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Braves Designate Miguel Socolovich, Promote Max Fried

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The Braves have designated righty Miguel Socolovich for assignment, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by southpaw Max Fried.

Socolovich came up for a pair of appearances, allowing three earned runs in three innings. The 31-year-old carries a 4.41 ERA in his 85 2/3 career frames at the MLB level.

Fried, meanwhile, likely features more prominently in the team’s long-term plans. The former top prospect cracked the majors last year and gave the Braves 26 innings of 3.81 ERA pitching. But he had only just ascended to the upper minors in 2017 and opened the current season back at Triple-A.

Thus far in the current campaign, Fried has allowed only three earned in 15 2/3 innings over his three starts, with 16 strikeouts and seven walks. The free passes continue to be a bit of a concern, as he has steadily given up more than four per nine innings since joining the professional ranks.

It’s unclear at this point whether Fried will get a chance to join the Atlanta rotation, but it seems likely he’ll open in a long relief role. Notably, since he’s already on the 40-man, the move leaves the Braves with an opening that could be filled in the near future by the just-signed Jose Bautista.

Braves Expect To Utilize Jose Bautista As Starting Third Baseman

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Braves skipper Brian Snitker says the organization expects to install veteran Jose Bautista as the regular at third base once he’s brought up to the majors, Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Bautista signed a minors deal recently after sitting out Spring Training, so he’s still getting up to full speed.

At the moment, Bautista is playing at Triple-A after logging a few games down at the High-A level. Snitker says that he’s told Bautista is “close,” so it may not be long before we get a look at the veteran at the game’s highest level. Indeed, last we heard, the expectation was that the former Blue Jay would be playing in the majors by early May at the latest.

The decision to use Bautista in a starting capacity will bump Ryan Flaherty into a platoon role. He’ll surely get some opportunities to spell Bautista against righties, and perhaps will receive some time up the middle, but the news certainly will put a big dent in Flaherty’s playing time. The 31-year-old has been among the pleasant surprises in Atlanta; he’s carrying a .362/.471/.500 slash through seventy plate appearances.

Last year, under different front-office leadership, the Braves attempted an even more novel maneuver at third by slotting Freddie Freeman there after he returned from a lengthy DL stint. That experiment didn’t last long. In this case, though, new GM Alex Anthopoulos says that he has long believed Bautista can handle the hot corner. And Snitker says there are “nothing but good reports” streaming in at the moment.

There are obviously some questions about how Bautista will perform at 37 years of age, coming off of a season in which he hit just .203/.308/.366 while playing his accustomed corner outfield. But there’s upside aplenty here for the Braves and relatively little to lose by trying. Bautista is not far removed from being one of the game’s preeminent hitters and could be quite a valuable asset if he can bounce back at the plate and deliver even palatable glovework at third.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/23/18

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We’ll kick off the week with Monday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Dodgers picked up right-hander Tyler Pill from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations in a minor swap late last week (Twitter link via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group). Pill, 27, signed a minor league deal with the D-backs after making his big league debut with the Mets in 2017. The brother of former big league first baseman Brett Pill, Tyler tossed 22 innings for the Mets and yielded 13 earned runs (5.32 ERA) on 22 hits and 10 walks with 16 strikeouts last season. He’s posted solid numbers up through Double-A but struggled at the Triple-A level, although those shaky results came exclusively at an exceptionally hitter-friendly setting in Las Vegas (and the Pacific Coast League in general). Pill debuted with the Dodgers’ own Triple-A affiliate over the weekend and tossed three scoreless frames. He’ll add some depth to an organization that shuffles its pitching staff and the fringes of its 40-man roster perhaps more aggressively than any club in the game.
  • Right-hander Luke Jackson cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Braves after being designated for assignment last week, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 26-year-old Jackson owns a 4.85 ERA and a 36-to-21 K/BB ratio in 52 innings with the Braves over the past two seasons and has struggled to a 5.79 ERA in 70 total innings at the big league level. Jackson hasn’t missed enough bats in the big leagues (5.8 K/9, 10.7 H/9), but he does have a track record of missing bats in the minors (career 9.8 K/9).
  • Also via Eddy, the Reds have released outfielder Adam Brett Walker from the organization. Walker, 27, was a third-round pick of the Twins in 2012 and boasts huge raw power but plenty of swing-and-miss issues as well as a limited defensive skill set. Minnesota removed him from the 40-man roster after the 2016 season, and he landed with the Brewers, Orioles (twice), Braves and Reds via a series of waivers claims and minor league signings in 2017 alone. Walker’s power is evident in looking at his career .232 ISO in the minors, but he’s whiffed in 30.9 percent of his minor league plate appearances — including an enormous 37.4 percent strikeout clip in Triple-A.

NL Notes: Bautista, Reds, D-backs, Phillies

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Third baseman Jose Bautista, whom the Braves signed to a minor league contract this week, could join the team during its upcoming road trip, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes. The Braves will be out of Atlanta from April 23 through May 3, and Bautista will begin that period at Triple-A Gwinnett. A longtime superstar outfielder with the Blue Jays, Bautista has looked good at third with the Braves thus far, according to infield instructor Adam Everett. The 37-year-old played a bit of third in 2017, though he hasn’t lined up there on any kind of regular basis since 2011.

Here’s more from the NL:

  • Reds legend Barry Larkin “has always coveted” their managerial job, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Now that the team has fired previous skipper Bryan Price and is currently going with an interim option in Jim Riggleman, it’s possible Larkin will emerge as a candidate when the Reds’ search for a full-time skipper begins in earnest. Larkin, a Hall of Fame shortstop with the Reds from 1986-2004, currently works with the team as a special assistant. Former major league skipper and ex-Red Buddy Bell is also under Cincinnati’s employ (as a senior adviser), but the 66-year-old is uninterested in managing the club, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter.
  • The Diamondbacks are tentatively planning to activate third baseman Jake Lamb from the disabled list on Tuesday, though Arizona manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including Richard Morin of the Arizona Republic) that Lamb would need one final evaluation from the team training staff.  Lamb hasn’t played since April 2 due to a shoulder injury, though his absence hasn’t seemed to faze the Diamondbacks, who have gone 13-5 without him. Third base fill-ins Daniel Descalso and Deven Marrero have struggled, however.
  • We’re in an era in which batters are attempting to hit the ball in the air, so Phillies pitchers are trying to combat that by throwing up in the zone, Matt Gelb of The Athletic explains (subscription required). The plan has worked so far for Philadelphia, whose pitchers entered Sunday having allowed the majors’ fewest home runs (11) and its second-lowest slugging percentage against (.320). “A huge focus in spring training was pitching at the top of the strike zone,” said catcher Andrew Kapp. “We were doing a really good job of that. And these guys are just hitting their spots. All we’re doing behind the plate is just suggesting: ’Hey, this is where we think we should go.’ But they have to hit the spot at the end of the day.” Phillies pitchers hit the spot once again Sunday, yielding just two runs and seven hits in an 11-inning win over the Pirates.

Braves Designate Josh Ravin

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The Braves have designated righty reliever Josh Ravin for assignment, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Correspondingly, the club has elected to purchase the contract of fellow right-hander Miguel Socolovich from Triple-A Gwinnett.

The Braves acquired Ravin from the Dodgers last November in exchange for cash considerations after. Ravin pitched just three innings for the Braves across two appearances. In between those two appearances, he was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster, purchased again from Triple-A, and spent time on the DL with an illness.

Last night’s game saw Ravin allow two earned runs in two innings of relief during the 12-inning marathon against the Mets; the club likely made the move in order to get a fresh arm in the bullpen. It’s worth noting, though, that Ravin’s fastball velocity (in a limited sample size) was down nearly two miles per hour from where it sat a year ago with the Dodgers. He’ll give way to Socolovich, who was also recently outrighted from the club’s 40-man roster.

NL Roster Notes: Bautista, Perdomo, Gonzalez, Mac/Pence

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The Braves don’t intend to take a long time deciding whether to bring up recent signee Jose Bautista, Michael Hoad of Sportsnet.ca writes. GM Alex Anthopoulos says that the club is “optimistic [Bautista is] going to have an opportunity to come up,” so it seems the expectation is that the former star will indeed get a shot. He’ll be looking for a return to form at the plate even as he makes a surprising return to third base after nearly a decade spent mostly in the outfield. But Anthopoulos did note that he hasn’t made any promises of a MLB promotion, so it seems that Bautista will at least have to show something to get a crack at boosting a Braves team that is off to a nice start.

Here are a few notes on some National League players who are already slated to move onto or off of a major league roster:

  • The Padres have optioned righty Luis Perdomo, per a club announcement, with reliever Kirby Yates being activated from the DL to take his roster spot. Though he showed a good bit of promise last year, Perdomo has been tagged for 13 earned runs in 14 innings in his first four starts of the 2018 campaign. Though he has given up quite a lot of hard contact, the resulting .510 batting average on balls in play surely seems like an outlier. Beyond the performance considerations, the move helps the team manage a roster that has quite a few moving parts.
  • Marlins pitching prospect Merandy Gonzalez is heading to the majors for the first time, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes. Skipper Don Mattingly says he’ll use his new hurler as a long relief option for the time being. Gonzalez is a starter by trade, and has some long-term hopes of working in a big-league rotation, but at the moment is appealing mostly because he offers the possibility of filling some innings and is already on the 40-man. Miami added Gonzalez in the trade that sent reliever A.J. Ramos to the Mets last summer.
  • There’s nothing official yet, but Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweeted the “informed speculation” that outfielder Mac Williamson will join the Giants tomorrow. There are still some complications, but the 27-year-old has clearly played his way to a call-up. In fifty trips to the plate at Triple-A, he’s hitting a ridiculous .487/.600/1.026 with six home runs. Meanwhile, veteran Hunter Pence has managed only one extra-base hit, nine singles, and two walks in his 61 MLB plate appearances. It seems he will be headed to the DL with a thumb issue.

Braves Designate Lane Adams For Assignment

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The Braves announced that they’ve designated outfielder Lane Adams for assignment. His spot on the 25-man roster will go to right-hander Matt Wisler, who has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett and will start tonight’s game in place of the injured Anibal Sanchez.

Adams, 28, has been a quality reserve outfielder in Atlanta since having his contract selected last season. Originally signed to a minor league deal in the 2016-17 offseason, Adams worked his way onto the big league roster and has since batted .270/.345/.460 in a total of 143 plate appearances. He’s also been a somewhat seldom-used piece, though, having started in just 14 of the 100 games he’s appeared as a Brave. More often than not, Adams has been utilized as a pinch-hitter, pinch-runner or late-game defensive replacement.

The Braves will have a week to either trade Adams or try to sneak him through outright waivers, though because he’s been outrighted previously in his career (by the Yankees in 2016), he’d have the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency anyhow. With Adams off the roster, the Braves will utilize an outfield mix of Preston Tucker, Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis and Peter Bourjos for the time being, though obviously the potential promotion of top prospect Ronald Acuna is looming on the horizon.

Injury Notes: Anibal, Buxton, Hill, Swarzak, Brewers

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Braves righty Anibal Sanchez landed on the 10-day disabled list on Wednesday after suffering a hamstring strain while running in the outfield during pre-game warmups, as the team announced. Things looked potentially much worse, as Sanchez reportedly collapsed and was down for several minutes before having his leg placed in an air cast and being carted off the field (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman). Thus far in 14 innings (two starts, one relief appearance), the 34-year-old Sanchez has yielded just two runs on 11 hits and six walks with 14 strikeouts. He’d been relying more heavily on a cutter and a changeup with the Braves than he had in previous seasons, and those tweaks had generated positive gains in swinging-strike rate, chase rate and ground-ball rate. Lucas Sims, Matt Wisler and Max Fried are among the 40-man roster options to step into the rotation in place of Sanchez for the time being.

Some injury news from around the game…

  • The Twins announced that Byron Buxton has been placed on the 10-day DL, retroactive to April 15, with migraine headaches. Outfielder Ryan LaMarre was added to the 25-man roster in place of Buxton, who’ll be eligible to return next Wednesday. It’s been a slow start to the year for Buxton after a strong five-month stretch to close out the 2017 season; the longtime top prospect hit .274/.335/.448 in his final 459 plate appearances last season but is off to a .195/.233/.244 start to the season.
  • Left-hander Rich Hill hit the disabled list due to a finger injury, the Dodgers announced today. Fellow southpaw Adam Liberatore is up from Triple-A to take Hill’s place for the time being. Specifically, Hill told reporters that he’s dealing with a cracked fingernail and that the DL stint is “precautionary” in nature (Twitter link via Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times). The Dodgers have a reputation for aggressively utilizing the shortened 10-day DL and their Triple-A depth to keep their roster fresh, and that seems like the tactic they’re employing in this instance. Of course, as Aaron Sanchez’s 2017 season with the Blue Jays demonstrated, fingernail and blister issues can be more serious for pitchers than they initially sound.
  • Anthony Swarzak’s rehab with the Mets has been shut down for now due to lingering discomfort in his ailing oblique muscle, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. He’d been throwing off of flat ground but now won’t be throwing at all and won’t travel with the club on its upcoming road trip, per DiComo. Swarzak inked a two-year, $14MM deal with the Mets this offseason but has pitched just 2 1/3 innings on the year due to a DL stint that now looks like it’ll be prolonged.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel passes along some Brewers injury news, reporting that Wade Miley’s first rehab start went smoothly and adding that he’ll start again on Sunday (Twitter links). At that point, the Brewers will likely have to make a decision whether they’ll add him to the big league rotation or keep him in the minors for another rehab outing. Additionally, lefty Boone Logan threw a bullpen session for the first time since injuring his left triceps muscle — a notable first step in his debut in the Milwaukee ’pen.

Braves Promote Jesse Biddle, Place Jose Ramirez On 10-Day DL

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The Braves are set to promote lefty Jesse Biddle to the big-league roster, per a club announcement. He’ll replace righty reliever Jose Ramirez, who is heading to the 10-day DL after experiencing shoulder inflammation.

It’s a long-awaited call-up for Biddle, who was selected in the first round of the 2010 draft and once regarded among the game’s hundred top pre-MLB players. Injuries disrupted his progress, however, and forced him out of the rotation.

Since landing with the Braves and working back to health, Biddle has shown well in the upper minors. He turned in 49 2/3 innings of 2.90 ERA ball last year at Double-A, registering 9.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. And Biddle was off to an excellent start in the highest level of the minors in 2018, allowing just three hits and no runs while running up eight strikeouts against a single walk in his 6 1/3 innings.

As for Ramirez, 28, this’ll be a much-needed reprieve after a brutal opening to his own season. He has also tossed 6 1/3 frames, all in the majors, but with much different results. Ramirez has not only coughed up a dozen earned runs, but has surrendered eight walks to go with his seven punchouts.

Braves Sign Jose Bautista

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The Braves have announced the signing of veteran slugger Jose Bautista to a minor-league deal. Per the organization, he’ll head to extended spring camp and will line up at third base. The deal would pay him at a $1MM rate in the majors, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.

While Bautista has maintained he still hoped to play in the coming season after sitting out Spring Training, this news comes as a surprise. The Braves have long been expected to fill out their outfield with top prospect Ronald Acuna, which seemed to make them an unlikely destination for Bautista.

In a twist, though, Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos — who was with the Blue Jays when Bautista broke out and turned into a superstar — will give the veteran a chance to return to the hot corner at 37 years of age. Bautista certainly has spent plenty of time there, but the vast majority of his experience at third came in the distant past. Needless to say, this isn’t the third-base move that many anticipated at the start of the 2017-18 offseason.

Bautista will not only be looking to show he’s capable of returning to the infield after mostly plying his trade in the grass over the past nine seasons. He’ll also have to prove he can bounce back from a marked decline over the prior two campaigns.

Heading into the 2017 campaign, which Bautista spent with the Blue Jays after having to settle for a one-year deal in free agency, the hope was the his 2016 effort was just a blip. Bautista had experienced a big power drop, after all, but largely maintained his other-worldly plate discipline and still reached base at a healthy .366 clip.

But the most recent season did not go as hoped for the ever-confident veteran. Bautista hit 23 home runs but carried a miserable .203/.308/.366 slash in his 686 plate appearances. He also drew walks and went down on strikes at rates (12.2% and 24.8%, respectively) worse than he had since way back in 2008 — which is also the last time he spent the majority of his time at third.

It’s certainly an interesting gambit for the Braves, whose current plans at the hot corner involve riding out a Ryan Flaherty hot streak, mixing in Charlie Culberson, and waiting for Johan Camargo to return from the DL (while hoping he can repeat a surprisingly solid debut season). If Bautista can return to anything approaching the form he showed at the plate between 2010 and 2015, when he was one of the game’s very best hitters, he could boost a team that is playing solid baseball out of the gates but has cause to anticipate some regression from certain players.

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