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Ryan Bergert Expected To Join Padres Rotation

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Ryan Bergert is tabbed as the Padres probable starter for tonight’s matchup against the Giants. San Diego will recall the 25-year-old righty from Triple-A El Paso today. Bergert will go opposite Landen Roupp in his first major league start.

Bergert has been up once before. He was promoted in late April and tossed four scoreless innings in four lower-leverage situations. He’ll take on a more significant role this time around. As Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune writes, Bergert seems positioned to get a look as the fifth starter. Michael King has been out for a couple weeks with a shoulder issue. The Padres recalled Kyle Hart to take the first start in what would have been King’s spot. Hart gave up five runs through 4 2/3 innings against Miami and was promptly optioned back to Triple-A.

Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Stephen Kolek and Randy Vásquez occupy the top four rotation spots. The Padres are four days into a stretch of 14 consecutive game days. They’re off next Thursday but will again play 14 straight after that. That doesn’t allow them to comfortably work around the fifth rotation spot with bullpen days. Hart and Matt Waldron have each been optioned within the past couple days. They can’t be recalled for a couple weeks barring an injury. The Padres wouldn’t have sent them down if they were planning on either being their short-term fifth starter regardless.

King has an uncertain return timeline. The Padres said last week that he’s dealing with a pinched nerve. They’ve stressed that there’s nothing structurally wrong but indicated they don’t know how quickly the nerve irritation will subside. Yu Darvish has been out all season with elbow inflammation. He was pulled off a rehab assignment after experiencing soreness last month. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, he has been throwing side sessions but he’ll presumably need at least one or two rehab starts once he’s ready to resume game action.

Bergert, a sixth-round pick out of West Virginia in 2021, ranked as San Diego’s #21 prospect at Baseball America over the winter. BA credited him with three average to slightly above-average pitches and decent control. He’s working mostly behind a 94 MPH fastball and mid-80s slider in Triple-A. He may need to lean a little more heavily on his changeup to handle left-handed hitters at the MLB level.

The approach has worked well enough for him in El Paso. Bergert has posted a 3.75 ERA with a 24% strikeout rate over nine starts. He’s unlikely to work through a lineup three times very often, however. Bergert hasn’t topped five innings in any start this year. He’s mostly pitching 3-4 inning stints. Bergert tossed four scoreless with four strikeouts during his most recent appearance last Wednesday.

Reds To Add Joe La Sorsa To 40-Man Roster

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The Reds intend to select lefty reliever Joe La Sorsa onto their 40-man roster, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. He’ll remain with Triple-A Louisville, as the team will immediately option him back to the minors. Cincinnati has an open 40-man spot after last week’s Alexis Díaz trade, so there’s no need for a corresponding move.

La Sorsa triggered an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal over the weekend. That required the Reds to gauge interest from other teams in selecting his contract. If any other team were willing to do so, Cincinnati would either have to carry him on their own 40-man roster or let him join another team. They took the former approach to keep him in the organization, but he still has two minor league option years and can remain in Louisville through the end of next season if he holds his 40-man spot for that long.

The 27-year-old La Sorsa made 41 MLB appearances with the Rays and Nationals between 2023-24. He owns a cumulative 4.47 earned run average across 50 1/3 innings. La Sorsa’s sinker has sat in the 87-88 MPH range during his big league tenure. The lack of velocity has contributed to a below-average 19.2% strikeout rate. His velocity is up across the board this year in Triple-A. His sinker is sitting closer to 92 MPH, while he has pushed his sweeping slider from the mid-70s to north of 78 MPH on average. He’s running his four-seamer up to 94 MPH, though he has continued to lean on the sinker as his main pitch.

The uptick in stuff intrigued the Reds and presumably at least one other team. It hasn’t resulted in improved results, though. La Sorsa owns a 3.92 ERA with matching 16.1% strikeout and walk rates across 20 2/3 frames for Louisville. He’s getting whiffs on only 7.1% his offerings, which is two percentage points lower than last year’s Triple-A swinging strike rate. La Sorsa had managed a 2.25 ERA with much better command over 56 innings in the Nats’ system last season. The Reds will give him some more time to try to establish the command of his bigger stuff.

The Opener: Vientos, Caglianone, MLBTR Chat

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Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on throughout the day:

1. Vientos undergoes imaging:

The Mets won a tight game over the Dodgers last night, but the celebration was belied by an air of unease after infielder Mark Vientos suffered a hamstring injury in the top of the tenth inning while running to first base. Vientos told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) he wasn’t sure how severe the injury was, but he immediately underwent testing after being removed from the game. Manager Carlos Mendoza acknowledged to reporters that the injury “didn’t look good,” but the club would just have to wait and see the test results, which are expected to come back later today.

The 25-year-old Vientos was a breakout star for the Mets last year but has slumped through 53 games this season, hitting .230/.298/.380 (93 wRC+) with shaky defense. He’d lost playing time at third base to Brett Baty but has seen plenty of time at DH. If he ends up missing time, some combination of Starling Marte, Jared Young and infielder Ronny Mauricio will see more reps. Mauricio, who missed all of 2024 due to an ACL tear, is reportedly being called back to the big leagues today which further lends credence to the idea that Vientos could be IL-bound. After a slow start to the season in the minors as he shook off some rust, he’s caught fire in Triple-A, hitting over .500 in nine games to boost his season-long minor league line to .323/.384/.508 in 19 games.

2. Caglianone to debut:

It’s an exciting day for fans of the Royals, as 2024’s No. 6 overall pick is poised to join the roster. Jac Caglianone has emerged as one of the top power-hitting prospects in baseball as he’s utterly torched minor league pitching this season. After a slow start to his pro career at High-A and in the Arizona Fall League last season, he’s kicked things into high gear in 2025 with a .322/.389/.593 slash line across 50 games at the Double- and Triple-A levels. He’s already crushed 15 homers in just 229 plate appearances, including six in dozen games at Triple-A.

Primarily a first baseman during his years in college, Caglianone has begun getting work in at the outfield corners in the run-up to his debut and appears likely to get the opportunity to cement himself as a cornerstone of the Royals’ lineup in the outfield. Caglianone’s first game in the majors is slated to begin at 6:45pm local time this evening in St. Louis, where the Royals will be taking on Cardinals right-hander Andre Pallante (4.23 ERA).

3. MLBTR Chat Today:

We’re now officially into the month of June, leaving less than two months until the July 31 trade deadline. The rumor mill has already begun to kick up in recent days, ranging from club plans for the deadline to specific connections between players and teams with even a few actual trades sprinkled in. Whether you’re looking ahead to the deadline or still trying to sort between the contenders and pretenders, MLBTR’s Steve Adams has you covered in a live chat scheduled for 1pm CT today. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.

Padres Interested In Jarren Duran

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The Padres are looking to upgrade in left field and Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports that Jarren Duran of the Red Sox is on their list of trade targets. They have been interested in Duran before, as they were connected to him in rumors ahead of the 2024 season.

Given the prior interest, it’s not especially surprising that the Friars still have their eyes on him. They weren’t able to pry him loose ahead of last year but wound up with a cheap solution for their left field opening, as they looked to replace Juan Soto without having much to spend. They signed Jurickson Profar for just $1MM and got a career year out of him, though obviously that now looks suspect in the wake of his recent PED suspension.

Going into 2025, the Friars once again had financial limitations and tried to grab more lightning in a bottle. They brought in a number of players on small deals and minor league pacts, adding them to their incumbent options. So far, they have tried eight different players in left: Jason Heyward, Oscar González, Brandon Lockridge, Gavin Sheets, Tirso Ornelas, Tyler Wade, Jose Iglesias and Connor Joe.

No one in that group has been a solution so far. González is now playing in Japan. Heyward hit .176/.223/.271 before landing on the injured list with an oblique strain. Ornelas has hit .071/.188/.071 in the majors and is on optional assignment. Joe was traded to the Reds. Wade, Iglesias and Lockridge are mostly glove-first multi-positional guys. Sheets is having a good year at the plate but is not a good defender in left. He also departed yesterday’s game after colliding with the left field wall while trying to catch a home run ball.

Duran, on the other hand, is a great left fielder. Last year, he hit 21 home runs and slashed .285/.342/.492 for a 129 wRC+. He stole 34 bases and got strong marks for his glovework, splitting his time almost equally between center and left. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 6.7 wins above replacement on the year.

Here in 2025, his offense is down. He has just four home runs so far. His walk rate has also fallen from last year’s 7.3% to this year’s 5.7% mark. That gives him a .264/.312/.406 line and 97 wRC+. His Statcast numbers are a mixed bag. His hard hit rate and exit velocity are up relative to last year but he’s barreling the ball less. His home run to fly ball rate has almost been cut in half, going from 11.7% last year to 6% this year.

Whether he can get back to last year’s offense is hard to say but he does have 13 steals. His glovework isn’t getting the glowing marks it did last year but those numbers can get a bit wonky in small samples.

Regardless of this year’s slide, Duran would be a nice upgrade over anything the Padres currently have in house. There’s also the financial element to consider, as the Friars have clearly been operating with limited funds for years now. Duran just qualified for arbitration for the first time as a Super Two player in the most recent offseason.

He and the Red Sox didn’t agree to terms ahead of the filing deadline but eventually avoided arbitration. He is making a $3.75MM salary this year with a $100K buyout on an $8MM club option for 2026. That option can climb as high as $12MM via escalators. Even if that option is turned down, Duran can still be retained via arbitration for 2026, and through the 2028 season as well.

The combination of his skills, control and affordable salary makes the interest from the Padres very easy to understand. However, those attributes also give him plenty of appeal to the Red Sox and it’s unclear if they have any interest in moving him while he could still be a key part of their club for years to come.

It is possible to imagine a scenario where they consider it. The Sox currently have a crowded outfield mix, with Duran usually slotting in next to center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela and right fielder Wilyer Abreu, while Rob Refsnyder is on hand as a bench outfielder. Masataka Yoshida would be in the mix if he were healthy. Rafael Devers has the designated hitter spot taken almost every day. The situation is such that Roman Anthony, considered by many to be the top prospect in baseball, can’t get a call-up even as he is destroying Triple-A pitching.

The Sox are also having a bit of a disappointing season on the whole, currently sporting a record of 29-32. They are only 3.5 games out of a playoff spot but would have to leapfrog many teams to get into postseason position. Their injured list currently features Yoshida, Alex Bregman, Triston Casas and a number of pitchers.

Over the coming weeks, it’s possible that they slide further back in the crowded American League playoff race. In that scenario, perhaps they decide that they want to make Duran available. Trading him would open left field for Anthony while presumably bringing back some valuable pieces in the trade as well.

However, that’s a lot of speculation. And even if becomes more realistic, the Padres surely wouldn’t be the only club with interest. As noted by Lin, the Friars have traded away a lot of prospects in recent years. Even with their clear interest, they may not have the prospect capital to get a deal done. Their system is headlined by two highly-ranked prospects in Ethan Salas and Leo De Vries but reporting has generally indicated the Padres want to hold onto those two as their future catcher and shortstop respectively.

Even if the Padres are willing to further subtract from their system, they might also have to think about their rotation, as Lin points out. Michael King and Yu Darvish are on the injured list right now, which further subtracts from a group that was already top-heavy to begin the year.

There are plenty of variables involved here and there’s still lots of time until the trade deadline, but it’s a situation to monitor for now with more rumors surely to follow. This year’s trade deadline is on July 31st.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Astros Sign Jordan Weems To Minor League Deal

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The Astros have signed right-hander Jordan Weems to a minor league deal, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The righty will report to Triple-A Sugar Land and provide the Astros with some non-roster depth.

Weems, 32, was released by Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. He had signed a minor league deal with that club in the offseason and was at the Triple-A level to start the year. He logged 17 2/3 innings with a 5.09 earned run average. His 12.5% walk rate was on the high side but his 22.5% strikeout rate was decent and his 45.1% ground ball rate was pretty solid.

That wasn’t enough to get him called up to the big leagues but he has some respectable major league work on his track record. Over 2022 and 2023, he logged 94 1/3 innings for the Nationals with a 4.29 ERA. His 10.1% walk rate was a bit worse than par but he struck out 25.4% of batters faced. Unfortunately, things turned sour last year. His strikeout rate dropped to 17.9% and his walk rate ticked up to 12.2%, leading to a 6.70 ERA. He was outrighted to the minors in August and elected free agency at season’s end.

Between last year’s major league work and this year’s stint in the minors, it hasn’t been a great stretch for the righty. However, as mentioned, he was a serviceable big leaguer in the prior two seasons. For the Astros, there’s no real risk in bringing him aboard via a minor league deal to get a close-up look at him. Their bullpen has been pretty good this year but there’s no harm in adding some extra non-roster depth in case some injuries pop up in the coming weeks or months.

Photo courtesy of Mike Lang, Imagn Images.

Jose Urena Elects Free Agency

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José Ureña elected free agency, the Blue Jays told reporters (including Mitch Bannon of The Athletic). Toronto designated the veteran righty for assignment on Saturday. He went unclaimed on waivers and had the service time to decline an outright.

Ureña spent less than a month with the Jays. Toronto signed him to a big league deal in early May. He made one spot start as the Jays were cycling through pitchers to fill the #5 rotation job. Ureña made another two-inning start as a quasi-opener in front of Eric Lauer. He has otherwise been working in 1-2 inning stints as a low-leverage reliever.

The 33-year-old Ureña pitched 12 1/3 innings. His five runs allowed are reasonable, but that came despite a 5:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio and three homers. It’s tough to see that approach working long term, so the Jays pulled the plug over the weekend. Ureña had an even briefer stint with the Mets earlier this year. New York carried him on the active roster for three days between late April and early May. He made one three-inning appearance as a Met.

Ureña figures to land another minor league contract. He has a long track record as a swingman over an MLB career that has spanned parts of 11 seasons. He managed 109 innings across 33 appearances (nine starts) with the Rangers last year, turning in a 3.80 ERA despite a below-average 15.1% strikeout rate.

A’s Place Gunnar Hoglund On IL, Recall JJ Bleday

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The Athletics announced a handful of moves before tonight’s series opener against the Twins. Rookie starter Gunnar Hoglund is headed to the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 1, with a left hip impingement. They also lost third baseman/outfielder Miguel Andujar to the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain. Outfielder JJ Bleday and reliever Elvis Alvarado are up from Triple-A Las Vegas in corresponding moves. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com reported the Bleday recall before the club announcement.

Hoglund has held a rotation spot since being called up on May 2. The former first-round pick looked good over his first two starts, combining for 11 1/3 innings of three-run ball. He has been hit hard in each of the four appearances since then. Hoglund has allowed multiple home runs in three of them, including four longballs over six innings at the Rogers Centre on Saturday. He carries a 6.40 ERA across 32 1/3 innings.

The A’s will need to figure out a solution to round out the rotation behind Luis Severino, JP Sears, Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez. The team’s hopes of competing for a playoff spot have crumbled because of the pitching staff. MLB’s worst bullpen certainly bears some responsibility, but the rotation has also been untenable of late. Only the Rockies had a higher rotation ERA than the A’s 6.24 mark in May.

Bleday returns to the MLB outfield less than two weeks after being optioned. Rookie Denzel Clarke jumped him as the starting center fielder, as he brings a significantly higher defensive floor. Bleday could push for left field reps. Drew Avans remains in left field tonight against Minnesota righty Joe Ryan. Avans only has 11 career plate appearances, but this is his fourth start in the past six games. Bleday hit .370 over six Triple-A games to get back onto the MLB roster.

Giants Activate Jerar Encarnacion

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The Giants activated first baseman/corner outfielder Jerar Encarnacion from the 60-day injured list before tonight’s game against San Diego. Outfielder Luis Matos was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. The move bumps the team’s 40-man roster count to 39.

Encrnacion broke a bone in his left hand when he dove for a ball in Spring Training. He underwent surgery that knocked him out for the first two months of the season. Encarnacion had entered camp with a decent path to playing time, especially against left-handed pitching. He could pick up short-side platoon reps at first base from LaMonte Wade Jr. and figured to get a lot of run as the designated hitter.

Wilmer Flores has hit for enough power to establish himself as Bob Melvin’s top choice at DH. The lefty-swinging Wade has had a terrible season at first base, though. He’ll take a .167/.271/.271 slash line into play tonight. While Wade has never been a conventionally slugging first baseman, he reached base at north of a .370 clip in each of the past two seasons. The Giants continue to give him the majority of playing time against righty pitching. Casey Schmitt has gotten some first base reps as well. He’s hitting .195 with no homers in 15 games.

Encarnacion, 27, appeared in 35 games late last season. He hit five homers while slugging .425, but it came with a .248 average and a .277 on-base mark. His only previous experience consisted of 23 games for the Marlins in 2022. Wade remains the starter tonight against San Diego right-hander Stephen Kolek. Melvin conceded that he could cede playing time rather quickly if he doesn’t get on track offensively. “It’s going to be about performance here. If (Wade) starts to take off here he might see more playing time, and if not, you might see Jerar a little bit more,” he told reporters (link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area).

In either case, this remains an area to watch as the 33-26 Giants approach deadline season. Bryce Eldridge looms in the minors, but he’s still 20 years old and has yet to play a Triple-A game. Shayna Rubin of The San Francisco Chronicle wrote last week that the organization will get former top prospect Marco Luciano some first base reps in Triple-A as well. Luciano is only hitting .212/.335/.394 over 52 games with Sacramento, so he’s not an ideal option either.

Shane Bieber Targeting Return In Late June

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Former American League Cy Young winner Shane Bieber could be back in the Guardians’ rotation before the end of the month. The 30-year-old righty, who underwent Tommy John surgery last April, began a minor league rehab assignment Saturday when he pitched 2 1/3 innings for the Guards’ Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League and punched out five of nine opponents.

Bieber’s next start is slated to come at the Double-A level on Thursday, reports Zack Meisel of The Athletic, who adds that Bieber will likely take “about four weeks, give or take a few days” before returning to the majors (barring any setbacks). The maximum length for a pitcher’s rehab stint is generally 30 days, so with Bieber already making one rehab start last week, it’ll likely be a few days shy of that four-week mark. Pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery can get up to three 10-day extensions to that rehab window with approval from the league and MLBPA.

If the Guards indeed plan to use around a 30-day rehab window, as Meisel implies, Bieber could make six rehab starts, with a final appearance on June 25 (or thereabouts) before being reinstated on the 29th and making his big league return on the 30th. Alternatively, they could bring him back into the MLB fold around that June 25 mark if things go smoothly. The specifics of his return will depend on how he fares in the weeks ahead, but Guardians fans can begin building up anticipation now that there’s a clock underway (again, barring any setback that would result in Bieber being pulled back from rehab).

Bieber made only two starts in 2024, his final season of club control in Cleveland, before incurring his ill-timed injury. That’s not to say there’s ever a “good” time for a player to suffer a UCL injury of course, but doing so just two weeks into one’s platform year before reaching the open market is particularly sub-optimal. That’s all the more true given that the right-hander looked brilliant in those two outings as he looked to rebound from a pedestrian 2023 showing. Bieber’s average fastball had ticked back up to 92 mph after sitting 91.3 mph in each of the past two seasons, per Statcast. His heater had been particularly limited in April in the 2022-23 seasons, sitting under 91 mph in both. That made the velo uptick all the more encouraging.

Bieber didn’t allow a run in 12 innings last year, and he struck out a comical 20 of his 45 opponents (44.4%) against just one walk (2.2%). Fifty percent of the balls put in play against him were grounders. It was a sample of just two starts, granted, but it’s hard to draw up a better beginning to a pitcher’s walk year — or a worse finish than what quickly transpired thereafter.

Had Bieber enjoyed a healthy season, he might’ve been able to command a nine-figure contract on the open market. Instead, he returned to the Guards on a two-year contract that guarantees him $26MM. The second season of that contract is a player option, however, so Bieber’s return effort merits a watchful eye. He’s being paid $10MM this season and has a $16MM player option with a $4MM buyout that he’d receive upon declining. As long as he’s confident he can top a one-year, $12MM deal — which seems overwhelmingly likely, so long as he’s healthy — Bieber will head back to the open market at season’s end. The Guards could then make him a qualifying offer.

Cleveland’s rotation has struggled without its typical top starter, ranking 22nd in the majors with a collective 4.16 ERA. The Guardians also just lost right-hander Ben Lively, who leads the rotation with a 3.22 ERA, to his own Tommy John procedure. Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee have posted nearly identical 3.79 and 3.86 ERAs, respectively, though the former is doing in spite of an ugly 13.2% walk rate he’ll need to improve if he hopes to sustain a sub-4.00 ERA. Logan Allen (4.31 ERA) and Luis Ortiz (4.40 ERA) have both made at least 10 starts and held their own, though Allen’s 16.4% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate make his performance feel a bit suspect. Offseason trade acquisition Slade Cecconi has been in the rotation recently, making two very good starts to begin his Guardians tenure before a rocky third outing (five runs in 4 1/3 innings). He’s sitting on a 5.28 ERA in 15 1/3 innings overall.

All five current members of the Cleveland rotation can be optioned, which gives the Cleveland front office some flexibility once Bieber is ready to return.

Braves Hire Fredi Gonzalez As Third Base Coach

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The Braves announced that they’ve hired Fredi González as third base coach. Matt Tuiasosopo, who had held the role, has agreed to be reassigned to the position of minor league infield coordinator.

González is back with the club he managed between 2011-16. They posted a .512 win percentage during that time, making consecutive playoff berths in 2012-13. They were en route to a last place finish in 2016 when González was fired in the middle of May. They promoted organizational staple Brian Snitker from Triple-A to take the job. Snitker has been there ever since and is behind only Hall of Famers Bobby Cox and Frank Selee (who managed the team at the turn of the 20th century when they were known as the Boston Beaneaters) on the franchise’s all-time win leaderboard.

Snitker and González are familiar with one another. Snitker served on the MLB staff as third base coach between 2011-13. Mark Bowman of MLB.com notes that the two longtime friends met last week while the Braves were playing in Philadelphia, though he adds that was not related to the job search. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said the team didn’t seriously contemplate making the change until yesterday.

González has not managed since being fired by Atlanta. He spent a few seasons as third base coach in Miami before joining the Orioles’ staff in 2020. That included three seasons as bench coach until he was let go last winter. He makes his return to an MLB staff in place of Tuiasosopo, who spent a year-plus in the position after replacing Ron Washington.

The Braves have had four runners thrown out at home plate this season, including one on a particularly bad send in which Jarren Duran easily cut down Alex Verdugo on May 17. Atlanta also had a crucial ninth-inning miscue in a one-run loss to the Padres on May 23. Eli White was on second base and advanced towards third on a line drive single to center field. White misread a stop sign from Tuiasosopo and evidently believed he was signaling that the ball had been caught. He needlessly tried to scramble back to second base and was thrown out. It’s tough to fault Tuiasosopo for that one — White took responsibility postgame and called it “a bad read and misjudgment on my part”  — but the situation magnified some of the team’s baserunning mistakes. The Braves will hope that González’s return helps reduce those.

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