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Grant Dayton

Braves Place Chad Sobotka On IL, Recall Grant Dayton

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The Braves announced today that reliever Chad Sobotka is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left abdomen strain. He’ll be replaced by southpaw Grant Dayton.

Sobotka has scuffled out of the gates for the Atlanta club, turning in a dozen innings of 8.25 ERA ball to open the year. While he’s getting grounders (46.9%) and strikeouts (12.8 per nine), he’s also coughing up quite a few walks (6.8 per nine) and home runs (2.25 per nine on a 25.0% HR/FB rate).

It’s hard to diagnose the true root of the issues. Though Sobotka is still sitting at over 96 mph with his fastball and generating a 14.6% swinging-strike, opposing hitters are simply making better contact than they did in his debut stint last year. He’s getting first-pitch strikes 63.9% of the time, which is generally a good sign for walk rate, but is in the zone with just 35.8% of his pitches.

In any event, a brief respite may not be the worst outcome here, so long as the strain isn’t too serious. It’s not yet clear whether he’ll need a rehab stint and how long he’ll be sidelined. Of course, the Braves pen isn’t in the best position to weather any absences, even from a pitcher that hasn’t produced the desired results.

It’ll be interesting to see what the club gets from Dayton, a 2017-18 offseason waiver claimee who is now back from Tommy John surgery. He seems to be throwing the ball well at Triple-A, having compiled eight strikeouts without a walk (but with one home run against him) in his 5 1/3 frames. Dayton was a fascinating breakout reliever for the Dodgers in 2016 but did not sustain his initial showing in the ensuing season before going under the knife.

Braves Claim Grant Dayton

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The Braves have claimed lefty Grant Dayton from the Dodgers, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. He underwent Tommy John surgery this August.

Atlanta is also adding two lefties to its 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. Adam McCreery and Ricardo Sanchez both had their contracts selected, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets.

The addition of Dayton becomes the first acquisition for newly hired Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, who is certainly quite familiar with the southpaw from his time in the Dodgers front office. Atlanta, evidently, can afford the greater patience — as well as the inconvenience of tying up a 40-man spot for part of the offseason — that comes with Dayton as he rehabs.

Certainly, Dayton carries an intriguing background to his new organization. He seemingly came from nowhere to dominate down the stretch and become one of the Dodgers’ top relievers in 2016. But Dayton showed signs of trouble throughout the 2017 season and ultimately struggled to a 4.94 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 23 2/3 innings before going down with a UCL injury.

Given the timing of the surgery, it’s fairly likely that Dayton won’t pitch in the majors in 2018. The Braves can, of course, add him to the 60-day DL to open the year, but will have to clog a 40-man spot in the meantime to maintain control rights.

Dodgers Designate Brett Eibner, Luis Ysla

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The Dodgers have designated outfielder (and partially converted pitcher) Brett Eibner and lefty Luis Ysla for assignment, per a club announcement. With Grant Dayton heading to the 60-day DL after undergoing Tommy John surgery, the club cleared the way for several September promotions.

As expected, top prospect Alex Verdugo and veteran Andre Ethier will both make their way onto the active roster. The former will be joined by first baseman/outfielder O’Koyea Dickson in appearing in the majors for the first time. Ethier is headed back to the bigs for the first time this season after an extended DL stint.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles also announced that Clayton Kershaw has been activated from the 10-day DL. Outfielder/first baseman Rob Segedin — like Dickson, a potential righty bench bat — has also been recalled from optional assignment.

Grant Dayton To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Dodgers lefty Grant Dayton is set to undergo Tommy John surgery, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). That will obviously bring his season to a close and will likely keep him out for most or all of the 2018 campaign as well.

Dayton emerged late last year as a force in the Dodgers pen. After years of toiling in relative anonymity, he posted preposterous numbers in the upper minors and then continued to shove at the game’s highest level. Over his first 26 1/3 MLB innings, Dayton worked to a 2.05 ERA with 13.3 K/9 (on a  15.0% swinging-strike rate) and 2.1 BB/9.

That remarkable showing — driven by Dayton’s powerful spin rate and excellent command — seemingly made the southpaw one of the game’s most intriguing relief assets. While he turned 29 not long after his sparkling rookie campaign, Dayton was controllable through at least 2022 and had shown signs of sustainable dominance.

Things simply haven’t gone that way in 2017, however, as Dayton has gone backward in basically every regard. Though he was never a pure velocity guy, Dayton has lost nearly 1.5 mph on his average heater. His vaunted four-seamer spin rate has fallen off. The results followed: Dayton’s swinging-strike rate dropped below ten percent and he posted a 4.94 ERA with a very pedestrian 7.6 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 over 23 2/3 MLB innings.

Neck issues and an intercostal strain had limited Dayton and could help explain some of his struggles. The elbow trouble, though, apparently cropped up only recently, as Dayton was warming up for a rehab appearance. Because he was on the 10-day DL when the injury occurred, he will continue to accrue MLB service time for the duration of the recovery period for the upcoming procedure.

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