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Braves Release Edgar Santana

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The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve released reliever Edgar Santana. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for southpaw Tucker Davidson, who was added to the World Series roster in place of the injured Charlie Morton. Davidson had been on the 60-day injured list since late June. Players on the 60-day IL don’t count against a team’s 40-man roster, so Atlanta needed to open a 40-man spot to formally activate Davidson before tonight’s contest.

Santana has been on the injured list himself, landing on the 10-day IL with an intercostal strain during the final week of the regular season. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so the Braves had to release Santana to remove him from the 40-man roster.

The Braves acquired Santana from the Pirates in early April. He was optioned on and off the active roster a few times but ultimately logged 42 2/3 innings over 41 outings. The righty pitched to a solid 3.59 ERA, actually the highest mark he’s posted in three big league seasons. That came without many punch-outs, as Santana only fanned 18.9% of opponents and benefited from batters’ .244 batting average on balls in play against him. The 30-year-old did avoid walks and induce grounders at an above-average clip, though, and his 12.4% swinging strike rate checked in a touch above the league average for relievers.

Santana now finds himself on release waivers. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him to receive a salary around $1MM if tendered an arbitration contract. That’s not an onerous figure, so it’s at least possible someone puts in a claim with an eye towards keeping him around for 2022. Should Santana pass waivers through unclaimed, he’d be a free agent.

Tucker Davidson Replaces Charlie Morton On Braves’ World Series Roster

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After ace Charlie Morton sustained a fractured fibula during Game 1 of the World Series last night, the Braves have replaced him on their World Series roster with left-hander Tucker Davidson, per a league announcement.

Morton, 37, took a 102 mph Yuli Gurriel comebacker off the leg in last night’s game. The ball caromed over to first baseman Freddie Freeman, and Morton retired the next two hitters without issue. As Jeff Schultz of The Athletic writes, the Braves conducted X-rays between innings, which did not reveal a fracture, so Morton returned for the third inning. While the right-hander managed to strike out Jose Altuve, he was immediately visited by trainers after the following pitch and soon departed. A second set of X-rays then revealed a fracture.

Whether Morton had a fracture that was initially concealed by swelling or sustained the fracture during the Altuve at-bat, the end result is the same. Atlanta will be without its top starter and one of the best performers in recent postseason memory. It’s a tough loss to take, but the Braves hung on for a 6-2 victory in Game 1 and now find themselves just three wins from their first World Series title since 1995. The 25-year-old Davidson, who has just 21 2/3 innings of MLB experience, will be tasked with helping to realize that ultimate goal.

A 19th-round pick by Atlanta in 2016, Davidson has steadily improved his stock throughout his career and now ranks as one of the club’s more promising young arms. He tossed 20 innings over the life of four regular-season starts in 2021, notching a 4.15 ERA while striking out 18 of his 83 opponents (21.7%) against eight walks (9.6%). He was terrific in limited Triple-A action as well, logging a 1.17 ERA and a 28-to-5 K/BB ratio in 23 innings out of the Gwinnett rotation.

A forearm injury interrupted Davidson’s season and limited him to just those eight starts during the regular season. He’s pitched in just one game since mid-June, a three-inning effort with Gwinnett back on Oct. 3. It’s unlikely he’ll be counted upon for lengthy relief stints, then, but he’ll still give the Braves a fresh arm should the need arise. Of course, the Astros represent a tough task for any southpaw, as Houston batted .270/.339/.449 against lefties as a team this season — good for an MLB-best 117 wRC+.

With Morton now finished for the season, it remains to be seen how the Braves will shape their rotation moving forward. Max Fried was announced as the Game 2 starter yesterday, but Atlanta has yet to announce starters for Game 3 or Game 4. Ian Anderson will likely draw the ball in Game 3.

Huascar Ynoa might’ve been an option but was removed from their NLCS roster due to a shoulder injury. As such, he’s ruled out for World Series work. Drew Smyly spent much of the season in Atlanta’s rotation but worked in a bullpen capacity down the stretch. He worked 3 1/3 innings in his lone postseason appearance to date (and, again, would have a tough draw against the ’Stros as a lefty). Kyle Wright is on the postseason roster and threw seven innings in his final Triple-A start — but that was back on Oct. 2. He hasn’t pitched since. With only two clear rotation options remaining, it’s possible the Braves will simply turn to a series of all-hands-on-deck bullpen games when Fried and Anderson don’t draw the start.

Braves Announce World Series Roster

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The Braves announced the 26-man roster they’ll carry into their World Series showdown against the AL Champion Houston Astros. It’s largely the same as the roster they carried for their National League Championship Series against the Dodgers, albeit with a few minor changes. Outfielder Terrance Gore will take over a bench spot at the expense of utilityman Johan Camargo, while right-hander Kyle Wright will replace fellow righty Jacob Webb on the pitching staff.

Here’s how the entire roster breaks down…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Wright joins the postseason roster for the first this year as a replacement for Webb, who struggled mightily in the NLCS. Webb appeared in two games and faced 10 batters, yielding four runs on four hits (including a homer) and a walk. The 26-year-old Wright could give manager Brian Snitker a bit more length in relief, as he worked as a starter in Triple-A this season.

Wright hasn’t pitched since Oct. 2 but did fire seven shutout innings that day — the final outing of a season that saw him notch a 3.02 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 137 frames with Triple-A Gwinnett. Wright was unscored upon in his final three Triple-A appearances this season, rattling off 22 shutout innings with a 19-to-4 K/BB ratio. He tossed just 6 1/3 innings for Atlanta at the big league level in ’21, but the former No. 5 overall draft pick has tallied 70 innings with the Braves over the past four years.

Gore, one of the game’s fastest pure runners, will be used as a pinch-runner late in games and perhaps as a defensive replacement if needed. With Adrianza and Arcia both giving the Braves some coverage at virtually any infield position, Camargo’s versatility was dropped for Gore’s more specialized skill set.

Meanwhile, the Braves will have slugger Jorge Soler at their disposal for an entire series (barring injury) for the first time this October. Soler tested positive for Covid-19 just prior to Game 4 of the NLDS in Milwaukee and was subsequently off the roster for the first four games of NLCS play.

Poll: Astros/Braves, Who Wins The World Series?

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The Fall Classic is set to begin on Tuesday, with the Astros and Braves meeting in Game 1 of the World Series.  This is the first time these two clubs have met in the World Series, though they were pretty frequent postseason opponents back when the Astros were in the National League.  Between 1997 and 2005, Atlanta and Houston met five times in NLDS play, with the Braves coming out on top in three of those matchups.

The Braves are heading to the World Series for the tenth time in their history, and in search of their fourth championship.  While nothing will ever top the 1914 Miracle Braves as the franchise’s signature comeback story, the 2021 team isn’t that far off, considering how this year’s Braves were only 52-55 heading into action on August 3.  By this point, Atlanta had already lost Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mike Soroka to season-ending injuries, and Marcell Ozuna was away from the team (and soon to be put on administrative leave by the league) due to domestic violence charges.

However, the Braves were far from done.  An aggressive trade strategy saw outfielders Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler, and future NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario all added prior to the trade deadline, and Atlanta went 36-18 the rest of the way.  A lackluster NL East undoubtedly helped, but the Braves kept it going into October, defeating the Brewers in the NLDS and then ousting the defending champion Dodgers in the NLCS.  That last win was particularly sweet for Atlanta, considering the blown 3-1 lead against Los Angeles in the 2020 League Championship Series.

The Astros had a bit of an easier time of it in the regular season, battling with the A’s and Mariners for the AL West lead for much of the year but eventually pulling ahead in comfortable fashion.  Even without such familiar names as George Springer or Justin Verlander, Houston could still rely on several core members (i.e. Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel) of its last two pennant winners, plus a pitching staff that has been almost entirely overhauled since the Astros were last in the World Series in 2019.

This will be the fourth time the Astros have reached the Fall Classic, with Houston’s lone championship coming back in 2017.  As you might have heard, there was more than a little controversy attached to the Astros’ success in 2017, so it’s safe to say that another championship won’t erase the “buzzers and garbage cans” cloud that may hang over the franchise for some time to come.  Yet, that hardly matters to a group that has turned over a great number of its personnel since that 2017 season.  Dusty Baker, for instance, has been manager for just the last two years, and it’s hard to not feel some sentiment for the veteran skipper trying to win the first World Series of his long managerial career.

Who is your pick to win it all?  And, as an added bonus, how many games will be required?  (poll link for app users)

Braves Activate Jorge Soler

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Outfielder Jorge Soler has been cleared by the MLB Joint Health and Safety Committee to return to the Braves active roster, the club announced. He’s active for tonight’s NLCS Game 5, with Cristian Pache removed from the active roster in a corresponding move. Soler is not in the Braves’ starting lineup but will be available off the bench.

Soler had been ineligible since Game 4 of the Braves’ NLDS matchup with the Brewers, when he was removed from the team’s starting lineup only a few hours before first pitch. He was later confirmed to have received a positive COVID test and to have entered isolation. Defensive whiz Pache replaced him on the Braves’ roster for that series and was again designated as Soler’s replacement on their NLCS roster.

Still only two years removed from leading the AL with 48 home runs in 2019, Soler has experienced something of a renaissance since moving to the Braves at the trade deadline. After posting a measly .192/.288/.370 line across 94 games with the Royals, the 29-year-old regained his form with the bat, putting up a .269/.358/.524 triple-slash in 55 games as the Braves’ primary right fielder. He moved into the leadoff spot for the Braves in September and had remained there for the team’s first three games against the Brewers. Eddie Rosario and Dansby Swanson have served as the Braves’ leadoff hitter in Soler’s absence.

How Braves manager Brian Snitker plans to use Soler moving forward remains to be seen, though Snitker has described Soler as “ready to go” and as “a nice weapon off the bench” tonight (via Jeff Schultz of The Athletic). Indeed, his return clearly strengthens a bench that had been relying on light-hitting utilityman Ehire Adrianza as its top pinch-hitting option. Soler’s absence had actually solved something of a dilemma for Snitker; outfielders Rosario and Joc Pederson have both had wildly productive postseasons, and neither is considered a viable defensive alternative to Adam Duvall (the 2021 NL RBI champ) in center field.

Should the Braves advance to the World Series, Soler will likely be Snitker’s first choice at DH, his primary position in Kansas City. How the outfield would shake out for games played in Atlanta — or, indeed, for potential Games 6 and 7 against the Dodgers — remains very much an open question. Pederson had been the odd man out for the first three games of the Milwaukee series, while Rosario was left out of the starting lineup for Game 4. A glut of productive outfielders is, of course, an enviable problem for the Braves to face, but it does make Snitker’s job a bit more complicated.

Though the Braves managed to build their present 3-1 series lead over the Dodgers without him, Soler — alongside fellow mid-season additions Pederson, Rosario, and Duvall — played a major role in turning around what had appeared to be a lost season in Atlanta after losing Ronald Acuña Jr. to a torn ACL on July 10. With their fully remade outfield, the Braves went 37-20 after the deadline en route to securing their fourth consecutive NL East title.

Braves Remove Huascar Ynoa From NLCS Roster Due To Shoulder Injury

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Major League Baseball announced this afternoon that it has approved the Braves’ request to scratch right-hander Huascar Ynoa from the team’s roster for the NLCS against the Dodgers. Lefty reliever Dylan Lee has been added in his place.

Ynoa had been slated to open tonight’s bullpen game, but he was diagnosed with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. MLB must approve any injury-related substitution from a team’s playoff roster in the middle of a series, and the league quickly granted the Braves request to remove Ynoa in favor of Lee. Players scratched mid-series are ineligible to participate for the remainder of the current series, as well as the next series should the club advance. Ynoa is thus officially done for the season, as he’d be ineligible to return even if the Braves make the World Series. Jesse Chavez will open tonight instead.

This season, the 23-year-old Ynoa tossed 91 innings of 4.05 ERA ball, starting seventeen of his eighteen outings. He missed a couple months during the middle of the year after fracturing his hand when he punched the dugout after a bad start. It was surely frustrating for the Braves to lose one of their more promising starters for a while in that manner. Still, the team has to be impressed with Ynoa’s performance, as he posted solid strikeout (26.9%), walk (6.7%) and ground-ball (47.3%) rates.

Lee is a 27-year-old rookie who earned a late-season call with an elite showing at Triple-A Gwinnett. He only has two big league innings under his belt, but Lee tossed 46 2/3 frames of 1.54 ERA ball with the Stripers this year.

Ronald Acuna Jr. Discusses Injury Rehab

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It has now been over three months since Ronald Acuna Jr.’s season came to a tragic end. It was July 10th that the Atlanta superstar left the game after tearing his ACL while attempting to make a leaping catch on a Jazz Chisholm fly ball. Last night, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an interview with Acuna, the first time he has spoken to the media since that day. Through team interpreter Franco Garcia, Acuna spoke on various subjects related to the injury, the intervening months, as well as the future.

When asked about his current status, Acuna said he is “maybe 70%,” and then gave more details about the next steps. “I think the plan is to start jogging maybe around November and December. And you know, sort of just light activities like that, and then maybe around January or February start doing baseball activities. But that’s all (for) the trainers (to decide).”

When asked about whether he would be back in April or May, Acuna again deferred to the team’s medical staff. “If the trainers say May, then May. If the trainers say April, then April. So really, whatever the trainers and doctors and team medical staff say.”

A healthy Acuna would be great for baseball and the club next year, as he is one of the most talented players in the league. Before the injury, Acuna was in the midst of a fourth-consecutive excellent season that was on pace to be his best. Through 82 games, he hit 24 home runs and stole 17 bases, putting up a slash line of .283/.394/.596, for a wRC+ of 157 and 4.2 fWAR. As part of the extension he signed with the club in 2019, Acuna is under contract with Atlanta through 2026, with a pair of club options for 2027 and 2028.

After his injury, Atlanta made a series of trades to totally remake their outfield, acquiring Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler. Those four helped the club surge to an NL East title and into the NLCS, where they currently hold a 2-0 series lead over the Dodgers. However, three out of those four are heading into free agency in a few weeks, with Duvall the only one still under team control for 2022, meaning that Acuna’s status is incredibly important for the team’s plans going forward. (Pederson has a mutual option, which rarely ends up being exercised by both parties. Duvall also has a mutual option but can be retained via arbitration if the option is not picked up.) If the outlook continues along the trajectory Acuna laid out, it bodes very well for both the club and the sport.

Braves Add Chris Martin, Johan Camargo To NLCS Roster

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The Braves enter tonight’s NLCS a little more well-rested than their counterparts from LA. Having finished the Brewers off in four games, the Braves are able to set their rotation as desired with ace Max Fried taking the ball in game one. After that, Charlie Morton and Ian Anderson will be ready for games two and three, though not in that order, as the Braves are giving Morton an additional day of rest to start game three. That also allows Anderson the more favorable home crowd in game two.

On the offensive end, Jorge Soler remains on the COVID-19 list. He could return sometime during this series if he’s cleared, but they’d have to remove Cristian Pache, who took his roster spot in the NLDS, notes The Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). The rest of their NLCS roster lays out thusly…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Essentially, the Braves have chosen to swap out Dylan Lee and Terrance Gore in favor of Chris Martin and Johan Camargo. Pache also remains on the roster for the time being, with Soler expected to miss the entire series. The Braves are rolling with just a 12-man pitching staff while keeping six bats on the bench.

In Soler’s spot, Pache will likely be used as a defensive replacement. He could also be used as a pinch-runner now that Gore has been left off. Gore made his first appearance of the season for the Braves in the NLDS, though keeping the speedster on the roster is a bit of a luxury.

In his place, Camargo provides greater flexibility with the glove. Camargo saw his role diminish more than ever this season, stepping to the plate just 18 times without recording a hit during the regular season. The baseball gods surely have primed Camargo for a significant plate appearance at some point during the NLCS.

Lee was a surprising addition to the NLDS roster, and he did not appear against the Brewers. Martin brings much more experience in what’s sure to be a high-pressure series against the Dodgers. Without Lee, the Braves still have the M&Ms Matzek and Minter as southpaws ahead of their lefty closer Smith, as well as Smyly, though the latter is the most likely option to start game four in Los Angeles. Should Smyly come in handy out of the pen early in the series, Ynoa is certainly capable of starting game four in his place.

Yankees Have Options With Joey Gallo

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Joey Gallo has long been one of the most inconsistent stars in baseball. If you see him on the right day, he’s a surefire MVP, a towering power hitter with surprising range in the outfield. He looks like a designated hitter, but he can passably cover centerfield.

See him on the wrong day, however, and you’ll be surprised to hear that he ever makes contact (36.9 percent career strikeout rate). He can seem passive at the plate, and when you see his sub-Mendoza-line batting average come across your TV screen, you may wonder why he’s even in the lineup.

For 58 games, the Yankees got a much heavier dose of Gallo version two as he slashed .160/.303/.404 in 228 plate appearances with a 38.6 percent strikeout rate. He did hit 13 home runs with a .245 ISO, but Yankees fans might be wondering if he’s worth the $10.2MM he’s projected to make in his final season before free agency. Joel Sherman of the New York Post explores some trade possibilities for Gallo, should the Yankees look that way this winter.

It would be a tough turnaround to flip Gallo, as they almost certainly wouldn’t be able to get as much as they gave up to get him. Besides, the short porch in Yankee Stadium still offers a tantalizing advantage for Gallo over a full season. Had he played the entire year in New York, public sentiment might be different. For the year, Gallo posted 3.5 fWAR with a .199/.351/.458 line with 38 home runs and 90 RBIs. Though you might not love the shape of it, those are solid bottom-line numbers.

In all likelihood, the Yankees hold onto Gallo for the final season of his contract. Despite their relative health this season, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton still come with a lengthy injury history, and Gallo provides significant power/patience insurance for a lineup that faltered at times.

If they do want to move him, however, they could start with the clubs that explored a trade for him at the deadline. Sherman provides that list: the Rays, White Sox, Braves, Brewers, Giants, Padres, and Phillies. The list of teams would almost certainly grow if the Yankees put him out there this winter. There’s a deal out there for the Yankees if they want it, but Gallo version one might still be the guy the Yankees want and need in the middle of their order.

Poll: Who Will Advance To The World Series?

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Both League Championship Series are now set, following the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the Giants in Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Over the next week-plus, we’ll see the Astros (home field advantage) battle the Red Sox for the AL pennant while the Braves (home field advantage) take on the Dodgers for the NL crown.

All four teams are dealing with either uncertainty surrounding a key player. It’s still not clear whether the Astros will have Lance McCullers Jr. for the ALCS after he exited his last start against the White Sox due to forearm discomfort and underwent an MRI. On the other side of this matchup, Red Sox star third baseman Rafael Devers has been playing through a forearm injury that has impacted his swing but has yet to detract from his production.

The Braves, meanwhile, don’t know when or whether they’ll get slugger Jorge Soler back into the mix after he tested positive for Covid-19 just hours before their own Game 5 showdown against Milwaukee. The Dodgers have been without Max Muncy throughout the postseason, and both manager Dave Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman were deliberately vague when asked about him following last night’s win (Twitter links via Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times and Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).

With just four teams remaining in the field and a fresh pair of best-of-seven series set to kick off over the next two days, it seems like a good time to give MLBTR readers a chance to weigh in on who they’re taking in the ALCS and the NLCS (and perhaps an avenue to voice their thoughts on any, um… questionable… calls from last night’s game).

(link to poll for Trade Rumors iOS/Android app users)

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