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Max Fried

DL Placements: Fried, Carle, Albers

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A trio of pitchers have hit the disabled list this afternoon… here are the details.

  • The Braves have placed Max Fried on the DL with a left groin strain, the club announced. It’s a notable loss for a pennant-chasing Atlanta club, as Fried’s been excellent in four starts (nine total appearances) so far this season. Despite walking a whopping 16 batters in just 26 2/3 innings, Fried’s managed to post a tidy 3.38 ERA thanks in part to 34 strikeouts and a 50.8% ground ball rate. He’s benefitted from an 80.5% strand rate, but his whopping 23.1% HR/FB rate suggests a bit of bad luck in that department. Fried’s injury suggest that Atlanta will likely return to a traditional five-man rotation for the time being, utilizing Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Anibal Sanchez and the newly-acquired Kevin Gausman.
  • Simultaneously, the Braves have lost a valuable righty reliever to the DL in the form of Shane Carle (shoulder inflammation). Carle’s been fantastic out of the bullpen this season, posting a 2.53 ERA across 53 1/3 innings. The righty’s been used for four or more outs a whopping 14 times in 2018, so the club will surely miss his ability to eat late innings for the time being. In the absence of Fried and Carle, the Braves have recalled lefty Adam McCreery and righty Wes Parsons from Triple-A Gwinett.
  • The Brewers have unsurprisingly added righty reliever Matt Albers to their disabled list, owing to a left hamstring issue. It’s been clear that something isn’t right with the 35-year-old veteran, as he’s allowed a cataclysmic 18 earned runs across his past eight appearances spanning 5 1/3 innings dating back to the start of June. In the season’s first two months, though, Albers had allowed just three earned runs across 25 innings; the club will hope to get him right in time for him to make an impact out of their ’pen down the stretch. Recently-acquired right-hander Jordan Lyles will take Albers’ place on the active roster for the time being.

Mike Soroka, Arodys Vizcaino Still Weeks Away From Throwing

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The Braves provided some notable updates yesterday on a pair of important righties, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman was among those to report. Both top pitching prospect Mike Soroka and closer Arodys Vizcaino will need to rest their ailing shoulders for a few more weeks before returning to the hill.

Right now, there are about nine weeks of regular-season play remaining. The two hurlers will need not only to work through a throwing progression, but also undertake rehab work before getting back to the majors.

Getting all the way back to the majors would be an especially difficult proposition for Soroka, who has been on the shelf for about a month. Though he’s said not to be dealing with any structural issues in the joint, shoulder inflammation had already forced a stretch on the DL earlier in the year. Clearly, the club is committed to exercising caution, much as it might wish to have Soroka available down the stretch and into the postseason.

It’s a bit different for Vizcaino, who is a veteran pitcher entering his final season of arbitration eligibility. As a reliever, his path back will be shorter. While he has also experienced prior shoulder woes this season, the Braves will understandably be somewhat more aggressive with trying to get him back in game action.

As Snitker explained, there’s still good reason to think that Vizcaino will return, though risk remains:

“I don’t see Viz missing the year. I think at some point — because he’s a one-inning guy — we can get him back. I say that, but until we get him throwing, we don’t know.”

What’s most interesting about these developments is how they’ll impact the team’s deadline moves. Both the rotation and bullpen would clearly be better units with Soroka and Vizcaino, respectively. GM Alex Anthopoulos has said all along he’d like to wait until he has all the information needed to determine priorities. The decision point is now nearly upon him.

With regard to the rotation, the fact that there’s no longer a clear path back for Soroka makes it more likely than ever that the Braves will push to land an established, controllable starter. The unit has at least one hole, and that’s before considering the fact that all of the top four existing options have rather significantly outperformed their peripherals by measure of major ERA estimators. Young lefty Max Fried is moving back toward the majors on a rehab assignment, as David O’Brien of The Athletic recently tweeted, though he’s hardly a sure thing and arguably won’t be capable of delivering the kind of near-term impact the team needs (or, at least, wants).

[RELATED: MLBTR’s Top 75 Trade Candidates]

In the pen, it’s certainly encouraging to hear that the team can reasonably hope for a contribution from Vizcaino down the stretch. But there are no guarantees. And the relief unit was already an area that the Braves likely would have targeted for at least some improvement. From here on out, every game is a high-leverage one given the situation in the NL East, so late-inning arms will be of critical importance. Waiting and hoping for Vizcaino to return, then, likely won’t be sufficient.

Anthopoulos said just yesterday that he’s open to adding in multiple areas. In addition to the rotation and relief corps, he cited “a bat” as a possibility. (Improving the mix on the left side of the infield still seems the likeliest course in that regard.) The GM also indicated he’s interested in securing controllable assets if possible. Indeed, that may be necessary if he hopes to land impact arms, as there are relatively few rental hurlers that figure to represent significant upgrades and multiple other teams that will pursue them.

Braves GM Anthopoulos On Payroll, Rentals, Pitching Staff

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Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos recently sat down with Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for an extensive Q&A about a team that has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations and finds itself in the thick of a division race (Q&A Part 1, Part 2). Braves fans in particular will want to check out the full conversation, as Anthopoulos discusses some front office processes, the team’s minor league depth and quite a few other interesting topics at length.

With an eye toward the looming non-waiver trade deadline, though, Anthopoulos sheds a bit of light on how the Braves could operate moving forward. Perhaps most notably, Anthopoulos describes a recent MLB.com report suggesting that the Braves are close to their payroll maximum to be inaccurate. Anthopoulos recalls the manner in which he was handcuffed by financial constraints with the Blue Jays at the 2014 deadline, which prompted him to resist some late-offseason spending in order to keep some money set aside for summer moves in 2015. The 2018 season in Atlanta seems to be a similar case.

“So we’ve set some money aside from a big-league payroll standpoint, so we definitely have (it) for this moment,” said the GM of his team’s current financial outlook. “…[W]e saved some money and we have that available, and now – as the byproduct of the results – attendance is up, everything is up, the organization is doing much better.” Anthopoulos added that he’s already had conversations about the team’s spending capacity with chairman Terry McGuirk. Perhaps most notably, Anthopoulos plainly states that there is “no single player” the Braves cannot afford to add.

That said, he’s also careful to emphasize that that ability to spend doesn’t mean Braves fans should be counting the days to a splashy addition. Anthopoulos estimated that “90 percent” of the players available in trades at present are of the rental variety and expressed some notable reluctance about the possibility of acquiring such players.

“There’s a lot of pain that has gone into putting together this young talent,” Anthopoulos continued. “We’re not ready to throw that all away just because of one season. That said, I do think we owe it to the players and the fan base and the organization to make this team better, one way or another.”

Asked specifically about whether he has the depth of pitching to make it to the postseason, Anthopoulos confidently stated that the Braves do indeed have the necessary arms. Luiz Gohara is back in the Triple-A rotation and will be an option to start if need, and Max Fried is on the mend from the blister issues that are presently hampering him. Braves fans will be heartened to see Anthopoulos speak extremely favorably of top prospect Kolby Allard, noting that expects the lefty to get a chance down the line (though he understandably declined to specify precisely when).

As for the relief corps, the Braves are “definitely trying to add to that group,” according to Anthopoulos. While he characterizes the current group as one that could get the Braves to October, he also acknowledges that getting to the postseason and winning in the postseason when other teams can more aggressively leverage their top relievers (due to built-in off days in the schedule) are separate matters. “On the one hand, in October you don’t need as much depth,” said Anthopoulos. “You need three, four reliable guys. On the other, it’s a very young and inexperienced bullpen.” That, it seems, would suggest that the Braves are open to adding, if not actively striving to add a more experienced late-inning option to the mix — a need that could be viewed as even more pressing with Arodys Vizcaino now on the DL for shoulder inflammation for a second time.

Anthopoulos and Bradley also talk about his expectations for the team heading into the offseason, his thoughts on the rest of the NL East, the possibility of some of his young players hitting a wall as the season wears on and the fact that he is very cognizant of the fact that his team’s play is placing him under pressure as a first-year GM in a new organization.

Braves Designate Peter Bourjos For Assignment

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The Braves have designated outfielder Peter Bourjos for assignment, the team announced on Twitter.  In a corresponding move, southpaw Max Fried has been called up from Triple-A to start tonight’s game against the Cardinals.

Signed to a minor league contract near the end of Spring Training, Bourjos was released by the Braves at the end of April and then quickly re-signed to a new minors deal.  The veteran outfielder hasn’t provided much at the plate (.205/.239/.364 slash line in 47 PA), though his primary role in Atlanta has been serving as a late-game defensive replacement, usually in left field.

With Ronald Acuna now back from the disabled list and stepping back into the starting left field role, Bourjos became expendable, though the Braves are likely hoping that he can slip from waivers and remain in the organization as center field depth.  Acuna and backups Danny Santana and Charlie Culberson are all imperfect fill-ins behind everyday center fielder Ender Inciarte, while Bourjos has long been a capable-to-very good defender throughout his career.

This is the third time Fried has been promoted to the MLB roster this season, and the left-hander has contributed a 4.09 ERA and 13 strikeouts (plus a troubling seven walks) over 11 innings of work.  He has yet to receive an extended look at the big league level either this year or after making his Major League debut in 2017, though Fried could get more of an opportunity now that Brandon McCarthy and Mike Soroka are both on the disabled list.  Fried was ranked as a top-100 prospect by Baseball America (which had him 72nd) and MLB.com (83rd) prior to the season.

Braves Place Mike Soroka On 10-Day DL, Recall Max Fried

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The Braves have placed young righty Mike Soroka on the 10-day DL with a right shoulder strain, per a club announcement. The placement is retroactive to May 14th. His scheduled start tonight will instead be taken by Max Fried, who has been recalled.

That’s not the news the Braves were hoping for with a prized young hurler, though perhaps the team is just exercising precaution. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that the club believes he could be able to return in time to make his next scheduled start, which would presumably mean coming off of the DL after the minimum absence.

Soroka, one of the Atlanta roster’s slate of fascinating twenty-year-old talents, has impressed through three MLB starts. He carries a 3.68 ERA in 14 2/3 innings, with underlying peripherals (9.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 42.9% groundball rate) that suggest he’s more than ready for the majors. Though it was not certain when he came up whether he’d stick, it now seems reasonable to anticipate he’ll be in the majors to stay so long as he remains healthy.

For the time being, though, it’ll be Fried who gets the chance. The 24-year-old has made four relief appearances on the year in the majors but also took three starts at Triple-A. At his best, Fried can generate grounders and strikeouts in much the same manner Soroka has, though the southpaw has long handed out too many free passes and is not considered as promising as the man he’ll substitute for.

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 Select Contract Of Tony Sanchez, Retract Announcement Of Micah Johnson DFA

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12:20pm: Although the Braves announced in a morning press release that Johnson had been designated for assignment, the team now tells reporters that Johnson has not been designated and that there was some internal miscommunication (Twitter link via David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Atlanta considered designating Johnson but ultimately elected to keep him on the roster due to the fact that they already had an open 40-man spot for Sanchez.

10:11am: The Braves announced that they have designated infielder Micah Johnson for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Johnson’s 40-man roster spot will go to catcher Tony Sanchez, who was acquired yesterday in the trade that sent Brandon Phillips to the Angels.

The Braves have also activated lefty Ian Krol and righty Luke Jackson from the 10-day DL, while recalling left-handers Max Fried and Rex Brothers and third baseman Rio Ruiz from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Johnson, 26, was once one of the White Sox’ best-regarded prospects, but his stock has fallen in recent years. He was shipped from Chicago to Los Angeles as part of the three-time Todd Frazier trade in the 2015-16 offseason, and the Dodgers flipped him to the Braves for cash this past winter. Injuries limited his playing time this season, but Johnson batted .301/.391/.390 across three levels (mostly Triple-A — 36 games) in a total of 157 plate appearances. He’s a career .282/.341/.392 hitter in Triple-A bu has struggled in his brief exposure to the Majors.

Sanchez, meanwhile, is a known name due to his status as the former No. 4 overall pick in the draft (Pirates, 2009). He hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2015, though, and has never enjoyed much success at the game’s top level. In parts of three seasons, the now-29-year-old Sanchez has totaled 155 plate appearances and batted .259/.303/.378. He’s hit for a respectable .272 average and gotten on base at a solid .355 clip through 70 Triple-A contests this season, though he’s scarcely hit for power (.374 slugging, .102 ISO, four homers in 284 PAs).

Braves Notes: Minter, Fried, Winkler, Freeman

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The Braves swapped one highly regarded left-handed pitching prospect for another yesterday, optioning Max Fried to Triple-A Gwinnett and selecting the contract of southpaw A.J. Minter to take his place. As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes, the move will allow Fried, who projects as a starter long term, to make another couple of starts and boost his innings total a bit further this year before returning in September once rosters expand. Fried has been working out of the bullpen in the Majors and has 93 1/3 total innings between the Majors and minors this year. He tossed 118 2/3 frames with the Padres’ A-ball club back in 2013 but has topped out at 103 innings in a season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014. As for Minter, he debuted with a pair of punchouts in a perfect inning last night and will use the remainder of the season as an audition for the 2018 bullpen. The Braves originally selected Minter with the 75th overall pick in 2015 — a Competitive Balance (Round B) selection that the D-backs traded to Atlanta in order to shed a significant portion of Trevor Cahill’s contract.

More out of Atlanta…

  • Right-hander Dan Winkler returned to the Braves earlier this week after missing the majority of the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery and nearly all of the 2016 season due to a fractured elbow. Bowman spoke to Winkler, who said that at one point he thought he’d never be able to pitch again, about his emotional return to the mound. However, the vast amount of time that Winkler spent on the disabled list (as opposed to the active roster) means that even though it’ll be three years since he was selected by the Braves in the Rule 5 Draft this coming December, he’ll still need to open the 2018 campaign in the Atlanta bullpen or be offered back to the Rockies.
  • Freddie Freeman’s power numbers have dipped a bit since his return from the disabled list, and the first baseman tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the fractured wrist which cost him roughly seven weeks of the season is still only at about “80 to 85 percent” strength. Freeman said he’s connected on multiple deep flies that he assumed were home runs, only to see them fall a bit short. Doctors have told Freeman that his wrist won’t fully heal as long as he continues playing, but Freeman indicated that he’s healthy enough to play on an everyday basis, so he’ll be out there with his teammates and let the healing process complete itself this winter. Of course, even with the “diminished” production, Freeman is batting .320/.391/.535 with eight homers and 13 doubles through 192 PAs since coming off the DL. He playfully referred to himself as a “good enough slap hitter” at the moment, though most slap hitters could only dream of logging that type of production over any sustained period.

Coppolella On Braves’ Offseason Plans, Prospects, Olivera, Kemp

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Braves GM John Coppolella took over his club’s Twitter account today to address the organization’s direction. While he expressed disappointment that the win-loss record hasn’t shown much improvement, the focus obviously remains on the future for Atlanta. Still, he continued to suggest that the expectation is for the on-field product to begin improving in the near term … and also left no doubt that he follows Braves fandom rather closely on social media.

Here are some of the key points, with all links to Twitter:

[Related: Braves Depth Chart]

  • Coppolella predicts that the Braves will be quite active in free agency, saying that the team has “more money to spend than in the past 10 years.” Atlanta has never been one of the biggest spenders around, so it’s not exactly a lofty bar, but with only $50MM on the books for 2017 (before arbitration raises) there ought to be some added freedom this winter. Coppy adds that he’s interested in making “major [free agent] signings” to bring in “impactful” players, with a focus (whether in free agency or trade) on adding “at least two” starters and bolstering the catching unit. The latter area, at least, is one of some depth on the coming market.
  • The upcoming crop of open-market starters, of course, is about as thin as we’ve ever seen. But that remains a need for the Braves, with Coppolella saying he was disappointed in the lack of progress from the club’s young rotation members. He adds that “opportunity time is over in 2017” for those pitchers, who will “have to earn a rotation spot once [the Braves] add free agents.” One still-youthful staff member, Julio Teheran, has turned in an outstanding year. While Coppolella did not address the topic, I’d note that it’ll be interesting to see whether there is any chatter regarding the talented righty, whose stock is firmly on the rise. He has often been mentioned as a trade candidate, but with Atlanta looking to add at the major league level, the time for a deal may have passed.
  • There isn’t a general need for arms, Coppolella insisted. In addition to noting the many minor league talents who are in the pipeline, he says that the “bullpen is likely the least area of concern” entering the winter.
  • Looking back, Coppolella acknowledges that acquiring Hector Olivera “still haunts me.” That deal obviously did not pan out on or off the field, and Olivera’s contract was sent to the Padres in the deal that netted Matt Kemp. The Braves GM copped to being “shortsighted” in commenting recently on Kemp’s poor conditioning, saying the veteran has been “terrific” in all regards since coming over. As for a trade that has gone in Atlanta’s favor, Coppolella expressed surprise at Shelby Miller’s struggles with the Diamondbacks and said that as many as twenty teams attempted to acquire him last winter.
  • The Braves did not promote young infielder Ozzie Albies to the majors this year because they “didn’t feel Ozzie was ready,” says Coppolella. But he notes that the youngster “will get an opportunity to fight for a [major league] job” this spring despite being passed over. Generally, Coppolella added, the organization expects to “continue to push players and provide opportunities.” He hinted that service time won’t be a factor in determining when the club’s touted minor league assets make it to the bigs.
  • With a laundry list of interesting young arms on the farm, Coppolella singled out towering, 22-year-old righty Patrick Weigel, who he says has a “chance to be a frontline starter.” The 2015 seventh-round draft pick has posted 149 2/3 innings of 2.47 ERA ball at the High-A and (briefly) Double-A levels this year, with 9.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, leading Coppy to name him the most improved minor league pitcher in the organization. The GM cited outfielder Dustin Peterson as the recipient of that honor on the position-player side after his .282/.343/.431 batting line and 12 home runs over 578 plate appearances at Double-A. Peterson came over as part of a group of increasingly interesting prospects in the Justin Upton trade, with lefty Max Fried also drawing praise from the organization’s baseball operations triggerman.
  • All said, it promises to be another interesting winter in Atlanta. It’s generally a quiet time right now on the rumor front, but Coppolella says the club is already holding talks on prospective offseason trades. Primary attention seems to be going to the major league roster at present, but Coppolella suggested that he will continue to focus on infusing young talent to the system, writing that the organization “will always try to trade for draft picks” when possible.

NL Notes: Heyward, Schwarber, Fried

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Jason Heyward received a bit of a rough welcome back to St. Louis today, as he appeared there for the first time since leaving the Cardinals for the rival Cubs. But that didn’t seem to bother him; as he told reporters, including MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat (Twitter link): “If somebody boos me here, that means they weren’t happy to see me leave. I’m glad people weren’t happy to see me leave.” He’s already covered his decision to move on to Chicago in some detail, of course, but the occasion offered a chance to revisit the winter market once again. As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, Heyward ultimately spurned the Cards not out of any failure to see eye-to-eye on a contract, but because he had found another spot he preferred. “It came down to Chicago was really where I would like to be at the time,” Heyward said. “… I feel like [the Cardinals] had every intention of keeping me here. They said that. And they followed that through with their actions. It didn’t come down to contract. Whether it was the opt-out, whether it was the full no-trade (clause), or what have you — it came down to taking the opportunity to be where I wanted to be and for the first time in my life having the choice.”

Here are a few more notes from the National League:

  • Cubs catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber is set for surgery this week on his injured left knee, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com was among those to tweet. It’s already clear that he’ll miss the entire season with ACL and LCL tears, but a broader recovery timeline remains unknown and will presumably depend in part upon how the procedure goes.
  • Young Braves lefty Max Fried is showing promise in his return from Tommy John surgery, Carroll Rogers Walton of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The 22-year-old was a highly-regarded prospect before running into elbow troubles, and remains a high-upside arm for an Atlanta organization that is full of them. He came over in the Justin Upton trade, but has only just returned to action. Fried was not only the high school teammate of Lucas Giolito — who is now the top-rated pitching prospect in baseball — but ended up being taken higher in the 2012 draft when the Nationals’ right-hander fell due to his own elbow troubles.

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