Braves Rumors

NL East Notes: Garrett, S-Rod, Quinn

By Mark Polishuk | June 7, 2017 at 8:42pm CDT

It was on this day in 1966 that the Mets drafted catcher Steve Chilcott with the first overall pick of the amateur draft. A catcher out of Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, California, Chilcott’s seven-year pro career was plagued by injuries and he never reached the big leagues. Brien Taylor is the only other 1-1 selection to retire without ever making it to the Show; three more recent selections (Mark Appel, Brady Aiken and Mickey Moniak) are still in the minors and yet to receive their first taste of MLB action. The Chilcott pick doubly hurt the Mets since they took him ahead of a somewhat prominent player who was picked second overall by the A’s — Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson.

Here’s the latest from around the NL East…

Marlins left-handed pitching prospect Braxton Garrett has a partial UCL tear in his throwing elbow and may need Tommy John surgery, Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports. Garrett, who turns 20 in August, was selected seventh overall by the Fish in the 2016 amateur draft. He was ranked as a consensus top-100 prospect (42nd by ESPN’s Keith Law, 43rd by MLB.com, 71st by Baseball Prospectus, 76th by Baseball America) prior to the season and was considered easily the best minor leaguer within a thin Miami farm system. As Fernandez notes, Garrett would be the second top Marlins pitching prospect (after Tyler Kolek) to require Tommy John surgery within the last 14 months.
Sean Rodriguez has resumed some baseball activities and is working hard towards a return before the season is over, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Rodriguez and his family were in a horrific car accident in January that injured his two sons, required his wife to undergo wrist surgery amidst several other serious injuries, and seemingly ended Rodriguez’s season before it started due to shoulder surgery. Now, Braves manager Brian Snitker thinks Rodriguez could potentially be back as soon as August. The utilityman signed a two-year, $11MM contract with Atlanta last November and has been a constant presence at in the team’s clubhouse, working out with team trainers and his fellow players.
Phillies outfield prospect Roman Quinn has a UCL injury in his left elbow, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports (Twitter link). An MRI revealed the issue, and Quinn will visit Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion. While Quinn throws with his right arm, this still could be a significant setback for the 24-year-old, who made his MLB debut last year in 15 games with Philadelphia. Quinn, ranked as the 99th-best prospect in the game by MLB.com prior to the season, was expected to receive a longer look this summer as the Phillies continues their rebuilding process.

Braves To Promote Sean Newcomb This Weekend

By Steve Adams | June 7, 2017 at 10:44am CDT

The Braves will promote top left-handed pitching prospect Sean Newcomb to start one of Saturday’s doubleheader games, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (on Twitter). Whether it’s a spot start or a potential audition for a long-term spot in the rotation — Bartolo Colon has struggled all season and was placed on the disabled list yesterday — Newcomb will be making his MLB debut this weekend. The lefty isn’t on Atlanta’s 40-man roster, though the Braves have an open spot for him.

Newcomb, 24 next week, was the Angels’ first-round pick (No. 15 overall) out of the University of Hartford back in 2014 and was traded to the Braves roughly 18 months later as the key piece in the Andrelton Simmons swap. He’s emerged as a consensus Top 100 prospect throughout the game, though his stock took somewhat of a hit with a so-so 2016 campaign in Double-A. After ranking among baseball’s top 25 or so prospects in the eyes of Baseball America and MLB.com, he entered the 2017 campaign ranked 78th and 80th on their respective lists. ESPN’s Keith Law ranked him 81st, while Baseball Prospectus remained a bit more bullish and ranked him 44th.

Through his first 57 innings with Triple-A Gwinnett this season, Newcomb has pitched to a strong 2.97 ERA with an outstanding 11.5 K/9 rate. However, he’s also averaged 5.2 walks per nine, continuing a troubling trend of control problems that has followed him throughout his professional career. Newcomb has averaged 4.8 walks per nine since being drafted, and in addition to walking 104 men through 197 2/3 frames across the past two seasons, he’s also hit eight batters and tossed nine wild pitches.

Scouting reports on Newcomb praise his considerable upside but are also wary of his control problems. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com note that he sat 93-97 mph with his fastball last season and has at times touched 99-100 mph in the past — also praising his curveball as a plus offering and writing that his changeup is at least an average pitch. BA agreed with MLB.com’s assessment of Newcomb’s secondary offerings but pegged his fastball a couple miles per hour slower and also suggested that he needs to be more aggressive when he’s ahead in the count. Law, meanwhile, notes that Newcomb has durability but has yet to improve his command to the point where he can be considered likely to reach his ceiling as a No. 2 starter.

Control issues aside, the Braves are counting on Newcomb to serve as a long-term cog in their rotation following the departures of this offseason’s one-year stopgap acquisitions (Colon, R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia). Newcomb, along with Lucas Sims, Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Luiz Gohara, gives the Braves an enviable crop of well-regarded pitching prospects that currently sit in Double-A or higher. The hope, it seems, is that three of that bunch can slot into the rotation behind controllable right-handers Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz to give Atlanta a rotation that is both sustainable and affordable for the next several years in the newly opened Sun Trust Park.

If Newcomb is brought to the Majors for good, he’ll accrue 114 days of big league service this season, which should put him just shy of Super Two eligibility moving forward. Assuming he misses out on Super Two status, he’d be arbitration-eligible following the 2020 season and would qualify for free agency following the 2023 campaign. Of course, it’s also certainly possible that this is merely a brief promotion to get his feet wet and that the Braves won’t fully commit a Major League rotation spot to Newcomb until later this season or even 2018.

Braves Place Bartolo Colon On Disabled List

By Steve Adams | June 6, 2017 at 4:45pm CDT

4:45pm: Right-hander Jason Hursh has been recalled from Triple-A to join the bullpen for the time being.

3:41pm: The Braves announced on Tuesday that they’ve placed right-hander Bartolo Colon on the 10-day disabled list due to a strained left oblique. They’ll announce a corresponding move prior to tonight’s game.

Colon, 44, has had a disastrous start to his first season in Atlanta, pitching to a 7.78 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 44.3 percent ground-ball rate through his first 12 starts/59 innings as a Brave. The veteran righty’s struggles have been particularly acute lately, as he’s yielded at least seven runs in each of his past three outings. He’s also been uncharacteristically home-run prone, and not just at Atlanta’s hitter-friendly new home park; Colon has served up 11 homers those 59 frames — eight of which have come on the road.

Per David O’Brien of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution (Twitter links), manager Brian Snitker said today that Colon has been receiving treatment on his ailing oblique “for awhile,” and the team is hopeful that said issue is at least somewhat to blame for his dreadful slump. For now, the Braves plan to return Colon to the rotation when he’s healthy enough to be activated off the disabled list, O’Brien adds, though that decision doesn’t appear to be set in stone.

As for the corresponding move, that remains to be seen, though MLB.com’s Mark Bowman suggests that both Lucas Sims and Matt Wisler are candidates to start the two games of Atlanta’s Saturday doubleheader. The arrival of Sims, of course, would mark the big league debut for one of the organization’s most anticipated young arms. Bowman adds that Snitker said it’s too soon for Kris Medlen to considered for a start.

In the meantime, however, it seems likely that Atlanta will add either an extra bench piece or an extra reliever, as Jaime Garcia, Mike Foltynewicz, R.A. Dickey and Julio Teheran are lined up to start on Tuesday through Friday. Colon’s slot in the rotation wouldn’t come up until Game 1 of Saturday’s twin bill.

NL East Notes: Colon, Raburn, Mets

By charliewilmoth | June 6, 2017 at 7:51am CDT

Bartolo Colon could lose his spot in the Braves’ rotation after an ugly start Monday, writes David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Colon, who turned 44 late last month, allowed eight earned runs against the Phillies yesterday and now sports a 6.99 ERA, 5.9 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 after signing a one-year, $12.5MM deal with Atlanta last offseason. “Haven’t made a decision yet about the next one. We’ll just see,” Braves manager Brian Snitker says of the possibility Colon could miss his next start. Colon says he would be willing to pitch out of the bullpen if necessary, though he has only made nine relief appearances in his 20-year big-league career. Here’s more from the NL East.

Ryan Raburn returned to the big leagues with the Nationals Monday after an exhausting day of travel, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes. Raburn bused from Rochester to Pawtucket with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs Sunday, then received news that the Nats were promoting him to the Majors. He then took a cab to Boston to catch a flight to join the team in Los Angeles. The Nats acquired Raburn from the White Sox in a minor deal late last month, and a spot opened quickly for him after Jayson Werth injured his foot. “We’re left-handed strong off the bench. So we needed some right-handed production,” says manager Dusty Baker. “He was the perfect guy for us. He kind of fell in our lap.” Raburn struggled with Colorado in 2016, but had a good run in Triple-A this season leading up to his promotion, batting .274/.389/.443 in 131 plate appearances.
Jay Bruce and Neil Walker are eligible for free agency after the season but have interest in coming back to the Mets, Newsday’s Steven Marcus writes. Walker, though, acknowledges the possibility he could depart after extension talks fell through in the spring. “I’m going to have hopefully a lot of options. We’ll see,” he says. “We obviously almost got something done here in spring training and that didn’t happen. I’m not disappointed in the team, but I’m disappointed kind of in the process of things. I guess that’s business.” Last month, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported Walker and the Mets were unlikely to discuss an extension again before the second baseman became eligible for free agency. Walker is in the midst of a characteristically solid .263/.332/.449 season thus far.

NL East Links: Kemp, Cespedes, Mets, Glover, Baker, Phillies

By Mark Polishuk | June 3, 2017 at 12:33pm CDT

Matt Kemp has been such a boost to the Braves lineup that Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution doesn’t see the team shopping Kemp as a deadline trade chip. Kemp is 32, is a limited defensive outfielder and has a hefty remaining salary owed through the 2019 season, yet Bradley feels the veteran has made himself a near-indispensable part of the roster. Kemp has been outstanding since joining the Braves last season, including a .345/.381/.608 slash line and 10 homers in 181 PA this year. Bradley also notes that Freddie Freeman’s production improved with Kemp hitting behind him, which gives Kemp even more value.

Some notes from around the NL East…

Mets GM Sandy Alderson said there wasn’t any new updates on Yoenis Cespedes’ DL situation, which leads the New York Post’s Adam Rubin to doubt whether Cespedes will be able to return to action this week. Cespedes’ rehab stint for a hamstring injury was interrupted by some soreness in his long bothersome right quad muscle, and he has yet to resume full running, though he has been jogging. Alderson had previously said that Cespedes could potentially return for DH duty when the Mets are in Texas for an interleague series with the Rangers this week, though that timeline seems tenuous at this point.
Also from Rubin, he reports that the Mets “aren’t likely” to go after relievers Bobby Parnell and Ernesto Frieri. The two right-handers recently opted out of minor league deals (Parnell with the Royals, Frieri with the Yankees) and are now free agents. Parnell, of course, has a notable history with the Mets, pitching for the club from 2008-15 and serving as the team’s closer in 2013.
Though rookie Koda Glover has looked excellent as the Nationals’ closer, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post argues that the Nats should still pursue an experienced ninth-inning man before the trade deadline. Glover is still an unproven commodity with some durability questions and the Nationals’ bullpen is lacking in overall depth, plus Glover could still excel as a setup man down the stretch.
The Nationals’ pen is also one of many topics covered in a reader mailbag piece from Jorge Castillo and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, with Castillo feeling that the Nats will indeed obtain a reliever at the deadline. It may not necessarily be a big-name closer, however, given how Glover continues to perform over the next two months.
From that same mailbag item, Janes writes that there don’t appear to be any extension talks between Dusty Baker and the Nationals, though that could be a function of ownership’s stance against making lengthy commitments to managers. It seems that both sides want to continue the relationship and all signs point towards Baker returning in 2018 (assuming the Nats continue to win, of course), though Janes notes that the team will have to pay market price for Baker given the success the Nationals have enjoyed in his tenure.
Despite the Phillies’ struggles, GM Matt Klentak reiterated to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki and other media that the team hasn’t altered its approach to promoting its top minor league position players. The likes of J.P. Crawford, Roman Quinn, Rhys Hoskins and others at Triple-A could provide the Phils with a boost or at least give the youngsters some experience at the big league level as part of the team’s overall rebuilding process. The Phillies aren’t going to promote their prospects, however, until there is a clear opportunity for regular playing time and until each player is fully prepared for the majors. “To expose players to the big league level before they’re ready isn’t doing them any favors, nor is it doing the organization any favors. We have to constantly balance that,” Klentak said.

Braves Designate Emilio Bonifacio

By Jeff Todd | June 2, 2017 at 1:46pm CDT

The Braves have designated utilityman Emilio Bonifacio for assignment, per a club announcement. The club also optioned infielder Jace Peterson and righty Matt Wisler to Triple-A.

Those moves opened three active roster spots for Atlanta. Southpaw Eric O’Flaherty and third baseman Adonis Garcia will come back from rehab stints to rejoin the club. Also, infielder Johan Camargo was recalled.

[RELATED: Updated Braves Depth Chart]

It’s not surprising to see Atlanta move on from Bonifacio. The versatile 32-year-old has only seen 44 plate appearances in his 38 games of action, all in the outfield, and owns an anemic .132/.150/.211 batting line.

Neither Peterson nor Wisler were performing well, either, though in those cases there are longer-term implications. The 27-year-old Peterson had turned in a solid 2016 campaign, but is slashing just .194/.293/.259 through 123 trips to the plate this season. Wisler, 24, has struggled in the bullpen after spending the bulk of his career as a starter. He has permitted seven earned runs through nine innings with just three strikeouts against three walks.

The Atlanta organization, which sits seven games under .500 entering today’s action, will hope for more from its trio of new roster additions. But none have performed very well in the early going. In fact, their current-season lines are near matches for the scuffling players they’ll replace.

The veteran O’Flaherty owns an ugly 6.59 ERA in 13 2/3 innings, with nine strikeouts and six walks on the ledger. Garcia entered the year as the regular third baseman but is hitting just .237/.278/.348 in 144 plate appearances. And Camargo, a first-year player who isn’t regarded as a future regular, has reached base only twice in his 11 appearances at the dish — though he has hit quite well at Triple-A.

NL East Notes: Fernandez, Phillies, Medlen, Braves

By Jeff Todd | June 1, 2017 at 9:58am CDT

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details the efforts by Major League Baseball and the Marlins to set up a fund for the infant daughter of deceased star Jose Fernandez. As Jackson explains, the money appears to have flowed from an insurance company to the league, then on to the team and into a trust for her benefit. Those interested in the specifics should read the exhaustively reported piece.

Here’s more from the NL East:

Phillies GM Matt Klentak sat down for an interesting chat with Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, which you can watch or read about right here. It’s certainly worth a full look for Phils’ fans, as Klentak discusses the team’s woeful performance in May. He emphasized a need to remain patient and keep the focus on the future, but acknowledged the disappointment. As for two particularly important players, Klentak says the team wants to let them work things out at the major league level. There are “reasons to believe” that Maikel Franco will bust out of his slump, he says, and the organization is “committed to giving Maikel more time to get out of this.” And center fielder Odubel Herrera is still a valuable contributor in the field, Klentak notes, explaining that his struggles at the plate may be due to the fact that he is currently “not taking pitches as well as he used to.”
Righty Kris Medlen is still working on a comeback attempt with the Braves, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Medlen has moved up to the Double-A level and says he feels good physically after dealing with a host of arm problems and redeveloping his mechanics to compensate. The 31-year-old has allowed six earned runs on 16 hits while striking out ten batters and issuing six walks over 15 2/3 total innings through three starts. He last turned in a full and productive MLB season back in 2013 with the Braves.
Of more immediate concern to the Braves, the current big league club is struggling with its glovework, as O’Brien also reports. Even putting aside one horrific inning on Tuesday, Atlanta has allowed a ton of unearned runs. Metrics are split on the overall performance of the Braves fielders: UZR grades them rather well in spite of the miscues, while Defensive Runs Saved values the unit in the bottom ten leaguewide. Young shortstop Dansby Swanson has already racked up 11 errors, though both grading systems still see him as an average performer at short.

9 Budget Free Agent Hitters Off To Strong Starts

By Jeff Todd | May 31, 2017 at 12:33pm CDT

Mining the free agent ranks for good value remains an art, with the potential for rather significant rewards. While it’s unusual for a team to find a true gem — think Justin Turner — there is quite a lot of potential for adding impact in part-time roles.

We already looked at some minor-league signees who have impacted their organizations’ bullpens. Now, let’s check in on some hitters who signed for little but have been rather useful through about two months of action:

Alexi Amarista, INF, Rockies — The 28-year-old has helped cover for the injured Trevor Story, and he’s doing more than just keeping the team afloat. Through 69 trips to the plate, he’s hitting .338/.348/.515. There’s obviously quite a lot of room for regression baked in — Amarista has drawn just one walk and carries a .412 BABIP — but he’s been a big help for the emerging Rockies team at the meager cost of $1.25MM.
Daniel Descalso, INF, Diamondbacks — After Colorado let the utilityman go over the winter, Descalso landed only $1.5MM despite a solid 2016 season. That has worked out just fine for Arizona, which has received 92 plate appearances of .218/.337/.410 hitting from the veteran, who is walking at a 13.0% clip and succeeding despite a .250 BABIP.
Chris Iannetta, C, Diamondbacks — Also earning a meager $1.5MM, Iannetta has helped the DBacks feel better about the decision to allow Welington Castillo to walk. Though the typically patient Iannetta is walking at about half of his career rate, he’s driving the ball like never before. Over eighty plate appearances, Iannetta has smacked six long balls and owns a .288 isolated slugging mark.
Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Dodgers — Taking home a modest $2.6MM salary, Gutierrez has been quite productive when healthy. While Los Angeles will only ask him to play a limited role, the team will be thrilled if he can keep producing at a .257/.350/.429 rate the rest of the way.
Austin Jackson, OF, Indians — After settling for a minor-league deal over the winter, Jackson came with low expectations. But he made the Opening Day roster and owns a .273/.327/.523 batting line that points back to his days as one of the game’s more promising young players.
Adam Lind, 1B, Nationals — Lind languished on the market along with a variety of other sluggers, eventually scoring just $1.5MM to function as a lefty complement to Ryan Zimmerman at first base. While the Nats have received plenty of production from Zimmerman, the team is also enjoying Lind’s robust output off the bench. He owns a .340/.400/.604 slash over sixty plate appearances, with as many walks as strikeouts (10.0% apiece).
Mark Reynolds, 1B, Rockies — Expected to land on the bench after returning to Colorado on a minors deal, Reynolds was thrown into a more significant role when Ian Desmond opened the year on the DL. He has responded with outstanding production: .313/.388/.555 with 13 home runs in 206 plate appearances.
Kurt Suzuki, C, Braves — At just $1.5MM, Suzuki has been quite the bargain. He’s outhitting most of the league’s catchers in his 88 plate appearances, with a .257/.379/.457 slash. Interestingly, Suzuki is walking 11.4% of the time — nearly double his typical levels — while also hitting for good power (.200 ISO).
Chase Utley, INF, Dodgers — The former star took home just $2MM in exchange for his services this year, and seemed ready to take a smaller role on the Dodgers’ bench. After a slow start, though, he has begun to deliver. 125 plate appearances into the season, he’s batting .252/.347/.430 with three dingers and three steals — the type of production not seen since back in 2013, when he was still with the Phillies.

Braves Outright Josh Collmenter

By Jeff Todd | May 30, 2017 at 5:07pm CDT

We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post:

The Braves announced that righty Josh Collmenter was outrighted to Triple-A. He had been designated for assignment after a dreadful recent outing. On the year, the soft-tossing 31-year-old has allowed 17 earned runs in as many innings, due in large part to permitting way too many home runs (22.6% HR/FB, 3.71 HR/9). On the positive side, he is averaging 9.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. The seven-year MLB veteran is playing on a $1.2MM contract this year, which he can keep in full even if he rejects the assignment since he has more than five years of MLB service to his credit.

NL Notes: Padres, Grichuk, Gsellman, Loney

By Steve Adams | May 30, 2017 at 9:11am CDT

In his latest Padres mailbag, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune runs down a number of trade-related topics, beginning with taking stock of the team’s top chips. Lefty Brad Hand’s name has already surfaced as an early trade candidate, and also calls infielder Yangervis Solarte perhaps the likeliest position player to be dealt by San Diego. Lin also notes that after absorbing significant money in the trades of James Shields, Matt Kemp, Melvin Upton and others, the team isn’t interested in taking on a bad contract as a means of coercing a trade partner to surrender young talent. Unsurprisingly, Lin goes on to note that the Padres remain on the hunt for a longer-term option at shortstop. Allen Cordoba has hit surprisingly well for a 21-year-old making the jump directly from Rookie ball, but Lin suggests that the Friars don’t yet feel he’s ready to be an everyday MLB shortstop based on a small sample of work at the plate (and an even smaller sample at short).

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