Braves Defeat Austin Riley In Arbitration
The Braves have won their arbitration case over third baseman Austin Riley, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). He’ll earn the team’s $3.95MM filing figure in 2022; Riley’s camp had sought a $4.2MM salary.
Riley reached arbitration for the first time over the offseason as a Super Two player. He’ll be eligible three more times before first qualifying for free agency after the 2025 campaign. Arbitration salaries have a compounding effect based off previous years’ numbers, so the result means he’ll be working from a slightly lower baseline in future years than he would’ve had he won the hearing. In either event, the $250K gap in the two sides’ filing figures was minimal; even in the context of future raises, the result is unlikely to have much of an impact on the Braves’ spending habits.
The 25-year-old Riley is coming off a breakout 2021 campaign. After posting below-average numbers in each of his first two seasons, he hit .303/.367/.531 with 33 home runs and 107 runs batted in last year. Arbitration hearings spilled into the regular season because the lockout froze offseason business for more than three months, but the arbitrator’s decision was based off Riley’s 2019-21 body of work.
While it wasn’t relevant for this year’s hearing, Riley has gotten out to an excellent start in 2022. The raw rate stats (.237/.336/.482) look to be a fairly significant downturn relative to his previous numbers, but that’s only before accounting for the overall drop in league offense. By measure of wRC+, Riley’s early-season work has been 33 percentage points above this year’s league average output. That’s virtually identical to the 135 wRC+ he put up in 2021.
Health Notes: Gray, Murphy, Flaherty, Soroka
The Twins announced this morning that Sonny Gray has been activated from the injured list to start today’s game against the A’s, with Cole Sands optioned out in a corresponding move. Gray has been out of action since April 16, when he left a start in the second inning due to a right hamstring strain. Acquired from the Reds as the Twins’ biggest rotation pickup of the offseason, Gray has made just a pair of starts with his new club. Despite his three-week absence, Minnesota has gotten excellent production out of their starting staff thus far. Twins starters rank sixth in MLB in ERA (3.12) and eighth in strikeout/walk rate differential (17.1 percentage points). Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Chris Archer, Chris Paddack and highly-regarded prospect Josh Winder each have an ERA of 3.26 or lower; Dylan Bundy is currently on the COVID-19 injured list, but the Twins could have an interesting call on how the rotation should be comprised once Bundy returns.
Some other injury updates around the league:
- Mariners catcher Tom Murphy left last night’s game against the Rays after dislocating his shoulder on a tag attempt at home plate. After the game, skipper Scott Servais said Murphy will be out for a while (via Corey Brock of the Athletic). The team will presumably provide a more specific timetable in the coming days, but it’s all but certain he’ll head to the injured list before tonight’s contest. The M’s optioned Opening Day backstop Cal Raleigh to Triple-A last week, and it’s likely he’ll be recalled to pair with Luis Torrens behind the dish. Murphy had been off to an excellent start to the year, reaching base in 18 of his first 42 plate appearances.
- Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty is set to throw a bullpen session before tonight’s game against the Giants, tweets Katie Woo of the Athletic. She notes that it’s Flaherty’s first bullpen work since he was shut down from throwing in Spring Training due to shoulder bursitis. It’s obviously a notable step in the righty’s recovery timeline, but manager Oli Marmol cautioned the club was prepared for a “pretty lengthy (rehab) progression” and still doesn’t have a target date for his return. Flaherty missed a month last season because of a shoulder strain (in addition to a longer absence on account of an oblique issue), so it’s wholly unsurprising the team is proceeding with caution. St. Louis has managed an impressive 3.15 rotation ERA — albeit with more pedestrian peripherals — in the absence of arguably their top starter.
- Braves right-hander Mike Soroka hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since August 2020, the result of successive Achilles ruptures that have sidetracked a fantastic start to his young career. The most recent of his surgeries occurred last June and came with an estimated year-long recovery timeline, and he opened this season on the injured list. Soroka remains on track in his rehab, he and manager Brian Snitker informed reporters yesterday (via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Mark Bowman of MLB.com). The right-hander has thrown off a mound without issue around five times, and he’s soon to begin pitcher-fielding practice. The club is still hoping he can make it back to the majors shortly after the All-Star Break, and Toscano notes they’re not considering transitioning him to relief to expedite his return.
Braves Sign Hernan Perez To Minor League Deal
Last week, the Braves signed utilityman Hernán Pérez to a minor league contract. He has been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett, where he’s already made three appearances. Pérez had opened the 2022 season with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League, but he was granted his release to pursue the opportunity with Atlanta after three games.
Pérez, 31, has seen action in the majors in each of the past ten seasons. He debuted with the Tigers but logged the majority of his playing time as a fairly regular utility player with the Brewers between 2015-19. Pérez’s best season came in 2016, when he swiped 34 bases and hit 13 home runs over 430 plate appearances. His production has steadily ticked down in the years since then, however, and he’s seen only sporadic MLB time with the Cubs and Nationals over the last two years. He spent most of last season with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, hitting .273/.327/.418 in 58 games.
Even during his best days, Pérez made plenty of outs because of a very low walk rate, reflected in a .250/.280/.382 MLB slash line. For the bulk of his career, though, he’s shown solid bat-to-ball skills and plus baserunning ability. He’s also seen action at every position other than catcher, with the majority of his experience coming at third and second base. Public metrics haven’t liked Pérez’s work at shortstop or in center field, but he’s rated well in his time at second and at all four corner spots.
Atlanta’s starting infield of Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley is well-established. Orlando Arcia, a teammate of Pérez’s for a few years in Milwaukee, is the top utility option. Pérez joins Phil Gosselin and Pat Valaika as experienced, non-roster utility options with the Stripers.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/30/22
Today’s minor moves from around baseball…
- Alex Dickerson cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to the Braves‘ Triple-A affiliate. Dickerson was designated for assignment on Thursday, and as a veteran with more than five years of Major League service time, he had the right to reject an outright assignment to the minors. Instead, Dickerson has opted to remain in Atlanta’s organization and try to get on track in Gwinnett after a dismal start to the season — the outfielder has only four hits and a .407 OPS over his first 36 plate appearances. In making the big league roster, Dickerson locked in a $1MM guaranteed salary on the minor league contract he signed with Atlanta in March.
Braves Activate Ronald Acuna Jr., Designate Alex Dickerson
Ronald Acuna Jr. is back. The Braves announced this morning that they’ve reinstated their star outfielder from the 10-day injured list — the culmination of a nine-and-a-half-month rehabilitation process following an ACL tear sustained last July. It’s a bit of a surprise, as the Braves had been targeting a May 6 return according to manager Brian Snitker, though Snitker acknowledged at the time of that statement that the date was not set in stone. In a corresponding roster move, Atlanta has designated outfielder Alex Dickerson for assignment.
The 24-year-old Acuna is one of the game’s most dynamic talents and effectively has been since the moment he reached the Majors as a 21-year-old in 2018. Shaking off a rough couple of weeks to begin that original MLB promotion, Acuna went on an absolute tear and finished out the ’18 campaign as the near-unanimous Rookie of the Year winner, claiming 27 of 30 first-place votes (with two going to Juan Soto and one going to Walker Buehler).
Acuna slugged 26 homers and swiped 16 bases as a rookie, hitting at a .293/.366/.552 clip along the way. He’s kept that pace in the three seasons since that time, and will come off the injured list looking to build on a .281/.376/.549 career batting line and add to his already impressive total of 105 big league home runs (to say nothing of 78 doubles, seven triples and 78 steals).
While some fans may worry that Acuna is being rushed back to the big leagues, he certainly hasn’t shown any rust in his limited work with Triple-A Gwinnett so far. It’s only six games and 25 plate appearances, but Acuna is 7-for-19 with a double, six walks and three stolen bases (in three tries), which certainly paints the picture of someone whose major knee injury is firmly behind him. And, given that the Braves’ outfield is producing — or rather, failing to produce — at an alarming level, Atlanta brass has opted to proactively make a move to inject some life into the offense.
Marcell Ozuna has gotten out to a nice start in left field, hitting .257/.291/.486 with four homers and five doubles on the year. It’s a bit light in the OBP department, but the power production has generally offset Ozuna’s lack of walks. The rest of the Atlanta outfield, however, has been nothing short of a disaster. Adam Duvall is hitting .197/.250/.258 in 72 plate appearances. Eddie Rosario batted .068/.163/.091 in 49 plate appearances before undergoing an eye procedure that’ll sideline him for up to 12 weeks. Guillermo Heredia is hitting .158/.273/.368 in 22 plate appearances. The Braves have gotten some production in small samples from infielder-turned-utilityman Orlando Arcia and former prospect Travis Demeritte, but it’s clear that the current group wasn’t sufficient for a team with designs on defending a World Series championship.
Dickerson, at whose expense Acuna is returning, was also a notable culprit when it comes to the Braves’ general lack of offense. Signed late in spring to a one-year deal, he’s been used primarily as a designated hitter against right-handed pitching but has gone just 4-for-33 with one extra-base hit (a homer) while punching out in a quarter of his 36 plate appearances.
The 31-year-old Dickerson has generally been a productive hitter in his big league career when healthy, though that health caveat has loomed large. Dickerson was out for the entirety of the 2017-18 seasons thanks to Tommy John surgery and back surgery, and he’s spent considerable time on the injured list even during his active seasons. Dating back to the 2019 campaign, he’s been sent to the injured list with wrist, shoulder, oblique, hamstring and back injuries.
Dickerson was a revelation for the 2019-20 Giants after going from San Diego to San Francisco in exchange for minor league reliever Franklin Van Gurp. In 341 plate appearances with the Giants over those two seasons, he raked at a .294/.361/.552 clip, mashing 16 home runs, 23 doubles and four triples while walking at a solid 8.5% clip and striking out in 19.1% of his plate appearances (a good bit south of the league average). Dickerson’s 2021 season, however, included a trio of IL stints due to a shoulder strain, a back strain and a hamstring strain. He posted a diminished .233/.304/.420 slash last season and has yet to right the ship so far in 2022.
The Braves will have a week to trade Dickerson, place him on outright waivers or release him. Given his track record and an affordable $1MM salary on his 2022 contract, it’s possible another club will take a look. It’s equally, if not more plausible, however, that teams will simply wait for Dickerson to clear waivers and hope to sign him as a free agent. Because he has more than five years of MLB service time, Dickerson can reject an assignment to the minors upon clearing waivers and still retain his salary.
Injury Notes: Acuna, Flaherty, Lewis
The Braves got a huge boost today, with superstar outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. returning to the team and the lineup after an absence of over nine months due to an ACL tear last year. However, the club will still be trying to gradually ramp things up for him, according to David O’Brien of The Athletic, who relays word from manager Brian Snitker. Acuna will reportedly have something less than a full workload, getting occasional days in the designated hitter slot or sitting out day games after night games or missing games after playing and traveling the same day. This plan is intended to go until July 22, which is all fairly sensible given that Acuna is incredibly valuable to the team and is coming off a long layoff from a very serious injury. It’s worth pointing out, though, that Snitker also said the situation is fluid and will be re-evaluated daily. Acuna’s already beaten a timeline in his rehab once, as the club was targeting a May 6 return, but he’s back in the lineup tonight and has already stolen two bases, tying himself for the team lead on the year. No one should be surprised if he alters the plan and finds a way to take the reins off sooner rather than later. In fact, he might not even be aware of the plan, as he had this to say about the idea of him sitting on Friday: “I don’t know who said the plan was for me not to play. The way I’m looking at it is, I’m playing tomorrow. So I guess we’ll see what happens.” O’Brien later clarified that the club did tell Acuna about the plan, but he was too excited about his return to hear it. (Twitter links)
Some other health updates from around the league:
- Cardinals righty Jack Flaherty is making progress towards a return, as manager Oliver Marmol tells Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat that Flaherty will throw off a mound in the second week of May. He’s been dealing with an ailing shoulder since Spring Training began, the same shoulder that put him on the shelf for about a month last year. The club has been able to weather his absence so far, starting the season 11-7. The rotation has four pillars in Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Dakota Hudson and Steven Matz, but one wild card in Jordan Hicks. After working exclusively as a reliever since his MLB debut in 2018, Hicks has made two starts recently, throwing 46 pitches over 3 innings in the first outing, followed by 42 pitches over 2 innings in the second. Time will tell if this transition will work out, but there’s no question a healthy Flaherty will improve things, either by sending Hicks back to the bullpen or covering for an injury to someone else down the line. In 2019, he threw 196 1/3 innings with a 2.75 ERA, 29.9% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate, coming in fourth in NL Cy Young voting that year.
- It’s been almost a year since Kyle Lewis has played a major league game, with his last appearance coming May 31 of last year. A torn meniscus ended his season, with Lewis hitting many obstacles on the road to recovery since then. In a sign of progress, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto tells Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times that Lewis is now participating in games at extended spring training, both playing in the outfield and slotting into the designated hitter role. None of the Mariners’ three regular outfielders are off to a blazing start to the season, as Julio Rodriguez, Jarred Kelenic and Jesse Winker each have a wRC+ between 54 and 77. (League average is 100.) Mitch Haniger was also off to a sluggish start before being sidelined by a positive Covid test. If Lewis can get back to his pre-injury form, he’d provide a boost to the lineup, as his career batting line is .258/.343/.450, 121 wRC+.
Eddie Rosario To Undergo Procedure On Right Eye, Could Miss 8-12 Weeks
APRIL 26: Atlanta placed Rosario on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, with what the team called “blurred vision and swelling in the right retina.” To take his place on the active roster, the Braves recalled right-hander William Woods to make his major league debut.
Selected onto the 40-man roster last offseason, the 23-year-old Woods has allowed six runs in 7 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in the early going. However, he’s punched out 14 of the 32 batters he’s faced while walking just a pair of opponents, and the Braves reasonably feel that kind of swing-and-miss ability will help him find better results from a run prevention perspective. (Eric Cole of Battery Power first reported Woods’ forthcoming promotion).
APRIL 25: The Braves announced today that outfielder Eddie Rosario will soon undergo a laser procedure on his right eye, due to some swelling and blurred vision. While the club didn’t provide a timeline, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that this could sideline Rosario for 8-12 weeks.
Acquired from the Indians in a deadline deal last year, Rosario got red hot as a member of the Braves and went onto cement himself in the team’s lore. After the trade, Rosario hit .271/.330/.573 for an excellent 133 wRC+. That tremendous hot streak helped propel the club into the postseason. Rosario was able to shine in the playoffs as well, as he went 14-for-25 in the NLCS, including three home runs, a double, a triple and nine runs driven in, earning series MVP honors. Rosario couldn’t carry that hot streak into the World Series, but the club triumphed nonetheless.
Rosario reached free agency but eventually re-signed with the Braves on a two-year, $18MM deal with a club option for 2024. He’s gotten off to a miserable start to the year, hitting just .068/.163/.091, though those struggles are surely attributable to the fact that Rosario has been struggling with his vision. Now that the issue has been diagnosed and will soon be treated, Rosario can hopefully get back on track. However, it will take some time, with Rosario seemingly unable to return until a few months from now.
For the Braves, it’s unfortunate that they will be losing a beloved member of the team for an extended stretch. Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall should be making up two-thirds of the outfield on most nights. With Rosario stepping aside, the options to join them include Alex Dickerson, Guillermo Heredia and Travis Demeritte. Whatever solution the team comes up with will just be temporary, as Ronald Acuna Jr. should be in the mix soon. The superstar has been out of action for almost a year at this point after tearing his ACL in July of 2021. However, he is currently on a rehab assignment and isn’t far from rejoining the big league club.
Ronald Acuna Jr. Tentatively Set To Return On May 6
The Braves have set May 6 as a potential target date for Ronald Acuna Jr.‘s return to the active roster, though manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including The Athletic’s David O’Brien) that there is plenty of flexibility built into that plan. Acuna is thus far three games into his minor league rehab assignment.
“Next week will be big because I think he’s scheduled to go lengthy defensive games, like 3 out of 4 days, something like that,” Snitker said. “At the end of next week they’ll have a really good read on probably where his body is.”
Acuna tore his right ACL last July 10, so it will be just shy of a 10-month absence if he does make his return for the May 6 game against the Brewers. Despite the severity of the injury and the obvious caution the Braves have taken with their superstar, Acuna’s rehab has gone about as smoothly as possible. Snitker even intimated that if Acuna’s next week of action goes particularly well, the outfielder might even be back on Atlanta’s roster prior to May 6.
The defending World Series champs have a 7-8 record heading into today’s game with the Marlins, in part due to an overall lack of production from the outfield. While Marcell Ozuna has hit well, Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario, Guillermo Heredia, and Alex Dickerson (who has played mostly DH), have all struggled, so Acuna’s return to the everyday right field spot should immediately shore things up.
While it may be unfair to expect Acuna to immediately pick up where he left off in 2021, even a slightly lessened version of Acuna is still one of the game’s best players. The outfielder has done nothing but mash since debuting in 2018, and he was batting .283/.394/.596 with 24 homers in his first 360 plate appearances of the 2021 season before suffering his ACL tear.
Braves, Cubs Swap Sean Newcomb, Jesse Chavez
The Cubs have acquired reliever Sean Newcomb from the Braves for right-hander Jesse Chavez and cash, according to announcements from both teams. Both clubs’ 40-man rosters are now full.
It’s a new landing spot for Newcomb, who has spent the past six seasons in Atlanta. A first-round pick of the Angels in 2014, the left-hander quickly developed into one of the sport’s top pitching prospects. After the 2015 season, the Angels flipped him alongside Chris Ellis to Atlanta for five years of Andrelton Simmons.
Newcomb was a starting pitching prospect at the time, with evaluators holding out hope that his high-octane arsenal could make him a top-of-the-rotation caliber hurler. He remained in that role for his first couple major league seasons, starting 49 of his 50 appearances between 2017-18. Newcomb showed some promise, posting a 4.06 ERA with a solid 23.3% strikeout rate. As he had throughout his time in the minor leagues, though, he struggled to throw strikes. After walking 12% of batters faced through his first couple seasons, the Braves transitioned him to the ‘pen in 2019.
During his first season of relief, Newcomb pitched to a 3.16 ERA in 68 1/3 frames over 55 outings. Curiously, his strikeout and swinging strike numbers took a step back relative to where they’d been while he was starting, but he induced grounders on nearly half of batted balls against him and posted a personal-low 9.9% walk rate.
It looked as if Newcomb might thrive in shorter stints, but the Braves made an ill-fated effort to return him to the rotation in 2020. He was bombed in four starts and spent most of the season at the alternate training site. He returned to the big league bullpen last season but dealt with his worst control woes yet. In 32 outings, Newcomb walked a ghastly 18% of opponents while seeing his ground-ball rate tumble back to 39%. His 28.7% strikeout percentage was a career-high, but the free passes allowed hitters to rack up a .383 on-base percentage.
Newcomb has gotten off to another rough start this season. He’s worked five innings of four-run ball, allowing seven hits with four walks and strikeouts apiece. Because he’s out of minor league option years, the Braves had to either continue running him out against MLB hitters or designate him for assignment. They chose the latter course of action yesterday, likely knowing someone else would take a chance on him.
That team will be the Cubs, who add a live-armed southpaw to their bullpen. Newcomb has averaged north of 95 MPH on his heater in each of the past two seasons. He generated plus swinging strike rates on both his cutter-slider and curveball last year. For a team that entered the night with Daniel Norris as its only lefty reliever, it’s understandable why Chicago will take a shot to see if they can iron out Newcomb’s control woes.
He’s making a modest $900K this season (a little more than $800K of which remains owed) and can be controlled via arbitration through 2025. There’s a chance Newcomb sticks around on the North Side for the next few seasons, but the Cubs — like the Braves before them — will have to keep him on the active roster or designate him for assignment themselves.
The Braves, meanwhile, will replace Newcomb in the bullpen with one of his old teammates. Chavez, a 15-year MLB veteran, spent the 2021 season with Atlanta after being selected onto the big league roster in June. He pitched to a sterling 2.14 ERA in 33 2/3 innings, striking out a career-high 27.1% of batters faced against a fine 8.3% walk rate. Chavez rather remarkably didn’t allow a single home run in his 30 appearances.
That impressive strikeout total came in spite of a 91 MPH fastball and a subpar 7.1% swinging strike rate, though. Between Chavez’s lack of velocity, swing-and-miss stuff and understandable skepticism about his ability to repeat his 2021 home run suppression, teams didn’t ardently pursue him in free agency. He signed a non-roster deal with Chicago, although he wound up breaking camp nonetheless.
Chavez made three appearances as a Cub, tossing 5 2/3 frames of three-run ball. He has punched out three batters with a pair of walks and a homer allowed. He’ll return to Atlanta and again serve as a multi-inning bullpen option for skipper Brian Snitker.
Braves Outright Chadwick Tromp
The Braves announced this afternoon that catcher Chadwick Tromp has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta had designated him for assignment last week.
Atlanta claimed Tromp off waivers from the Giants last September. He spent the offseason on the 40-man roster but lost his spot when the Braves brought up Bryce Elder for his major league debut. Tromp has appeared in nine games with Gwinnett over the past two years but hasn’t suited up at the MLB level with the Braves. The righty-hitting backstop did appear in 33 games with the Giants between 2020-21, picking up 82 plate appearances. He has managed just a .215/.220/.418 line in that limited time, but the Aruba native is a .253/.314/.412 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons.
The 27-year-old Tromp doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll remain in the upper levels of the system. He no longer occupies a spot on the 40-man roster but will try to play his way back into that mix. Travis d’Arnaud, Manny Piña and William Contreras are the remaining backstops on the Atlanta 40-man.