Braves Interested In Craig Kimbrel, Dallas Keuchel
Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos “made it clear” Sunday that they have legitimate interest in free-agent pitchers Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, according to Jim Bowden of SiriusXM. Unsurprisingly, though, the Braves don’t seem inclined to sign Kimbrel or Keuchel until the June 3 draft, at which point a team would not have to surrender a pick for either of the two qualifying offer recipients.
Given their outstanding track records in the majors, Kimbrel and Keuchel entered free agency in November as two of the highest-ranked players available. High-paying, long-term contracts looked likely for both players at the time, but seven months later, they remain without teams. That probably won’t be the case for much longer considering the soon-to-expire draft pick ramifications, however.
For the Braves, the interest in Kimbrel is particularly notable. The right-hander was a 2008 draftee of the Braves, who took him in the third round and then saw him develop into one of the best picks in franchise history. Now one of the greatest relievers ever, Kimbrel spent 2010-14 with Atlanta, for which he pitched to a near-spotless 1.43 ERA/1.52 FIP with 14.82 K/9 against 3.36 BB/9 and piled up 186 saves over 289 innings. The Braves then ended their relationship with Kimbrel when they traded him to the Padres in April 2015. Kimbrel, now 31, moved on to the Red Sox via trade in 2016 and remained a formidable late-game force with the club through 2018, though he wasn’t as effective last season after an otherworldly showing in 2017.
On paper, Kimbrel would be an enormous pickup for an Atlanta team whose bullpen has fallen short this season. Their relief unit ranks 22nd in the majors in ERA and 27th in walks per nine innings, though current closer Luke Jackson, Touki Toussaint, Sean Newcomb and Jacob Webb have been good to great. Otherwise, the Braves have shuffled through several veterans who are far less inspiring than Kimbrel. Arodys Vizcaino, Jesse Biddle and Jonny Venters – all of whom are now out of the organization – as well as Josh Tomlin, the just-acquired Anthony Swarzak and Jerry Blevins are among familiar names the Braves have turned to in search of solutions.
The Braves’ rotation has been better than their bullpen, ranking 10th in ERA and 18th in fWAR, but the club seems to believe there’s ample room for improvement. They could look to Keuchel, a 31-year-old southpaw who’s a former AL Cy Young winner (2015), for help. The ex-Astro would be the most established starter on Atlanta’s staff, but he’d have a hard time topping the marvelous production Mike Soroka and Max Fried have put forth. Kevin Gausman and Julio Teheran have been useful in their own right, but the Braves have otherwise struggled to find a capable fifth member for their rotation. Mike Foltynewicz entered 2019 off what looked like a breakout season, but he has been a weak link so far. Newcomb, Toussaint, Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson have also had difficulty over a combined eight starts.
Of course, it’s worth pointing out that no one knows when Kimbrel or Keuchel will be ready to help a team. Even if they sign within the next week, they’ll likely need time to prepare to join their next club(s). Beyond that, there’s the key matter of how much they’ll cost. That may be of especially great import to the Braves, whose payroll has left fans upset this season. They opened 2018 with an $118MM-plus outlay, but despite winning the NL East last season, they’re now in the $115MM range. What’s more, back in February, neither Anthopoulos nor Braves CEO Terry McGuirk seemed too enthusiastic about distributing a big, multiyear contract. However, McGuirk did note, “We still have an appreciable amount of dry powder ready to go.”
Latest On Ender Inciarte
It appears the lumbar strain that sent Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte to the injured list May 15 will keep him out for “a while longer,” Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Braves manager Brian Snitker said Saturday that Inciarte’s back is “still barking a little bit and giving him some problems,” adding he’s not ready to resume baseball activities.
A Brave since 2016, Inciarte was a valuable member of the club in his first three Atlanta seasons, combining for 8.9 fWAR in 1,956 plate appearances. Inciarte mixed roughly league-average offense with splendid defense and high-end base running in that span to make him one of the majors’ most underrated regulars. The Braves liked what they saw from the get-go, as they inked Inciarte to an extension worth a guaranteed $30.525MM in December 2016 – one year after robbing him from the Diamondbacks.
Although the 28-year-old Inciarte has generally been a solid cog for the Braves, 2019 has been a tough go so far. Before he went on the IL, Inciarte hit a career-worst .218/.300/.323 (64 wRC+) in 140 trips to the plate. A .260 batting average on balls in play, down from a .315 lifetime mean, has contributed to that unattractive line. At the same time, though, Inciarte has swung and missed more than ever en route to the lowest contact rate of his career. He’s also running a paltry .276 expected weighted on-base average that ranks toward the bottom of the majors and almost matches an even weaker .273 wOBA.
Inciarte’s injury has continued to help usher in a youth movement for Atlanta, a team that’s chock-full of young contributors. His IL placement led the club to shift budding superstar left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. to center and promote touted prospect Austin Riley, who has dazzled in the majors since his May 15 debut. Riley’s presence has helped lift the Braves to an 8-3 record without Inciarte, giving the reigning NL East champions a 29-24 overall mark. Should that keep up, Inciarte may not be in for daily playing time when he’s able to return. The Braves have Josh Donaldson locked into Riley’s usual position (third base), after all, while durable right fielder Nick Markakis seldom sits and has gotten on base a hefty 38 percent of the time this year.
NL East Notes: Hammer, Ross, Bourque, Sobotka, Wilson
With sidearmer Pat Neshek headed to the injured list, the Phillies have selected the contract of J.D. Hammer to take his place, per Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Breen also points out a fun bit of trivia regarding these two, as this is actually the second time Neshak has cleared out for Hammer in Philly. Hammer first came to the Phillies (along with two others) in a 2017 deadline deal that sent Neshek from the Phillies to the Rockies (Twitter links). Hammer has a 1.61 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A so far this season, though most of his time has been in Reading. In fact, Hammer is now primed to make his major league debut as just one appearance in Triple-A.
- The Nationals continue recent tinkering of their bullpen personnel. Though their relief crew has been an unmitigated disaster, recent moves have been prompted largely by injuries to Anibal Sanchez and Jeremy Hellickson. With both Erick Fedde and Kyle McGowin taking a turn in the rotation, the Nationals are bringing in another fresh arm to help their beleaguered pen. James Bourque gets set to make his major league debut in Washington, while Joe Ross will be sent to Triple-A Fresno, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Finally healthy, Ross has been unable to adjust to life in the pen, sporting a bad-even-in-Washington 9.22 ERA (5.87 FIP) over 16 appearances. The velocity has been there for Ross (94.1 mph) but the control has not (5.3 BB/9). Austin Voth will be the only pitcher left on the Nationals 40-man roster not to make an appearance with the big league club this season.
- Speaking of bullpen troubles, the Braves actually lead the league in number of pitchers used in relief so far this season with 19, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). Chad Sobotka, one of the nineteen, was activated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A, per MLB Roster Moves. Sobotka earned -0.6 rWAR in just 13 appearances before his injury, pitching to an 8.25 ERA while walking 6.8 batters per nine innings.
- In New York, Justin Wilson remains at least a week away from returning from elbow soreness for the Mets, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Wilson has resumed throwing activities, with the next step being mound work before likely getting a few days on a rehab assignment. Wilson, 31, had made 10 appearances, going 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA before hitting the injured list, but there’s little to glean from such a small sample size.
Braves, Mariners Swap Jesse Biddle, Anthony Swarzak
1:13pm: The Mariners are sending around $2MM to the Braves in the trade to balance out the difference in salary, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Paired with the remaining money that would’ve been allocated for Biddle’s pre-arb salary, it seems likely that the trade is effectively cash-neutral.
12:51pm: The Mariners announced that they’ve acquired left-handed reliever Jesse Biddle and right-hander Arodys Vizcaino from the Braves in exchange for right-hander Anthony Swarzak and cash. Vizcaino’s inclusion in the trade would appear to be purely a financial component of the trade, as he’s a free agent at season’s end and is not expected to pitch again in 2019 after undergoing shoulder surgery. Vizcaino is on the 60-day injured list, so there are no additional 40-man moves required by the Mariners to accommodate the addition of Biddle, who will report to the team’s Major League bullpen.
Biddle, 27, gave the Braves 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball with 9.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9 and a 55.6 percent ground-ball rate in 2018, but virtually nothing has gone right for the southpaw so far in 2019. Through 15 appearances and a span of 11 2/3 frames, Biddle has served up seven earned runs (and another four unearned runs) on 18 hits and 10 walks with 11 strikeouts. His velocity has remained strong, as Biddle has averaged 94.1 mph on his fastball so far in 2019.
Because he was out-of-options and playing on a win-now club, Biddle’s fate looked largely sealed as this year’s control struggles continued from April into May. He was designated for assignment by the Braves last week. The Mariners will hope that they’re able to turn him around and get him back to his 2018 form. If they can manage to do so, they’ll control Biddle through the 2023 season. However, he’ll have to sort things out at the big league level, as his lack of minor league options means he can’t be sent down without first being passed through waivers.
For the Braves, they’d already decided to move on from Biddle and stood to watch Vizcaino leave as a free agent at the end of the year, so they’re not really giving up anything to take a cheap look at Swarzak. The 33-year-old Swarzak has struggled to a 5.27 ERA and eight walks (one intentional) in 13 2/3 innings with the Mariners, but he’s also racked up 17 strikeouts. Injuries have hampered him considerably since signing a two-year, $14MM contract with the Mets prior to the 2018 season, as he’s dealt with an oblique strain and a pair of shoulder-related injuries.
In his last full, healthy season in 2017, however, Swarzak turned in 77 1/3 innings with a 2.33 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.70 HR/9 and a 43.9 percent grounder rate between the White Sox and Brewers. That success is recent enough to give the Braves something to dream on as they scour what is likely an extremely thin trade market for bullpen help at this juncture of the season. Atlanta will surely be active in pursuing additional pieces over the next couple of months, but few teams are willing to sell off quality arms in mid-May — and those that are willing to do so generally place lofty asking prices on said arms given the scarce supply this time of year.
Swarzak will head to Atlanta without any sort of guarantee that he’ll be a long-term piece for the remainder of the season. The fact that the Braves unloaded the remaining $3.43MM on Vizcaino’s deal and acquired cash from the Mariners makes it likely that Seattle sent enough money to make this a cash-neutral swap. Swarzak is being paid an $8.5MM salary in 2019 and has about $6.08MM of that sum still to be paid out.
Braves Select Jerry Blevins, Release Jonny Venters
The Braves are again shaking up the bullpen, selecting the contract of lefty Jerry Blevins, who’d been designated and outrighted earlier in the week after clearing waivers, to replace fellow lefty Jonny Venters, who’s been issued his release by the club. (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman).
The latest chapter in the renaissance project for three-time Tommy John surgery survivor Venters, 34, didn’t go as planned. Though the lefty threw just 4 2/3 IP for a shaken Atlanta pen, he allowed three homers and walked eight over the frame. His average fastball velocity still registers at a competitive 93.0 MPH, so he may yet have some juice left in the tank, but it seemingly won’t be deployed for the team with whom he initially made his mark.
Blevins, 35, has been on a whirlwind tour in the last week, and he’ll again find himself at SunTrust Park for the back half of Atlanta’s weekend series with Milwaukee. Blevins has been left-handed kryptonite over the course of his 13-year MLB career, holding southpaws to a sickly .215/.271/.315 career mark. His numbers, though, have slipped considerably over the last two seasons – the lefty’s been homer prone for nearly the first time – and he hasn’t held lefties in comparable check.
It’s the latest in an early-season lefty exodus from the Atlanta ‘pen, as the club had already sent down penciled-in set-up man A.J. Minter and designated Jesse Biddle for assignment.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/17/19
We’ll track some minor moves from around the league here…
- Southpaw Jerry Blevins was outrighted by the Braves, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Blevins had been designated for assignment recently; whether he’ll accept the assignment isn’t yet clear, but he has the right to decline. The veteran reliever only saw six appearances with the Atlanta organization and they didn’t go very well. He suffered a big drop-off in strikeouts last season. That being said, Blevins has compiled nearly five hundred innings of MLB pitching with a 3.57 ERA and 9.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9; it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see him back up to the majors this year.
- The Red Sox signed right-hander Dylan Thompson to a minor league contract, per an announcement from the independent American Association (Twitter link). Thompson had been slated to open the season with the AA’s Winnipeg Goldeyes before his contract was purchased by the Red Sox. A former Rockies farmhand, Thompson spent the past three seasons pitching for the AA’s Sioux Falls Canaries — primarily as a reliever in 2017 but exclusively as a starter in 2018. While his overall numbers don’t immediately jump out, the right-hander’s sinker movement is eye-opening, to say the least (as depicted in GIF form by Rob Friedman, on Twitter). Whether Thompson can parlay that wiffle-esque movement into success in affiliated ball remains to be seen, but he’ll make for an interesting addition to the lower levels of Boston’s system. He’s opened the year with Class-A Advanced Salem and allowed a pair of runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts in three innings.
- Left-hander Tyler Lyons accepted his outright assignment after clearing waivers this week, per an announcement from the Pirates‘ Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis. Lyons, 31, was dominant out of the Cardinals’ bullpen as recently as 2017 — 2.83 ERA, 11.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.50 HR/9 in 54 innings — but has struggled since that excellent showing. The southpaw yielded 16 runs in 16 2/3 innings last season with St. Louis and was rocked for five runs in four innings with the Pirates earlier this season. He had the option of rejecting his assignment in favor of free agency but will remain in the Pittsburgh organization as he works toward another opportunity later in the year.
Braves Designate Jesse Biddle For Assignment
The Braves announced that they’ve designated left-hander Jesse Biddle for assignment on Wednesday and placed center fielder Ender Inciarte on the 10-day injured list due to a lumbar strain. Biddle’s 40-man roster spot will go to top prospect Austin Riley, whose previously reported promotion has now been made official. Atlanta also recalled Touki Toussaint from Triple-A Gwinnett to round out tonight’s series of roster moves.
Biddle, 27, gave the Braves 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball with 9.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9 and a 55.6 percent ground-ball rate in 2018, but virtually nothing has gone right for the southpaw so far in 2019. Through 15 appearances and a span of 11 2/3 frames, Biddle has served up seven earned runs (and another four unearned runs) on 18 hits and 10 walks with 11 strikeouts. As I noted last week, Biddle’s struggles were compounded by the fact that he’s out of minor league options, thus preventing the Braves from merely optioning him to Gwinnett to sort things out. Given the team’s win-now status, a move of this nature felt almost inevitable.
Given last season’s success and the fact that he’s a lefty who still pumps fastballs at an average of 94.1 mph, it’s possible that another club will take a run at correcting the control issues that have torpedoes Biddle’s season. Hard-throwing lefties in their mid-20s that have had some degree of MLB success are hard to come by, after all, and if a team can straighten Biddle out he’d be controllable all the way through the 2023 season.
As for the other moves, Riley will step into left field with Ronald Acuna Jr. shifting into center field in place of Inciarte. The 22-year-old Riley had already slugged a ridiculous 15 home runs on the season and has more broadly been one of the best hitters in all of minor league baseball. He’ll likely get some work at his natural position, third base, on days when Josh Donaldson gets a breather.
Braves To Promote Austin Riley
The Braves will promote top position-player prospect Austin Riley to the majors, according to David O’Brien of The Athletic (subscription link). Ender Inciarte is expected to be placed on the injured list with back tightness; the corresponding 40-man move isn’t yet known.
With the move, the Braves are adding a player who entered the season graded as a consensus top-fifty prospect. Riley was listed as high as 22nd overall, by Baseball America. He has moved up the boards since with an impressive offensive onslaught.
The 22-year-old Riley has turned in 162 plate appearances of .299/.377/.681 hitting with 15 home runs thus far at Triple-A. He has also drawn 18 walks to go with 31 strikeouts, representing a notable improvement for a player who has shown some swing and miss in the past.
While Riley’s long-term fit is probably at third base, he began seeing time in the corner outfield recently. That clearly set the stage for a call-up, though it came a bit sooner than might have been anticipated.
Joining the majors today will mean that Riley can earn as many as 138 days of MLB service this season. That could set him up for eventual Super Two qualification, if he’s able to hang onto his roster spot permanently.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Braves manage things once they’re at full health. There could be some roster and playing time crunches. If so, the club will no doubt consider it a good problem to have.
Now that he’s in the majors, Riley will have the chance to drive the decisionmaking. Inciarte might return in a reduced role. Matt Joyce could be bumped from the roster, though he’s performing quite well in a limited capacity. Utilityman Johan Camargo can be optioned. Josh Donaldson will remain entrenched at third base this year and remains a qualifying-offer candidate at season’s end, but Riley could spell the veteran at times.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Braves Designate Jerry Blevins
The Braves have designated lefty Jerry Blevins for assignment, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. Righty Kyle Wright was already optioned down, thus creating two active roster openings that will be filled by relievers Jesse Biddle (back from the IL) and Wes Parsons (recalled from Triple-A).
Blevins opened the season in the Athletics organization, facing the unfamiliar position of earning his way onto a major league roster. He ended up being acquired by the Braves and installed in their relief unit.
Things haven’t worked out as hoped for Blevins, who has allowed four runs with four strikeouts and three walks in his 3 1/3 innings over six appearances. That’s too short a sample to draw any final conclusions, but Blevins was working at or near career-worst levels of velocity (89.1 mph average fastball), swinging strikes (8.1%), and hard contact (50.0%) in th ebrief showing.
Braves Giving Prospect Austin Riley Time In The Outfield
Now that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is in the majors, Austin Riley is arguably the game’s best third base prospect, though the Braves have been experimenting with Riley as a left fielder at Triple-A Gwinnett, The Athletic’s David O’Brien writes (subscription required). Riley has been receiving two starts per week in left field, opening the door for another potential midseason route to Atlanta’s 25-man roster.
While Josh Donaldson can’t be considered a total impediment to Riley at third base given Donaldson’s multiple injuries over the last two seasons, the Braves are surely hoping Donaldson will continue to be healthy and productive throughout 2019 (his only year under contract with the team). That leaves Riley without an obvious position at the MLB level this year, and his development at the plate has indicated that he is ready for a quick promotion. Heading into today’s action, Riley had a whopping .309/.386/.691 slash line and 14 homers through his first 153 Triple-A plate appearances.
Riley played exclusively at third base during his first four pro seasons, though he saw some time in the outfield during Spring Training, and has played a handful of games as a left fielder and first baseman at Gwinnett this year. First base isn’t really an option in Atlanta either with Freddie Freeman entrenched at the position, and of course, the Braves also have a pretty great left field option in Ronald Acuna Jr.
O’Brien mentions the possibility that Riley could up at third base this season after all, should the Braves decide to trade Donaldson if they fall out of the pennant race. If the Braves remain in the NL East hunt, however, another possibility would be to use Riley in left field while shifting Acuna to center field in place of the struggling Ender Inciarte. It has been a rough start to the year for Inciarte, who is hitting only .218/.295/.323 through 139 PA. It has been a few years since Inciarte has been anything more than a league-average hitter, though even more troubling is his defensive dropoff — his usually outstanding center field glove has produced a -4.3 UZR/150 and zero Defensive Runs Saved through 290 innings.