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Braves Willing To Overlook Adonis Garcia's Defensive Struggles

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The Yankees can either call up first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher from Triple-A or try to trade suspended closer Aroldis Chapman for a bat as a way to spark their offense, writes Barry A. Bloom of MLB.com. Of course, it’s debatable whether either action would present any kind of solution. Swisher – whom the Yankees signed to a minor league deal earlier this month – is raking in Triple-A (.381/.440/.571 in 25 plate appearances) and was a terrific major leaguer from 2005-13, including four seasons in pinstripes. However, more recently, he was among the majors’ worst regulars the previous two seasons, has dealt with knee problems, and was jettisoned by both the Indians and Braves. Although the Yankees’ Dellin Betances– and Andrew Miller-led bullpen has fared well without Chapman, who will return next month, it’s difficult to imagine a prospective contender dealing a legitimate offensive producer for less than a season of control over the flame-throwing lefty. Plus, despite the Yankees’ early RISP troubles (their .668 OPS with men in scoring position ranks 20th), their offense is still a solid 10th in the league in wRC+.

  • The Braves are willing to overlook third baseman Adonis Garcia’s defensive struggles because of his above-average offensive output, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. In 74 games dating back to last season, Garcia has hit a palatable .285/.318/472, though his .870 fielding percentage ranks last among major league third basemen who have accrued at least 120 chances going back to 1910, per Bowman. “He’s not a third baseman. He plays hitter,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Garcia. In fairness to Garcia, over a 345-inning sample size at third in 2015, he was only a bit below average by the standards of advanced metrics like defensive runs saved and ultimate zone rating.

Blair Could Make MLB Debut Sunday

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Top prospect Aaron Blair, acquired by the Braves in the Shelby Miller blockbuster, is a “strong possibility” to step into the Atlanta rotation on Sunday, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. While Mike Foltynewicz is another alternative, O’Brien notes that the start aligns better with Blair’s pitching schedule, and Blair has simply outperformed Foltynewicz this season. The primary reason to go with Foltynewicz over Blair would seemingly be to prevent Blair from gaining service time in an effort to avoid Super Two status, but manager Fredi Gonzalez tells O’Brien that such factors aren’t typically a concern for the organization. “I’ve been lucky, ever since I’ve been here that (delaying arbitration clock, avoiding Super Two) has never come out of anybody’s mouth,” said Gonzalez. Blair, 23, was the 36th overall pick in the 2013 draft and has allowed just three runs on 10 hits and five walks with 22 strikeouts through his first 19 innings at Triple-A this season. He rated comfortably among baseball’s top 100 prospects in the eyes of ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 39), Baseball Prospectus (No. 43) MLB.com (No. 54) and Baseball America (No. 60).

Foltynewicz, Blair Could Step Into Perez's Rotation Spot

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  • The Braves have optioned right-hander Williams Perez to Triple-A Gwinnett, and his rotation spot could be filled by either Mike Foltynewicz or Aaron Blair, writes MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Both right-handers have come over to the Braves in high-profile trades over the past 15 months, with Foltynewicz arriving by way of the Evan Gattis trade and Blair coming over from Arizona alongside Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte in the Shelby Miller blockbuster. Blair’s stock is currently higher after Foltynewicz struggled in his Braves debut last season, but Bowman notes that Atlanta could also elect to keep Blair in Triple-A to gain more experience and delay the start of service time/arbitration clock.

East Notes: Kelly, Ozuna, Harper, Inciarte, Sox

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Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly left tonight’s start in the first inning after walking two of the first four men he faced. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes, Kelly has been diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement, though little else beyond that point is known. Boston has already been without left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who had been expected to fill one of the spots at the back of the rotation but suffered a patellar subluxation during Spring Training. It remains to be seen if Kelly will require a DL stint, though it’s worth noting that Rodriguez is slated to throw 70 to 75 pitches in an extended Spring Training game this weekend, as Scott Lauber of ESPN Boston tweets, and he could progress to a rehab stint if all goes well in that outing.

More from Major League Baseball’s Eastern divisions…

  • Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna drew trade interest from the Reds, Indians, Mariners, Rangers and Orioles this offseason, reports Jim Bowden of ESPN in listing 10 players that stand out as change-of-scenery candidates. The Marlins sought big-league-ready starting pitching to insert into their rotation in any deal, though, and when no one offered up a pitcher that met their desires, the club instead turned to the free-agent market and signed left-hander Wei-Yin Chen to a five-year deal (with an opt-out clause). Bowden also notes that both manager Don Mattingly and hitting coach Barry Bonds were interested in holding onto Ozuna, believing that they could help him rebound to his 2014 levels.
  • Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post opines that the time is now for the Lerner family, who own the Nationals, to step up and make a record-setting extension offer to Bryce Harper. Boswell notes that in addition to proving himself on the field with last season’s dominant MVP campaign, Harper has proven to have matured as well, taking the initiative to bury the hatchet with Jonathan Papelbon even after Papelbon took the blame for last season’s dugout altercation with Harper. Boswell acknowledges that Harper and agent Scott Boras, of course, may not be amenable to a long-term deal. However, a “career contract” that shatters Giancarlo Stanton’s record $325MM pact with the Marlins could potentially grab his attention. The Post scribe adds that the Nats right now have about as much leverage as they’ll ever have, as Harper’s current MLB earnings are still relatively minimal, the club is contending and he’s nearly three full seasons from free agency.
  • The Braves could be without center fielder Ender Inciarte for another two weeks, writes David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Manager Fredi Gonzalez tells O’Brien that an “optimistic” timeline for Inciarte would be late April or early May, though Gonzalez says he’s not certain how much the club will push its newly acquired center fielder and lineup catalyst. Rookie Mallex Smith and veteran Drew Stubbs have been patrolling center field in Inciarte’s absence, though neither has hit much.
  • WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford spoke to Red Sox manager John Farrell about his working relationship with new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Farrell said that while he’s aware of some front offices that play a larger role in daily lineup decisions, Dombrowski isn’t involved at that level (nor did Alex Anthopoulos when Farrell managed in Toronto or Dombrowski’s predecessor, Ben Cherington, in Boston, he added). Farrell said that he doesn’t consider his relationship with Dombrowski to be drastically different than with his previous bosses, though he did note that his conversations with Dombrowski are in-person more often due to Dombrowski’s larger travel schedule.

Hector Olivera’s Administrative Leave Extended By Two Weeks

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Major League Baseball has extended the paid administrative leave period of Braves outfielder Hector Olivera by two weeks to allow further investigation of his arrest for alleged domestic violence, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). Olivera is facing charges in Virginia for misdemeanor assault and battery.

Olivera had been placed on the preliminary one-week leave period contemplated under the domestic violence policy by commissioner Rob Manfred, which was due to expire tomorrow. Rosenthal says that the policy contemplates extension of that time, with the union agreeing to the two week period in this case.

Manfred has issued decisions on two matters that arose under the domestic violence policy since its inception, handing Aroldis Chapman a 30-game suspension and finding no cause for discipline relating to Yasiel Puig. But he has yet to act on the recently-arising Olivera matter or the late 2015 arrest of Jose Reyes. The Rockies infielder has been on paid administrative leave since the start of spring camp, and his status remains in limbo — despite the fact that charges against him were dropped at the end of March because the alleged victim (his wife) declined to cooperate.

It bears stressing that neither conviction nor criminal charges are necessary for a violation of the policy to be found to have occurred; indeed, neither took place in Chapman’s case. The commissioner is vested with broad powers to investigate and punish offenders.

Braves Get Good Initial Returns From Max Fried

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  • Young Braves lefty Max Fried is showing promise in his return from Tommy John surgery, Carroll Rogers Walton of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The 22-year-old was a highly-regarded prospect before running into elbow troubles, and remains a high-upside arm for an Atlanta organization that is full of them. He came over in the Justin Upton trade, but has only just returned to action. Fried was not only the high school teammate of Lucas Giolito — who is now the top-rated pitching prospect in baseball — but ended up being taken higher in the 2012 draft when the Nationals’ right-hander fell due to his own elbow troubles.

Coppolella Suggests Winning Takes Time

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  • It’s been a rough season so far for the Braves, who only won their first game yesterday. But GM John Coppolella isn’t making excuses for his team’s poor start in an interview with MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Coppolella points out that many teams that have enjoyed recent success went through tough times before emerging as winning teams. “I’m sure the fans of the Royals, Pirates, Cubs, Astros and Mets were frustrated a few years ago,” says Coppolella. “It took Kansas City nine years to reach the playoffs, and the Royals started out 3-14 in 2012, but they stayed patient and were ultimately rewarded.”

Braves Outright Jose Ramirez

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  • Right-handed reliever Jose Ramirez has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 26-year-old Ramirez was designated for assignment earlier in the week by Atlanta after an ugly start to the season. The hard-throwing righty was acquired from the Mariners in a minor offseason trade that sent Ryne Harper to Seattle in return. In addition to a hard fastball, Ramirez is said to have a plus changeup which, during his time as a Yankees prospect, Baseball America called “at least a 60” on the 20-80 scouting scale. However, his minor league numbers have never lined up with his raw stuff, and Ramirez has also struggled to remain healthy as well. He’ll try to refine his control at the Triple-A level for the time being.

Braves Release Michael Bourn

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The Braves released Michael Bourn yesterday, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The veteran center fielder had previously been designated for assignment just prior to Opening Day, and the Braves were unable to find a trade partner for him during the 10-day DFA window.

The outcome shouldn’t come as a great surprise, as Atlanta reportedly sought out trade partners for Bourn throughout the offseason but were never able to find a taker for the declining veteran, who is slated to earn $15MM this year in the final season of a four-year, $48MM contract originally signed with Cleveland. Bourn provided some value in the first season of that deal, but recurring hamstring issues in the second and third year of the deal (as well as a neck issue last season) chipped away at his productivity and also led to prolonged stints on the disabled list in 2014. Bourn has batted a combined .247/.312/.322 in the past two seasons, and his stolen base numbers have declined as well — both in terms of raw accumulation and his success rate. After averaging 51 steals per season from 2008-12, Bourn stole a combined 50 bases in 377 games from 2013-15.

Bourn will now be free to sign with any team, and any club that adds him to the fold would only be responsible for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum, with the Braves and Indians picking up the bill for the remainder of his that $15MM figure he’s owed this season. The D-backs, who lost A.J. Pollock for a yet-undetermined amount of time due to a fractured elbow, have been linked to Bourn since he was designated for assignment, as have the Cardinals.

Hector Olivera Arrested In Domestic Dispute, Charged With Misdemeanor Assault

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4:09pm: Goldberg tweets that Olivera has been charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and battery.

11:50am: Goldberg tweets that Olivera will appear before a judge this afternoon between 3:00-4:00pm and is likely to be charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.

11:29am: The Braves have issued the following statement on the situation:

“We are extremely disappointed and troubled to learn of the allegations involving Hector Olivera. We will continue to gather information and will address this matter appropriately as we determine the facts. Major League Baseball has placed Oliver on Administrative Leave effective immediately.”

The Braves have recalled infielder Daniel Castro from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill Olivera’s spot on the roster.

10:18am: MLB has placed Olivera on administrative leave, and the commissioner’s office has begun to investigate his situation, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets.

9:50am: Braves outfielder Hector Olivera has been arrested in connection with a domestic dispute near Washington DC, Jeff Goldberg of ABC7 News writes. The Braves are in Washington playing a series against the Nationals. According to Goldberg, the victim dialed 911 early this morning and said she had been assaulted. She reportedly had bruises and was taken to the hospital. Olivera was arrested but has not yet been charged.

MLB has lately dealt with a number of high-profile domestic violence issues surrounding players like Aroldis Chapman and Jose Reyes. Olivera’s situation could end up adding another name to that list. Chapman received a 30-game suspension from the Commissioner’s Office despite not being arrested or have charges filed against him, so the situation with Olivera has the potential to lead to considerably stronger discipline.

Olivera signed with the Dodgers last year as a high-profile free agent from Cuba, receiving a $62.5MM contract that continues through 2020. The Dodgers sent him to Atlanta in a three-team trade last July. He is currently the Braves’ starting left fielder.

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