Braves Notes: Minter, Holmes, Gurriel
Braves reliever A.J. Minter underwent season-ending hip surgery today, the team announced. Manager Brian Snitker said last week that Minter was going under the knife, though he didn’t specify whether it’d be a season-ending procedure. That seemed to be the case when Atlanta moved Minter to the 60-day injured list in tandem with the Gio Urshela signing. Today’s announcement officially closes the book on any chance of the southpaw making a return in the playoffs.
Minter’s year concludes with a 2.62 ERA across 34 1/3 innings. He fanned an above-average 26.1% of opponents against an 8.2% walk rate. That’s a solid strikeout and walk profile but a tick below the numbers he’d posted from 2022-23. Minter fanned more than 30% of his opponents in each of the previous two years, topping 60 innings in both seasons.
Hip discomfort has plagued Minter for a few months. He initially went on the IL in late May with inflammation. His return from that injury proved relatively short-lived and necessitated the year-ending surgery. It’s possible that marks the end of his Atlanta tenure. The former second-round pick will hit free agency during the upcoming offseason. He still has a shot at a multi-year deal, though that’s not the lock it had seemed earlier in the season.
Dylan Lee stepped into the bullpen in Minter’s place. He’s joined in the relief group by Grant Holmes, who moved back to the bullpen this week. Snitker announced before Tuesday’s game that the Braves were kicking Holmes to relief after they reinstated Reynaldo López from the injured list (X link via David O’Brien of the Athletic). The 28-year-old rookie had made four starts between late July and the middle of this month. He pitched fairly well, working to a 4.57 ERA with an impressive 28% strikeout rate in 21 2/3 innings.
There’s not any room for Holmes to maintain a spot in the rotation unless the Braves wanted to go to a six-man staff. Chris Sale, Max Fried, López, Spencer Schwellenbach and Charlie Morton all have spots secured. Holmes exhausted his minor league options while he was a prospect in the Oakland farm system. The Braves can’t send him to Triple-A without running him through waivers. Holmes has pitched well enough this season that he’d very likely be claimed, so the Braves will keep him in a multi-inning relief capacity. Holmes tossed two scoreless innings against Philadelphia on Tuesday and is up to a 3.45 ERA through 47 frames on the season.
That doesn’t leave much flexibility for any kind of roster maneuvering. Of Atlanta’s eight MLB relievers, only Lee still has options remaining. Schwellenbach is their only starter who can freely be sent down, although he’s pitching so well that the team has no reason to consider doing that. The 13-pitcher limit could eventually push the Braves to make a call on whether to continue carrying both Luke Jackson and Jesse Chavez in the middle innings.
Injuries have been an unfortunate theme for Atlanta throughout the season. That continued this week with Austin Riley suffering a hand fracture that’ll sideline him for well over a month. Urshela is the short-term answer at third base, though the Braves seem to be considering a contingency option in the minors. As Francys Romero reported (on X) earlier this week, Atlanta is giving Yuli Gurriel third base playing time at Triple-A Gwinnett. He had played exclusively first or second base for the Stripers until Riley’s injury; he has started the past two games at the hot corner.
Gurriel signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in April. He’s having a very strong season with Gwinnett, hitting .297/.378/.493 with 12 homers and a strong strikeout and walk profile. That has yet to get him back to the majors after well below-average seasons with the Astros and Marlins in 2022-23. The 40-year-old infielder hasn’t started an MLB game at third base since 2019, instead spending almost all of his time at first base in recent years.
Braves Sign Gio Urshela
9:30am: The Braves formally announced the signing of Urshela. Riley has been placed on the 10-day IL to open a spot on the active roster, while lefty A.J. Minter — who underwent season-ending hip surgery recently — was moved to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot.
8:20am: The Braves and Urshela have agreed to a deal, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
7:50am: The Braves are nearing a major league deal with third baseman Gio Urshela, per a report from The New York Post’s Joel Sherman this morning. Urshela was recently designated for assignment and released by the Tigers, who’ll be on the hook for the remainder of his $1.5MM salary. The Braves will only owe Urshela the prorated league minimum for the time he spends on the big league roster or injured list. Urshela is a client of Rep 1 Baseball.
The news comes just one day after Braves third baseman Austin Riley was diagnosed with a hand fracture that is expected to sideline him for between six and eight weeks. If that timeline holds, it will leave him out of action for at least the remainder of the regular season and the early portions of the postseason, though it’s feasible he could return to the field if Atlanta makes a deep enough run into the playoffs.
With utilityman Whit Merrifield already covering for the injured Ozzie Albies at second base, that seemingly left the club to rely on top infield prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. and depth infielder Luke Williams to handle the hot corner down the stretch. With Urshela now in the fold, the club will add a veteran third baseman into the fold who could help raise the floor on their production at the position in Riley’s absence.
For Urshela, the deal represents an opportunity to get regular at-bats with a playoff contender down the stretch while also attempting to re-establish himself as a regular option following a disappointing stint in Detroit this year. Following a 2023 season where he was limited to just 62 games by a season-ending pelvic fracture, Urshela hit free agency and signed a one-year deal worth just $1.5MM with the Tigers back in February. At the time, it seemed to be a bargain for a player who had been a steady regular at third base for several years. It quickly turned sour, however, as Urshela delivered his worst season since establishing himself as a regular with the Yankees back in 2019.
The 32-year-old hit just .243/.286/.333 (73 wRC+) in 325 trips to the plate with the Tigers while splitting time between the infield corners. Defensive metrics are extremely mixed on Urshela’s defense at third, as the veteran has accumulated -17 Outs Above Average at the position since becoming a regular back in 2019. Brutal as that figure may seem, Defensive Runs Saved actually has Urshela as a plus defender at the hot corner over that same timeframe with a +4 figure overall. Still, even the most favorable views of Urshela’s defense leave it difficult to justify him as an everyday option if his hitting numbers remain where they were in Detroit.
Fortunately, there’s some reasons for optimism regarding the veteran’s future. His track record over the past half decade speaks for itself, as he entered the 2024 season as a solid .291/.335/.452 (115 wRC+) hitter since his 2019 breakout with New York. That’s the 16th-best figure among all qualified third baseman over that time frame. What’s more, Urshela’s .271 BABIP is by far the lowest of his career; he entered the 2024 season with a career .319 BABIP that had jumped to .334 since his breakout in 2019.
A return to form in that regard could help Urshela put up numbers closer to league average offensively. His batted ball data also suggests he’s in line for some positive regression. The 32-year-old’s .271 wOBA is a far cry from his .305 xwOBA, a figure that (while still below average) would put him roughly in line with his more palatable 2021 and 2023 seasons, where his offensive output was around 3% and 8% worse than league average (by wRC+). Even that level of production would make Urshela a solid fill-in at the hot corner for Atlanta, particularly if the club doesn’t want to push Alvarez into an everyday big league role in the middle of a pennant race at just 21 years old.
Austin Riley Diagnosed With Fractured Hand
The Braves announced Monday that Austin Riley has been diagnosed with a fractured right hand that will sideline him for six to eight weeks. With just under six weeks remaining on the regular season schedule, it could very well prove to be a season-ending injury for the two-time All-Star. Riley was hit by a pitch in yesterday’s game, and while initial imaging was inconclusive, an MRI performed Monday revealed the fracture. Atlanta will presumably make a corresponding roster move to place Riley on the injured list and bring up another infielder (e.g. Nacho Alvarez Jr.).
Atlanta also announced that right-hander Reynaldo Lopez has been reinstated from the injured list, with right-hander Jimmy Herget being optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett in his place. He’s been out since Aug. 2 due to inflammation in his right forearm.
The loss of Riley is another crushing blow for a Braves club that has been hammered by major injuries all season. Even on Opening Day, Atlanta lost catcher Sean Murphy to an oblique strain that ultimately cost him about two months of the season. That set the tone for a 2024 campaign that has seen Spencer Strider (torn UCL and internal brace surgery), Ronald Acuna Jr. (torn ACL), Ozzie Albies (fractured wrist), A.J. Minter (hip surgery) and Michael Harris II (Grade 2 hamstring strain) all endure considerable, if not season-ending injuries.
Riley, 27, hasn’t been at his best all season but has, until now, been in the lineup nearly every day. He’s also picked up the pace considerably since a dreadful start to the season. Riley lugged an awful .228/.295/.353 slash into the month of June … and has since erupted with a .275/.339/.531 that falls right in line with his career averages. In a lineup that’s frequently been without some of its best hitters, he’s been a constant alongside designated hitter Marcell Ozuna. Now, it’s very possible that Riley’s 2024 season will draw to a close with 110 games played — although the specific wording of the team’s announcement leaves the door cracked for Riley to perhaps play a few games late in September if he heals more quickly than expected and the Braves are still in Wild Card contention.
In some ways, the fact that the Braves are even still in possession of a Wild Card spot is remarkable. Strider pitched in just two games and yielded seven runs in nine innings prior to landing on the shelf with what became a season-ending ligament injury. Acuna played in only 49 games. Acuna, Albies (90), Harris (72) and Murphy (50) have all played in fewer than 100 of the Braves’ 124 games this season.
While the Braves have had exceedingly poor injury luck, they’ve also had several things go right. Atlanta has improbably gotten not only a healthy season out of Chris Sale but a vintage, Cy Young-caliber showing out of the 35-year-old lefty, who’s thrown just 10 fewer innings this season than he did in the entire four-year period preceding the 2024 season. Right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach has debuted and outpaced expectations. Reynaldo Lopez has improbably gone from reliever to Cy Young-caliber results himself.
Still, the loss of Riley is a gut-punch, particularly given how well he’d been hitting since the calendar flipped to June. The top of the Braves’ order will now need to rely on the aforementioned Ozuna, deadline pickup Jorge Soler and a trio of stars who’ve struggled through down seasons: Harris, Murphy and Matt Olson. Atlanta has gotten solid production out of some bargain-bin pickups like Ramon Laureano and Whit Merrifield, but the offense they’re trotting out on a nightly basis moving forward won’t resemble the powerhouse lineup they were expected to field this season.
Riley will likely be replaced by some combination of Alvarez and Luke Williams, neither of whom has looked comfortable against big league pitching this season. Alvarez, the organization’s top position-player prospect, still has just 38 games of Triple-A experience. He’s hit well there, but the 21-year-old went 3-for-30 in his first taste of the majors earlier in the summer and likely still needs some additional development time. He’d never played above A-ball prior to 2024. Williams is 2-for-17 in the majors this season. The 28-year-old journeyman has seen action in parts of four big league campaigns and is a .218/.277/.284 hitter in 283 trips to the plate.
At seven games back and now down another star player, Atlanta doesn’t have much of a path to overtaking the Phillies for the NL East crown. The Braves currently hold the final NL Wild Card spot but are only two games up on the division-rival Mets and four games up on the Giants. The Cardinals, Cubs and Reds are all within six games of that final postseason slot as well.
Braves Notes: Riley, Lopez
Initial x-rays and a CT scan on Austin Riley‘s right wrist and hand were “inconclusive” after the third baseman was hit by a Jack Kochanowicz pitch in today’s game with the Angels, Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Riley will undergo an MRI tomorrow during the Braves’ off-day, as Snitker said the team’s own medical staff wants to fully explore Riley’s status.
It could be viewed as an ominous sign that the first set of tests didn’t definitively say whether or not Riley had suffered a break or a fracture, but it also stands to reason that the club would want to be as careful as possible with one of its star players. Since we’re in the middle of August, a more serious type of injury could end Riley’s season entirely, including both the regular season and whatever postseason run the Braves might yet enjoy.
Just getting to the playoffs has been a lot more difficult than expected for Atlanta, as injuries and an unexpectedly average offense have contributed to a lot of inconsistency. The Braves are still 66-58 and in possession of the final NL wild card slot, but they hold only a two-game lead over the Mets for that wild card berth, and the Phillies remain seven games ahead of Atlanta in the NL East race. After bursting out of the gates to an 18-6 record in their first 24 games, the Braves have since posted a sub-.500 record (48-52) while weathering season-ending injuries to such stars as Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider. The rest of Ozzie Albies‘ 2024 campaign is also in jeopardy due to a fractured wrist, and both Jorge Soler and Travis d’Arnaud have been out of the lineup in recent days.
Riley also missed close to two weeks earlier this season due to an intercostal strain, though the Braves made the curious decision to not actually place him on the 10-day IL during that stretch, leaving the team short-handed for an extended period of time. The injury contributed to a very slow start to the season for Riley, but his bat has come to life as the season has gone on, with 16 home runs and .275/.337/.531 slash line over his last 285 plate appearances.
Obviously there’s no easy way for the Braves to replace such All-Star levels of production if Riley is facing a lengthy IL stint, and it’ll be even trickier to fill Riley’s spot at third base now that the trade deadline has passed. Luke Williams took over at the hot corner today, and such veterans as Leury Garcia and Zack Short are at Triple-A as additional depth.
As uncertain as Riley’s situation may be, some injury relief is on the horizon for the rotation, as Reynaldo Lopez was announced as the starter for Atlanta’s game on Tuesday, when the Braves start an important series against the Phillies. Lopez will return after missing just slightly beyond the 15-day minimum after he was placed on the IL due to forearm inflammation on August 2.
Lopez’s start on July 28 was cut short by his injury, but tests revealed no structural damage. While even less-serious types of forearm problems can linger, Lopez looks like he has been able to recover in pretty short order, and he got up to 71 pitches in a Triple-A rehab outing last Tuesday.
Signed to a three-year, $30MM free agent deal last winter, Lopez has excelled in his return to starting pitching. Though he has worked almost exclusively as a reliever during the 2022-23 seasons with the White Sox, Angels, and Guardians, Lopez has posted a 2.06 ERA over 104 2/3 innings for Atlanta this season. Between Lopez, Cy Young Award candidate Chris Sale, and solid performances from Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and rookie Spencer Schwellenbach, the Braves have limited the damage after Strider was lost for the year.
Braves Outright Parker Dunshee
August 16: Dunshee went unclaimed on waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett, tweets David O’Brien of the Athletic. Since this is his first career outright, he’ll remain in the organization without carrying a 40-man roster spot. The Wake Forest product has the necessary minor league time to become a free agent in the offseason unless the Braves reselect his contract.
August 14: The Braves announced today that outfielder Michael Harris II has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, as was expected. Outfielder Eli White was optioned to Triple-A to open an active roster spot while right-hander Parker Dunshee was designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man move.
Dunshee, 29, just had his contract selected last week, his first time on a big league roster in his career. In Thursday’s game, Charlie Morton had a rough outing, allowing eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Dunshee was sent in for some mop-up duty and ate up 2 1/3 innings but allowed five earned runs in the process. He was optioned to the minors the next day, meaning he’s currently sitting on an unsightly 19.29 earned run average in his very brief MLB career.
The trade deadline has now passed, so Atlanta will be putting Dunshee on waivers at some point in the coming days. Perhaps some club will be intrigued by his solid results in recent years, major league debut notwithstanding. Dating back to the start of 2023, he has thrown 112 minor league innings with a 2.81 ERA. His 10.3% walk rate in that time is a bit on the high side but he has struck out 29.4% of batters faced. He has a full slate of options and essentially no service time.
He was drafted by Oakland and was a somewhat notable starting pitching prospect a few years ago but his results tailed off as he hit the upper levels of the minors. He’s been in more of a relief role recently which seems to have led to better numbers and could perhaps lead to an upcoming waiver claim.
Atlanta will be hoping that the return of Harris is the spark that incites a turnaround. They have been dropping in the standings throughout the summer and are currently 63-56. That puts them four games back of the Padres and Diamondbacks, who are tied for the top two Wild Card spots in the National League. Atlanta still has the final spot but the Mets are just two games back and there are several other clubs within striking distance.
Much of Atlanta’s struggles have been related to injuries. Ronald Acuña Jr. is out for the year after yet another ACL tear, this time in his left knee. Ozzie Albies has been out of action for about a month due to a left wrist fracture and Harris has missed two months due to a strained left hamstring. That’s on top of several notable injuries to the pitching staff.
All that has led the club to turn to veteran fill-ins like Whit Merrifield, Ramón Laureano, Eddie Rosario and Adam Duvall. The first two have been passable this year but the other two have struggled significantly. Rosario has already been released but Duvall is still clinging to his roster spot despite a .178/.240/.315 batting line. Among big league players with at least 300 plate appearances this year, the only one with a worse wRC+ than Duvall’s 53 is Rosario.
Though Duvall is still holding onto his roster spot, Harris should be able to upgrade the team simply by taking his playing time. Before landing on the IL, Harris was himself struggling, having hit .250/.295/.358 for a wRC+ of 80. But he was hitting .295/.334/.494 for a 124 wRC+ coming into the year and even the slumping version of Harris would still be far stronger than Duvall’s season so far.
MLBTR Podcast: The White Sox Fire Their Manager, Víctor Robles Extended, And The Marlins’ Front Office
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
We had some technical difficulties during this recording, so the audio is of a lower quality than usual. Apologies for that, but the source has been discovered and everything will be back to normal next week. This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- White Sox fire manager Pedro Grifol and three coaches (1:10)
- Víctor Robles and the Mariners signed an extension (6:40)
- Dodgers move Mookie Betts back to right field and Amed Rosario is designated for assignment (12:15)
- Left-hander Jesus Luzardo won’t return to the Marlins this year and the club is getting rid of several front office members (17:20)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Will Camilo Doval pitch again this season (or ever) for the Giants? (25:10)
- What ever happened to Archie Bradley this season? (29:20)
- Well, if your offense stops failing you, let the pitching failures take the spotlight! As a Braves fan, I am feeling quite trampled after all the high expectations that this season came with. Should I forget any postseason hopes? (31:00)
Check out our past episodes!
- Fallout From The Trade Deadline And Mike Trout Injured Again – listen here
- Trade Deadline Recap – listen here
- Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
A.J. Minter To Undergo Hip Surgery
Braves reliever A.J. Minter is headed for surgery to address a left hip issue, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Snitker did not know whether the procedure will end Minter’s season, but that at least seems in question with less than two months to play.
Atlanta placed the southpaw on the 15-day injured list on Monday. It was the second time this year that a left hip problem had shelved him. Minter missed a month between the end of May and beginning of July. He pitched for six weeks before the injury required another shut down. Minter visited a specialist this week and that examination evidently revealed he’ll need to undergo surgery.
If this does conclude his season, it might also mark the end his tenure in Atlanta. Minter will be a free agent for the first time in his career next offseason. The Braves haven’t been afraid to invest in their bullpen, so perhaps they’ll make an effort to retain him. They already have Raisel Iglesias, Joe Jiménez, Pierce Johnson and (via affordable club option) Aaron Bummer under contract for next year. They’ll also need to make some decisions regarding their rotation and potentially look to upgrade on Orlando Arcia at shortstop.
A second-round pick in 2015, Minter has been one of the better setup options in the league over his career. He had a disastrous 2019 season but otherwise has allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine in every year. Minter has generally pitched in medium to high-leverage spots. He’s had another nice season when healthy, working to a 2.62 ERA across 34 1/3 frames. His 26.1% strikeout rate is down a bit from its 2022-23 level but remains a few points better than league average.
The Braves have Bummer and Dylan Lee as their two southpaws in the bullpen. Bummer has had a strong year after coming over from the White Sox in an offseason trade, striking out 28% of opponents with a 3.74 ERA. Lee has arguably been even better, working to a 1.96 mark while striking out nearly 27% of batters faced across 46 frames. That’s still a good duo, but losing Minter for the stretch run thins the middle innings mix at a time when Atlanta is clinging to a playoff spot. The Braves go into tonight’s matchup in San Francisco with a two-game cushion on the Mets for the final Wild Card position.
Braves Place A.J. Minter On Injured List
The Braves announced today that left-hander A.J. Minter has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left hip inflammation. Fellow lefty Dylan Lee has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move.
At this point, it’s unclear how serious Minter’s injury is or how long the club expects him to miss, but it’s perhaps noteworthy that this is his second IL stint for this issue this year. He landed on the IL due to left hip inflammation May 31, missing just over a month before being reinstated July 1. Per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Minter is still undergoing evaluation for his current status and the club isn’t sure if he’ll be able to return this season.
Despite the hip issue, he’s managed to post good results when on the mound, as he has thrown 34 1/3 innings with 2.62 earned runs allowed per nine. His 26.1% strikeout rate is a few ticks below his rate from the previous two seasons, but he’s also getting more ground balls.
There might be a bit of good luck in that ERA as he has a .222 batting average on balls in play and 94.2% strand rate, which are both on the fortunate side. But his 16.7% home run per fly ball ratio is essentially double his rate from the two preceding campaigns. FIP gives a pitcher blame/credit for home runs, so that metric has Minter at 4.46 this year, far worse than his ERA. But a metric like SIERA, which normalizes home run rate, is more kind and has Minter at 3.39. That’s still a noticeable gap from his ERA but it’s not far off from the 3.06 SIERA he had last year.
Regardless of how one feels about Minter’s stats this year, it’s a rough development for the Atlanta bullpen. The relief corps should still be in decent shape without him, as the club’s relievers have a collective 3.38 ERA on the year that trails only the Guardians and Brewers. But they’re in a place now where incremental differences might loom large. Their recent skid has dropped them to 61-56, barely clinging to the final National League Wild Card spot with the Mets just half a game back and several other teams within striking distance.
Manager Brian Snitker has been using Minter in key situations. Minter is second on the team in holds behind Joe Jiménez and his average leverage index is third behind Jiménez and closer Raisel Iglesias. Subtracting Minter will make it more challenging for Snitker to navigate the ends of tight games. Lee has strong numbers on the year, with a 2.00 ERA in 45 innings, but mostly in lower-leverage spots.
It also could be a rough development for Minter himself, as he’s an impending free agent. He has a strong career track record with a 3.28 ERA over his 384 appearances with a 29.3% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 39.9% ground ball rate. But he’s already had one IL stint of over a month this year and another lengthy absence could tamp down his offseason contract offers. He’ll celebrate his 31st birthday on September 2.
Eddie Rosario Elects Free Agency
TODAY: Rosario has turned down the outright assignment and elected to become a free agent, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes (X link).
AUGUST 10: Rosario has passed through waivers, and the Braves have outrighted him to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, according to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It is unclear if Rosario has accepted the assignment; the veteran outfielder has more than enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment without forfeiting any salary.
AUGUST 8: The Braves announced Thursday that outfielder Eddie Rosario has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to right-hander Parker Dunshee, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta also optioned lefty Dylan Dodd to Gwinnett and recalled outfielder Eli White.
The 2024 season has been the worst of the 32-year-old Rosario’s decade-long big league career. He’s split the season between the Nats and Braves, tallying 319 plate appearances in spite of a disastrous .175/.215/.316 batting line — including a .154/.181/.282 slash in 84 plate appearances since being released in Washington and signing in Atlanta.
Rosario, the 2021 NLCS MVP has been in a free-fall at the plate for the bulk of the past four seasons. While a well-timed surge following a trade from Cleveland to Atlanta in ’21 helped fuel the Braves’ World Series win that year and set the stage for a two-year deal to return to Atlanta, that contract didn’t pan out as hoped.
Rosario spent the 2022-23 seasons drawing regular playing time when healthy, but he managed only a .240/.289/.408 output at the plate in those two seasons. The Braves declined a $9MM club option over his 2024 season, and Rosario lingered on the free-agent market into March before signing a minor league deal with the Nationals. He returned to Atlanta on another minor league contract after being cut loose in D.C., but he hasn’t been able to recapture any of that late-’21 magic. With the trade deadline now passed, Rosario will be released within the next couple days.
As for the 29-year-old Dunshee, he’ll be making his big league debut after grinding through eight minor league seasons and twice becoming a minor league free agent. Originally selected with the Athletics’ seventh-round pick back in 2017, the Wake Forest product spent six-plus years in the A’s system before being released last April and signing a minor league deal with the Giants for the remainder of the 2023 campaign. He latched on with the Braves on another minor league pact this past January.
Dunshee will now get his first crack in the majors, and he’s more than earned it. Splitting the season between Double-A (14 2/3 innings) and Triple-A (32 1/3 innings), he’s worked to a combined 2.30 earned run average with a massive 33.7% strikeout rate against a 9.2% walk rate. Dunshee is a fly-ball pitcher who’s been fortunate this season in the sense that he hasn’t allowed any home runs. That level of home run suppression isn’t sustainable for any pitcher, but Dunshee’s strikeout and walk rates create plenty of intrigue on their own, even with some regression due on the home run front.
NL East Notes: Harris, Laureano, Reid-Foley, Núñez, Alcantara
Braves outfielder Michael Harris II went 3-for-4 with a home run yesterday, as the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers fell to the Memphis Redbirds 8-2. He is now batting .421 with a 1.079 OPS over five rehab games. The 2022 NL Rookie of the Year has been out with a hamstring injury since mid-June, but if his performance at Triple-A is any indication, he certainly seems ready to return to the majors. Unfortunately for Atlanta, he is not eligible to come back until Wednesday when his 60 days on the IL are up.
Harris was off to a slow start over his first 67 games (.653 OPS, 80 wRC+), but he has always been a strong defender in center field, and he was an impact bat in the lineup in each of his first two big league seasons. He will be an immediate defensive upgrade over Jarred Kelenic in center, and if he can get back on track at the plate, his lefty bat will be a nice boost for the lineup. The Braves rank 21st in MLB with a 95 wRC+ against right-handed pitching this season.
Getting Harris back will be especially beneficial for Atlanta if Ramón Laureano‘s heel continues to bother him. Laureano started in center field on Saturday but was removed from the game in the fourth inning with what the team described as “soreness in his right heel.” The outfielder appeared to hurt himself running out an infield single in the third, but he initially remained in the game. He came around to score on three consecutive walks. In the bottom of the third, he was involved in a misplay in shallow center field, in which four Braves defenders allowed a high pop-up to drop in between them for a double. It’s possible his sore heel caused him some trouble as he ran toward the ball. Laureano is batting .204 with a 75 wRC+ on the season, but he has looked much better since joining the Braves in mid-June, batting .269 with a 105 wRC+ over 26 games.
In further injury news from around the NL East…
- Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley, 28, is nearing his return to the Mets, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The reliever will make a multi-inning rehab appearance with Triple-A Syracuse today. It will be his sixth rehab outing. The Mets have not offered an exact timeline for Reid-Foley, but DiComo describes him as “very close” to a return. However, Tim Britton of The Athletic provides a slightly different update, suggesting Reid-Foley “needs some time” to build up to pitching multiple innings. Regardless of the precise timeline, he should be back before the end of the month. The righty has been out since mid-June with a shoulder impingement. Prior to his injury, he was enjoying a mini-breakout season, with a 1.66 ERA and 3.99 SIERA in 21 2/3 innings pitched.
- Reid-Foley isn’t the only 28-year-old right-handed reliever for the Mets nearing his return, as Dedniel Núñez will throw a bullpen session today (per Britton). Interestingly, Britton suggests that Núñez could make it back to the majors sooner than Reid-Foley. While Núñez is behind Reid-Foley in his rehab, Núñez has only been out since mid-July. He, too, has been enjoying a successful breakout season, with a 2.43 ERA and 2.23 SIERA in 33 1/3 innings pitched. The rookie was starting to pitch more high-leverage innings before suffering a forearm strain, and Britton says he will return to a late-inning role with the Mets.
- Lastly, Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara is making progress in his rehab from Tommy John surgery last October. He threw a sixth bullpen session on Saturday, reaching 75% intensity (per Isaac Azout of Fish On First). While the 2022 NL Cy Young winner will not pitch for Miami this season, he seems to making good progress toward a return next spring.