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Francisco Cervelli Announces Retirement

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Longtime MLB catcher Francisco Cervelli announced his retirement in an Instagram post today (h/t to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Daniel Álvarez Montes of Elextrabase (Twitter link) was first with the news of Cervelli’s forthcoming announcement.

Signed by the Yankees as an international amateur from Venezuela in 2003, Cervelli broke into the big leagues as a September call-up five years later. He would go on to see big league action for New York every year from 2008-14 but only eclipsed 200 plate appearances in a season once. Following a 2014 trade to the Pirates for reliever Justin Wilson, Cervelli finally got an opportunity as a team’s #1 catcher. He made the most of it. In 2015, Cervelli hit .295/.370/.401 (117 wRC+) in 510 plate appearances while rating as one of the league’s premier receiving catchers.

Unfortunately, a worrisome series of concussions kept Cervelli from matching that lofty workload in the following seasons. Nevertheless, he generally continued to produce when healthy over the rest of his five-year Pittsburgh tenure. A miserable 2019 season eventually led to Cervelli’s release from Pittsburgh, although he did latch on with the Braves for their playoff run last season.

Cervelli signed a one-year deal with the Marlins last offseason and was thrust into the lineup when presumptive starter Jorge Alfaro went on the injured list. Even at age 34, he acquitted himself well, hitting .245/.355/.453 in 16 games. Unfortunately, another concussion (at least the seventh of his career) sent him back to the injured list in August. It soon became apparent he wouldn’t factor into the Marlins’ playoff push. Miami had already placed Cervelli on the 60-day IL, so today’s news won’t affect their roster status in advance of next week’s NL Division Series with the Braves.

This surely isn’t the way Cervelli would’ve wanted his career to end, but he noted in his announcement that “for the first time in a long time, I know my health and wellness needs to be the leadoff.” Despite his various injuries, Cervelli ultimately compiled a 13-year MLB career. He hit .268/.358/.382 with 41 home runs over 2618 plate appearances, a bit better than the league average hitter overall. Baseball Reference estimates he was worth approximately 14 wins above replacement, while FanGraphs pegs his career as worth 18 WAR. MLBTR wishes Cervelli the best in retirement.

Braves Set Wild Card Series Roster; Pache In, Inciarte Out

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The Braves have formally announced their 28-man roster for their upcoming Wild Card Series against the Reds — a roster that includes some notable omissions of former key players and includes a few intriguing rookies. Here’s how it breaks down:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Longtime center fielder Ender Inciarte is the most notable player left off the roster. An All-Star in 2017 and a three-time Gold Glover, Inciarte’s bat has continued to wilt in recent seasons — culminating in a disastrous .190/.262/.250 slash through 131 plate appearances in 2020. With Ronald Acuna Jr. capable of handling center field and options like Marcell Ozuna, Nick Markakis and the hot-hitting Adam Duvall in the corners, the Braves have begun to cut back on Inciarte’s playing time.

While he could still have been carried as a game-changing defensive upgrade for the late innings, that role will instead go to the 21-year-old Pache — the organization’s top prospect who draws 80 grades for his defense on most scouting reports. It’s been increasingly clear that Inciarte’s role with the club is dwindling, but leaving him off the playoff roster only further highlights that reality.

Also absent from the club’s Round 1 roster is righty Luke Jackson. The mercurial reliever was outrighted in June 2018 only to surprisingly emerge as one of the club’s few reliable bullpen options in 2019 when he nailed down 18 saves. The pendulum has swung back in the other direction in 2020 though, as Jackson has been clobbered for a 6.84 ERA and seen his K/9 mark nearly halved (13.1 K/9 in 2019; 6.8 in 2020). Had the groin injury that forced righty Chris Martin from the Braves’ season finale proven more serious, perhaps Jackson would have been considered, but Braves fans are surely thrilled to see Martin’s name listed after his dominant 2020 effort.

Elsewhere, Atlanta will entrust its Game 2 outing to former No. 3 overall draft pick Ian Anderson, who rose from top prospect status to key rotation piece in 2020. Anderson still has just six big league starts, but he’s exceeded all expectations with a 1.95 ERA and 41 punchouts through 32 1/3 frames. Catching prospect William Contreras, the younger brother of Cubs star Willson Contreras, is on the roster mostly as a depth option, but his presence only further gives a glimpse into the organization’s future.

The Braves’ late pickup of Pablo Sandoval came as a surprise to many, but the organization clearly sees something in the former Giants star. Despite a dismal .214/.287/.262 slash on the year, including four hitless plate appearances with Atlanta (two walks), the Panda makes the Wild Card roster as a bench piece.

Latest On Ronald Acuna Jr., Chris Martin

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Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and reliever Chris Martin dealt with injuries at the end of the regular season, but both players will be available when the team starts its playoff series against the Reds on Wednesday, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets.

Acuna missed the Braves’ regular-season finale with left wrist irritation, but he’s now “fine,” according to manager Brian Snitker. That’s obviously excellent news for the Braves, with whom Acuna slashed .250/.406/.581 and totaled 14 home runs and eight stolen bases in 202 plate appearances. Acuna, potential MVP Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna, who each managed a wRC+ of no worse than 159, give the NL East-winning Braves a terrifying offensive trio as the team heads into the playoffs.

Along with their high-powered offense, the Braves’ bullpen was among the reasons they reigned supreme in their division for the third straight time. Their relief corps ranked fourth in ERA and ninth in fWAR, owing in part to Martin’s work. After re-signing with the Braves last winter on a two-year, $14MM contract, Martin fired 18 innings of 1.00 ERA/2.36 FIP ball with 10.0 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9. Martin left the Braves’ last game with groin troubles, but it appears he dodged a serious problem.

Chris Martin Dealing With Potential Groin Injury

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A year after a Chris Martin oblique injury altered the course of the postseason for the Braves, Martin is now potentially hobbled once again. Atlanta announced yesterday that Martin exited the season finale with a potential groin injury. Manager Brian Snitker said after the game that Martin will be in for treatment today (link via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Snitker said the Braves hoped to get out in front of the issue and hope it to be minor, but for the time being it sounds as though Martin is considered day-to-day. Anything more serious would be a major blow to the Braves’ bullpen, as Martin has been excellent in the first of a two-year, $14MM deal. In 18 frames, the 34-year-old righty allowed just two runs on eight hits with a 20-to-3 K/BB ratio.

MLB Finalizes 16-Team Playoff Bracket

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With a hectic final day of play in the books, the 2020 playoff field is officially set – which visual learners can view here from MLB Network. The defending World Series champion Nationals and their newly-crowned batting champion Juan Soto will watch from home.  The Mets and Phillies turned in disappointing seasons, while the Marlins stunned their NL East counterparts to enter the postseason as the #6 seed in the National League. The Braves weathered a line change in their starting rotation to win their third consecutive NL East title.

Elsewhere in the National League, Dodgers are the team to beat, while the Padres are the team to watch. The Rockies and Diamondbacks will face some hard questions in the offseason after disappointing years, while the Giants exceeded expectations but narrowly missed the postseason.

The Central makes up half the playoff field in the National League with everyone but the Pirates continuing into MLB’s second season. The Cubs took home their third division title in five seasons behind stellar years from Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks, but it was a difficult season for many of their core offensive players. They were also the only team in the majors to go the entire season without a single player testing positive for COVID-19, per NBC Sports Chicago and others. The Cardinals will be the #5 seed after playing two fewer games than the rest of the league, Trevor Bauer led the Reds back to the postseason by winning the NL ERA title (in a free agent year no less), and the Brewers backed into the NL’s #8 seed without ever being above .500 in 2020.

In the American League, small markets had themselves a year. The A’s took the AL West back from the defending AL champion Astros. Speaking of, Houston finished a tumultuous year without their ace Justin Verlander. Manager Dusty Baker will lead his fifth different team to the postseason, this one joining the Brewers as one of two under-.500 teams to reach the postseason. The Angels will reboot after firing their GM earlier today, while the Rangers and Mariners continue their rebuilds.

The Rays, meanwhile, won the AL East for the first time in a decade and they’re the top seed in the American League. The Yankees settle for second place and the Blue Jays arrive to the postseason a little earlier than expected as the AL’s #8 seed. The Red Sox took an expected step back, while the Orioles performed better than expected, staying in the playoff hunt for most of the season.

The Twins lost in extras today, but they nonetheless secured their second consecutive AL Central title. Shane Bieber put up a potentially MVP season to get the Indians back to the playoffs. The White Sox arrived in a major way led by Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu. Only a late season slide kept them from a division crown. They’ll head to Oakland as the #7 seed. The Tigers debuted a number of players they hope will be a part of their next competitive team, while the Royals said goodbye to a franchise icon in Alex Gordon’s final season.

It was a short and bizarre season, but the playoffs – while expanded – aren’t going to be all that different from most years. There will be neutral sites and a wild card round of 3-game series, and playoff bubbles, but once the field is pared down to eight, it’s more or less business as usual for the postseason. It should be an exciting month of October.

Here’s the final field of 16:

National League

(8) Brewers at (1) Dodgers

(5) Cardinals at (4) Padres

(6) Marlins at (3) Cubs

(7) Reds at (2) Braves

American League

(8) Blue Jays at (1) Rays

(5) Yankees at (4) Indians

(6) Astros at (3) Twins

(7) White Sox at (2) A’s

The playoffs begin on Tuesday, September 29.

Ronald Acuña Jr. Scratched From Sunday’s Lineup

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Ronald Acuña Jr. was scratched from today’s lineup because of left wrist irritation, the team announced via Twitter. Obviously, it’s not an ideal situation for the Braves, but there’s no apparent reason to read anything more into this than what’s on the surface. With their playoff position locked, the Braves don’t gain much from playing Acuña today, especially if he’s anything less than 100%. There’s no reason to expect Acuña won’t be back in the lineup for their 3-game wild card playoff.

Acuna wanted to be in the lineup today, so the injury clearly isn’t all that limiting, but the Braves wanted to be cautious with their superstar, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). It is the same wrist that caused him some trouble in August. That said, the 22-year-old still managed to play in 46 games this season and post 2.0 rWAR with a triple slash of .250/.406/.581.

While Acuña’s wrist soreness will surely make some Braves fans a little nervous, there’s cause for optimism coming out of Atlanta as well. Ace Max Fried threw a bullpen session today, and as expected, he’d been given the green light for the playoffs, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Perhaps even more important than Acuña, Atlanta really needs a healthy Fried in order to make a deep run this postseason. He was their best starter by a wide margin this season, emerging from a muddled and hectic rotation to establish himself as an ace and Cy Young candidate.

In 11 starts this season, Fried went 7-0 with a sterling 2.25 ERA/3.10 FIP across 56 innings. His contributions amount to 2.9 rWAR, the fourth-highest mark among pitchers in the majors. The only concern for Fried is that he’s thrown just 6 innings across two starts since going on the injured list early in September. The Braves have held the division lead or some time now, so they’ve been able to be patient with their ace. Still, he’ll be watched closely as he prepares to start the opener of the postseason. As the #2 seed, the Braves will be playing in Atlanta, though their opponent has yet to be decided. Beyond Fried, none of the Braves potential starters (Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson) have more than a year of service time under their belts.

Braves To Add Pablo Sandoval To Active Roster

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The Braves will select Pablo Sandoval’s contract to the active roster today, manager Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and other reporters.  Sandoval is slated to play third base in Atlanta’s starting lineup today.

Sandoval inked a minor league deal with the Braves a little under two weeks ago, just four days after the Giants released him.  The Panda hit only .220/.278/.268 over 90 plate appearances with San Francisco this season, though as The Athletic’s David O’Brien noted, today’s transaction would seem to imply that Atlanta will put Sandoval on its postseason roster.

Austin Riley has been slowed by a quad injury in recent days, so the Braves could be turning to Sandoval for some additional third base depth beyond Adeiny Hechavarria.  Johan Camargo and Charlie Culberson were both available at Atlanta’s alternate training site, though the fact that Sandoval got the nod might be indicative of how far Camargo and Culberson have fallen down the depth chart.

Or, maybe the Braves are simply hoping for some vintage Sandoval postseason magic.  Sandoval has a .344/.389/.545 slash line over 167 career playoff PA, all with San Francisco from 2010-14.  The Giants’ three postseason appearances in that span resulted in three World Series titles, with Sandoval collecting Series MVP honors in 2012 after hitting three homers in Game One of the 2012 Fall Classic.

It has been a while since Sandoval was that productive, though he did hit .259/.311/.466 in 548 PA for the Giants from 2018-19.  The Braves would happily take similar offense in their lineup or coming off the bench in the playoffs as the team looks to capture its first championship since 1995.

Latest On Max Fried

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SEPT. 24: Great news for the Braves: Fried will “certainly be ready” for the start of the playoffs, general manager Alex Anthopoulos told MLB Network Radio.

SEPT. 23: Braves southpaw Max Fried exited his start against the Marlins on Wednesday after one inning because of a tweaked left ankle, the team announced. Fried previously missed time with a left-side muscle spasm in his lumbar spine.

With the Braves having clinched yet another NL East title and looking for their first World Series title since 1995, a significant Fried injury could be a catastrophe for a team whose rotation has had to overcome multiple problems during the season. The Braves are already set to enter the playoffs without Mike Soroka (Achilles) and Cole Hamels (shoulder), who haven’t contributed nearly as much as expected this year and won’t pitch again in 2020.

In a rotation devoid of two of its highest-profile arms, Fried has been a saving grace and one of the NL’s premier starters. It took until Wednesday for Fried to allow a home run, when the Marlins teed off on him for two in an inning of work, though he has been brilliant for the most part. The 26-year-old owns a 2.25 ERA/3.09 FIP with 8.04 K/9, 3.05 BB/9 and a 53 percent groundball rate in 56 innings.

Braves Place Cole Hamels On 10-Day IL

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The Braves have placed southpaw Cole Hamels on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder issues, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report. Hamels will not be available for the postseason, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic tweets.

Then coming off their second straight NL East title, the Braves signed Hamels to a one-year, $18MM contract last winter with the hope the longtime workhorse – previously with the Phillies, Rangers and Cubs – would fortify their rotation. Instead, though, because of various arm problems, Hamels only made one start (on Sept. 16) and threw 3 1/3 innings in a Braves uniform under his current deal.

Hamels’ health woes, not to mention the issues Mike Soroka (Achilles) and Mike Foltynewicz (performance) have faced, have made this a less-than-ideal season for Atlanta’s rotation. To the team’s credit, though, it’s on its way to another division title. The Braves lead the NL East by three games, but even if they hang on, they’ll enter the playoffs dealing with questions in their rotation beyond newfound ace Max Fried and standout rookie Ian Anderson.

Hamels, 36, is set to enter free agency off the worst season of his career during the upcoming winter. While Hamels is a 10-time 30-game starter, an eight-time 200-inning hurler and someone who has logged a 3.43 ERA/3.68 FIP in the majors, a high-paying deal figures to be out of the question in the wake of what has been a nightmarish year from a health standpoint.

Braves Promote Jasseel De La Cruz

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The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve promoted right-hander Jasseel De La Cruz and optioned Touki Toussaint to their alternate training site. De La Cruz will make his MLB debut the first time he gets into a game.

Ranked as Atlanta’s No. 12 prospect at each of Baseball America, FanGraphs and MLB.com on their respective midseason updates, the 23-year-old De La Cruz will be the latest promising Braves arm to try to help patch an injury-decimated pitching staff. He split the 2019 season between Class-A, Class-A Advanced and Double-A, pitching to a collective 3.25 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.5 HR/9 and a healthy 47.6 percent ground-ball rate.

Scouting reports at BA, FanGraphs and MLB.com all credit De La Cruz with a mid-90s heater that can reach the upper 90s and, per BA, has occasionally scratched triple digits. He’s made strides with his slider and improved his changeup as well, but while he’s worked as a starter for most of his minor league career, his violent delivery leads many to believe that he’s eventually bullpen-bound. That would allow his heater to play up and perhaps allow De La Cruz to focus on the better of his two offspeed offerings, which is currently his slider.

It doesn’t appear as though De La Cruz will start a game anytime soon, so he could just be bullpen depth for the time being. David O’Brien of The Athletic tweeted last night that the Braves expect to start Huascar Ynoa today, with Cole Hamels coming off the injured list for his season debut tomorrow and Max Fried slated to return Friday. (The Braves are off Thursday.) As such, there’s no guarantee that De La Cruz will get into a game before he’s sent back out, but Atlanta fans could still get a glimpse of the future in the coming days if he’s called upon.

The impending activation of Hamels and Fried should be a welcome breath of fresh air for a Braves club that has continually struggled to piece together its starting staff in the wake of myriad injuries and unexpectedly poor performances. They’re still a lock to make the postseason, holding a 2.5-game lead in the NL East at present, but the type of starting pitching they’ve received recently wouldn’t instill much confidence in a playoff series. However, a group led by Fried, Ian Anderson and a hopefully healthy Hamels looks considerably more impressive.

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