The Braves have signed reliever Nick Masset, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter links). To create 40-man roster space, the club designated fellow righty John Cornely for assignment.
Masset is a long-time big leaguer who established himself as a reliable arm over 2009-11 with the Reds. But injuries derailed his career, and he struggled last year upon returning with the Rockies. Masset was actually off to a fairly promising start with the Marlins this year when he was designated and then outrighted. While his average fastball velocity is down to below 92 mph, he had permitted just two earned runs over 9 2/3 innings while logging six strikeouts against just one walk.
Cornely, who just turned 26, was hit hard in his first and only big league inning. He has worked exclusively in the minors over his career, most recently throwing 17 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.15 ERA and 11.9 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. He was also quite productive last year at the Double-A level, where he notched a 2.49 earned run mark in 68 2/3 frames.
(Oddly, both Masset and Cornely celebrated their birthdays on Sunday.)
Happy birthday! … And not so happy birthday.