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Braves Select Jackson Stephens

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The Braves announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Jackson Stephens from Triple-A Gwinnett and optioned righty Allan Winans in his place. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, injured right-hander Michael Soroka was transferred to the 60-day IL. Soroka was recently shut down for the season due to forearm inflammation.

Stephens, 29, will get a second big league look with Atlanta after spending the bulk of the 2022 season in their bullpen. He tossed 53 2/3 innings off 3.69 ERA ball last year, striking out 20% of his opponents against a 9.8% walk rate with a 46.3% ground-ball rate. He had a lengthy stay on the minor league injured list this season but has been sharp both in rehab work in the low minors and more recently in Triple-A, where Stephens has pitched 24 2/3 frames with a 3.28 earned run average, 26% strikeout rate and outstanding 4% walk rate.

This will be the fourth season in which Stephens, a former 18th-round pick of the Reds (2012), logs major league time. He’s totaled 117 big league frames between Cincinnati and Atlanta, notching a combined 4.31 ERA in that time. Stephens has been pitching in two- and three-inning stints recently in Gwinnett — some of them starts, some out of the bullpen — so he’ll add some length to the Braves’ bullpen during today’s doubleheader against the Phillies.

It’s quite possible that Kyle Wright will be returning to make his first start since May in the second half of that twin bill, and he’s yet to throw more than 50 pitches or pitch beyond 3 2/3 innings during his rehab stint. As such, there’s all the more reason to call up an arm capable of providing three or perhaps even four innings of relief if needed.

Braves Select Daysbel Hernandez

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The Braves announced a series of roster moves this morning as they selected right-hander Daysbel Hernandez to the active roster. In a corresponding move, right-hander Jesse Chavez was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Allan Winans was optioned to Triple-A following last night’s game, so there was already space for Hernandez on the active roster.

Hernandez’s first appearance will be his big league debut. After playing in Cuba as a teenager, the right-hander began his affiliated career in 2018 as a reliever with a 4.50 ERA in 38 innings between Single-A and High-A with the Braves. He then returned to High-A in 2019 and dominated the level to the tune of a 1.71 ERA in 52 2/3 innings of work. In 2021, Hernandez reached the upper-minors with a strong performance at Double-A though he struggled badly in 9 2/3 innings at Triple-A to end the season, posting a 7.45 ERA. He missed the entire 2022 campaign due to injury but returned earlier this season and has posted 16 2/3 scoreless innings between the Double-A and Triple-A levels complete with a whopping 44% strikeout rate.

That phenomenal performance was enough for the club to add the 26-year-old hurler to a bullpen that sports an NL-best 3.53 ERA in 2023. While the club’s relief corps has certainly been impressive to this point, only five NL clubs have leaned on their bullpen more heavily to this point in the season than the Braves, who have gotten 352 innings out of their relievers so far. Between that workload and injuries to key players like Chavez, A.J. Minter, and Nick Anderson, it’s certainly feasible that Hernandez could provide a boost to the club’s bullpen going forward. Given his overpowering stuff and impressive numbers in the minors this year, there’s a chance he’ll factor into the club’s late inning mix alongside the likes of Kirby Yates and Collin McHugh ahead of closer Raisel Iglesias.

Making room for Hernandez on the 40-man roster is Chavez, who now won’t be eligible to return from the IL until mid-August. A veteran in his sixteenth big league season who will celebrate his 40th birthday next month, Chavez has managed to have a late-career renaissance out of the bullpen in recent years, with a 3.46 ERA that’s 33% better than league average by measure of ERA+ in 322 innings of work since the start of the 2018 season. He’s been particularly excellent with Atlanta over the past two seasons, with a sterling 2.30 ERA in 82 innings of work for the club.

As for Winans, the 27-year-old righty had a solid if uneven big league debut for the Braves last night. In 4 1/3 innings of work, Winans allowed two runs on five hits but struck out five while walking just one. Winans could be in the mix for a spot start alongside the likes of Dylan Dodd, Jared Shuster, and AJ Smith-Shawver the next time the club requires one, though with two off-days this week and left-hander Max Fried on a rehab assignment at Triple-A, the club may not need to deep into their rotation depth for some time.

Braves Release Eli White

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The Braves announced that outfielder Eli White has been released.  The move creates a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Allan Winans, whose contract was officially selected two days after reports surfaced that the Braves were planning to start Winans in today’s game with the Brewers.  In another corresponding move, Atlanta optioned right-hander Seth Elledge to Triple-A Gwinnett.

The 29-year-old White joined the Braves via a trade from the Rangers back in December, and he appeared in six games for Atlanta back in April.  White was basically used as outfield depth when Michael Harris II was on the injured list, and White’s demotion to Triple-A corresponded with Harris’ return to the active roster.  Over 201 plate appearances in Gwinnett, White has a solid .254/.363/.450 slash line with nine homers and 14 stolen bases (in 15 chances).

Unfortunately, his season came to an impromptu end on July 6, as Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that White suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder.  A specific recovery timeline isn’t known, but in a best-case scenario, White will be ready for Spring Training, though his rehab is likely going to impact his ability to catch on with a new team on a minor league deal.  The labrum tear continues White’s terrible run of injury luck, as this marks his third consecutive season-ending surgery, following an elbow procedure in 2021 and a wrist surgery in 2022.

A veteran of four MLB seasons, White was an 11th-round pick for the A’s in the 2016 draft who was dealt to the Rangers as part of the three-team deal that sent Jurickson Profar to Oakland and Emilio Pagan to the Rays.  White’s strong defense and baserunning made him a useful part-timer over 130 games with Texas from 2020-22, but he has hit only .181/.259/.288 over 406 PA in the majors.

Braves To Select Allan Winans

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The Braves are turning to right-hander Allan Winans to start Saturday’s game in Milwaukee, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). He’s not on the 40-man roster, so Atlanta will need to formally select his contract within the next 48 hours.

Winans entered the professional ranks as a 17th-round senior sign by the Mets five years ago. He topped out at Double-A in the New York farm system in 2021. After that season, Atlanta nabbed him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. Winans spent the bulk of last year with Double-A Mississippi and has played at Triple-A Gwinnett for all of 2023.

The Campbell product has worked 102 2/3 innings over 18 appearances for the Stripers. He’s carrying a 2.81 ERA with decent underlying marks. Winans’ 22.3% strikeout percentage is nearly average, while he’s inducing grounders at a strong 49.6% clip and pounding the strike zone. His 6.3% walk rate is fifth-lowest among the 38 International League pitchers with 60+ innings.

At the start of the season, Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs noted that Winans relies on a sinking fastball and an above-average changeup. As a near 28-year-old rookie, he’s certainly not a top prospect, but his strong upper level performance was enough to overcome the very modest draft profile and get to the big leagues. Now that he’s securing a 40-man roster spot, he’s in the mix as a depth starter.

Atlanta’s 40-man roster is full. Unless the Braves anticipate Jesse Chavez missing another month, they don’t have an obvious candidate for a 60-day injured list transfer. They’ll likely have to designate someone for assignment when they bring Winans up.

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