Braves Non-Tender Mike Minor

TODAY: Atlanta has confirmed in an announcement that both Minor and Ciriaco were non-tendered yesterday, with the remainder of their arb-eligible players being tendered contracts.

YESTERDAY, 8:25pm: David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that while Minor is likely to be non-tendered, GM John Coppolella said at 9:20pm ET that a final decision has not yet been reached.

8:19pm: The Braves will non-tender left-hander Mike Minor and infielder Pedro Ciriaco, reports MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Minor’s status has been in limbo as reported setbacks in the southpaw’s recovery from shoulder surgery have left his recovery timeline uncertain, making his expected $5.6MM salary something of a risk for Atlanta.

Minor has battled through a pair of lost seasons, missing the entire 2015 campaign and also battling through injuries in 2014 en route to a 4.77 ERA in 145 1/3 innings. However, when healthy, the former No. 7 overall draft pick had proved himself capable big league starter, working to a combined 3.72 ERA (3.76 FIP) in a span of 466 2/3 innings from 2011-13.

Minor isn’t a power arm, sitting at an average of about 90.5 mph even when healthy, but he’s still averaged just under eight strikeouts per nine innings when healthy while displaying above-average control. The type of contract he signs — and the date on which he signs it — will be determined in large part by when he’s able to again take the mound and pitch in competitive games.

Having spent the entire season on the Major League disabled list, Minor accrued a full year of service in 2015, leaving him with four years, 138 days of service time. As such, a team that elects to sign him will have control of him not only in 2016 but also in 2017, should it feel comfortable going through the arbitration process with him next winter.