership on each of the game’s six divisions — though plenty more teams will crack the postseason under the rather inclusive new playoff qualification system. We’ve already surveyed the AL Central and NL Central landscapes, and now we’ll turn to the National League East.
As is the case with the National League more broadly, the NL East looks like it could end up very tightly-packed from start to finish. The Braves have claimed back-to-back division titles and their star young core only figures to get better. Fresh off a World Series win, the Nationals still boast perhaps the game’s top starting rotation. Anthony Rendon’s defection is quite the loss, but the lineup is still chock-full of talent. The Mets, too, have a strong group of bats and an uber-ace in Jacob deGrom. Their defense is questionable and there’s some volatility on the pitching staff, yet there’s no denying the upside. The Phillies have a handful of high-end players but some uncertainty on the mound. It’s a bit more of a long shot in Miami, but the Marlins have built a high-upside young rotation and added a handful of solid veteran position players over the offseason.
Which team do you think is the best of the bunch? (Poll link for app users).
Predict The 2020 N.L. East Division Winner
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Braves 63% (6,603)
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Mets 12% (1,277)
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Nationals 12% (1,266)
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Phillies 8% (790)
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Marlins 5% (485)
Total votes: 10,421
Braves To Acquire Scott Schebler
2:03pm: This deal is now official. Cash considerations will go to Cincinnati in return.
12:47pm: The Braves have struck a deal to acquire outfielder Scott Schebler, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports on Twitter. Schebler had been designated for assignment by the Reds.
This’ll give the Atlanta organization another potential power bat to add to the mix. Schebler will take a spot on the team’s 40-man roster and 60-man player pool. Since he’s out of options, he’ll also have to be added to the active roster.
Schebler will rejoin former outfield mate Adam Duvall as depth options. The Braves have now added several power-oriented players in recent days, with Schebler joining Matt Adams as lefty bench bats.
Though he popped thirty long balls in 2017, Schebler has generally failed to reach base at a sufficient clip to feature as an above-average hitter. He owns a .240/.318/.443 lifetime batting line through five MLB campaigns.
Last year was a particularly rough one for Schebler, who scuffled badly through 30 MLB games. Things weren’t much better at Triple-A, where he limped to a .216/.274/.325 slash over 212 trips to the plate.
Schebler was likely hampered by a shoulder injury that required offseason surgery. He’s now back to full strength and ready to take a crack at reestablishing himself in the majors.
Travis d’Arnaud, Tyler Flowers Unavailable For Braves’ Opener
The Braves will be without both of their top two catchers for today’s opener, manager Brian Snitker announced to reporters (Twitter link via David O’Brien of The Athletic). Both Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers are exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19, and while both have tested negative, they’re back in Atlanta rather than with the club in New York. Alex Jackson, who was on the team’s taxi squad, will get the starting nod behind the plate. Catcher William Contreras, also on the 40-man roster and in the 60-man player pool, will likely be brought up as the backup.
It’s a sudden depletion of the Braves’ catching depth and a stark reminder of how quickly a club’s depth can be compromised in a strange 2020 season. Jackson will be unexpectedly thrust into a starting role for at least today — the timeline for d’Arnaud and Flowers to return can’t be known just yet — despite having just four MLB games under his belt. The former No. 6 overall draft pick carries plenty of power but has also had longstanding issues making contact (career 30 percent strikeout rate in the minors — 34 percent in Triple-A). His defense, too, has been an ongoing question that has resulted in Jackson at times getting looks in the corner outfield.
Contreras, the younger brother of Cubs star Willson Contreras, has never appeared in a Triple-A game — let alone in the big leagues. He’s a well-regarded catching prospect, but his .255/.315/.354 output at the plate between Class-A Advanced and Double-A in 2019 was a notable step back from 2018’s .285/.347/.436.
Both d’Arnaud and Flowers will technically be placed on the Covid-19 IL as a means of facilitating the promotion of Jackson and Contreras. Unlike other injured lists, however, there’s no minimum stay on the Covid-19 IL. It remains to be seen just when d’Arnaud and Flowers will be cleared to return, though the hope is that both catcher’s symptoms will be abate in short order.
Multiple Teams Reportedly Interested In Josh Harrison
Infielder Josh Harrison returned to the free-agent market when the Phillies released him Tuesday, but he may not be without a team for long. The Braves, Reds, Yankees and Rangers have all shown interest in Harrison, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
If Harrison does land another contract, it’s likely to be a minor league deal, as his pact with the Phillies was. Now 33 years old, Harrison earned two All-Star trips as a Pirate from 2011-18, but his production in Pittsburgh plummeted during his final season with the club and continued to decline in Detroit in an injury-shortened 2019 campaign. Harrison managed a horrid line of .175/.218/.263 (22 wRC+) in 147 plate appearances last year, leading the Tigers to release him in August despite handing him a guaranteed $2MM before the season.
At best, Harrison would likely be a bench option at second and third for any of the teams eyeing him. The Braves have Ozzie Albies at the keystone and Austin Riley at the hot corner. Harrison’s native Cincinnati boasts big-money offseason pickup Mike Moustakas at second and 49-home run man Eugenio Suarez at third. Meanwhile, the Yankees look to be in good shape at the two positions with DJ LeMahieu (who should soon return after a coronavirus-caused absence) and Gio Urshela/Miguel Andujar. So, Texas could arguably present the best opportunity for Harrison, considering second baseman’s Rougned Odor‘s immense struggles in 2019 and the lack of a clear solution at third.
Braves Place Cole Hamels On 45-Day Injured List
The Braves placed left-hander Cole Hamels on the 45-day injured list in order to open 40-man space for their previously announced selections of Matt Adams and Tyler Matzek, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. The move can only be backdated three days, so Hamels will be out of action until at least early September while dealing with a triceps issue.
Certainly, that’s not the outcome the Braves had in mind when they signed Hamels to a one-year, $18MM contract over the winter. Hamels’ salary will be prorated to a bit north of $6.6MM under the terms of the March MLB/MLBPA agreement that stipulated prorated salaries for players in 2020.
With Hamels sidelined for more than half the truncated regular season, the Atlanta rotation unquestionably looks a bit less secure. Mike Soroka and Max Fried give the Braves a pair of high-end young talents to front the group, and both Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb have at times shown themselves capable of pitching at high levels as well. Both, however, have been inconsistent in recent years.
The Braves inked veteran righty Jhoulys Chacin to a one-year deal earlier this week and also have a bevy of intriguing young arms in their player pool, including Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Patrick Weigl and Bryse Wilson. Wright made the Opening Day roster and could begin the season as the team’s No. 5 starter, depending on the plan for Chacin, who largely replaces righty Felix Hernandez after the longtime Mariner opted out of the 2020 season.
Impressive depth aside, a healthy Hamels would’ve been a clear boon to the starting staff. Although he struggled late in the 2019 season, Hamels has acknowledged that he rushed back from an injury. And prior to his DL placement last June, he’d given the Cubs 29 starts and 176 innings of 2.91 ERA ball since being acquired at the 2018 trade deadline. In a best-case scenario now, the Braves would get a few weeks of starts out of Hamels and hope to lean on him throughout a postseason run if he shows well.
Braves Select Matt Adams, Outright Yonder Alonso
The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran first baseman Matt Adams and outrighted fellow veteran Yonder Alonso off the 40-man roster. Alonso has the service time to reject that outright assignment, though it’s not yet clear he’ll do so. Atlanta also included southpaw Tyler Matzek on its Opening Day roster, which means his contract has been selected to the 40-man roster as well.
Atlanta only just added Alonso to the 40-man roster this past weekend, though they hadn’t yet worked out a deal to bring Adams into the organization at that point. With Adams now on board, the club clearly views him as a better option to back up Freddie Freeman. Freeman has previously missed time due to Covid-19 but was cleared to return and included on the Braves’ Opening Day roster. The 31-year-old Adams hit .226/.276/.465 with 20 homers in 333 plate appearances for the division-rival Nationals a year ago, but also had a productive run with the Braves in 2017.
Matzek, 29, represents a fairly remarkable comeback story. The southpaw was the No. 11 overall pick by the Rockies back in 2009 and for a few years was considered to be one of the game’s premier pitching prospects. Injuries and poor performances caused him to fade from the radar, and he was out of baseball entirely in 2017 before latching on with the Texas AirHogs of the independent American Assocation in 2018-19. He parlayed that into a look with the Braves and struggled in 15 minor league innings, but his summer showing helped him to land a spot on an MLB roster for the first time since 2015.
Injury Notes: Rendon, Altuve, Hamels, Cubs, Orioles
The Angels aren’t sure whether third baseman and top winter acquisition Anthony Rendon will be ready when they open their season Friday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com relays. Rendon, a former Nationals star whom the Angels signed to a seven-year, $245MM contract in free agency, has been dealing with oblique soreness since last week. If he’s not able to take the field in a few days, the Angels are expected to use David Fletcher and Matt Thaiss at the hot corner, per Bollinger. The Angels’ infield could also be missing Luis Rengifo, who Bollinger writes stands a “strong chance” of sitting out the opener on account of hamstring soreness.
- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left the team’s preseason game against the Royals on Tuesday with a left leg contusion, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. There’s now some question as to whether the former MVP will be healthy enough to go when the Astros’ season starts. “We’re hopeful he’ll be ready on Friday,” manager Dusty Baker said. “We’ll analyze him tomorrow and see where he is in the morning. Usually the day after that, you’re pretty sore.”
- “It’s going to be a while” before left-hander Cole Hamels debuts in 2020, Braves manager Brian Snitker said Tuesday (via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). Hamels dealt with shoulder inflammation during spring training and has recently battled triceps tendinitis, thereby preventing him from facing live hitters over the past several months. Considering how short this season will be, the Braves may have trouble getting much bang for their buck out of Hamels. They inked the longtime workhorse to a one-year, $18MM contract over the winter. That guarantee turned into approximately a prorated $7MM when the season went from 162 games to 60.
- Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who has been fighting rib and back issues, seems to be progressing. Manager David Ross said Tuesday (via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com) that it “looks like all thumbs up from today” in regards to Rizzo. He’s slated to start the team’s exhibition game against Minnesota on Wednesday. Meanwhile, southpaw Jose Quintana – who underwent surgery on his left thumb three weeks ago – issued an encouraging update on his status (per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune), saying he’s not feeling any pain. It remains unclear when he’ll be able to take the mound this season, though.
- Orioles left-hander John Means will miss Opening Day because of arm fatigue, Joe Trezza of MLB.com tweets. As a result, offseason minor league signing and fellow southpaw Tommy Milone will start the Orioles’ opener against Boston on Friday. It’s not known when Means will be able to debut in 2020, but the Orioles are surely hoping it will be sooner than later. The 27-year-old Means was one of the few bright spots on Baltimore’s talent-deprived roster last season, after all, as he logged a 3.60 ERA/4.41 FIP with 7.03 K/9 and 2.21 BB/9 across 155 innings.