- Utilityman Emilio Bonifacio and lefty Eric O’Flaherty have been informed they’ll be on the Braves’ Opening Day roster, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report (Twitter link). The 31-year-old Bonifacio has struggled badly in his limited big league time over the past two seasons, though he had been a regular contributor before that. Never much with the bat, Bonifacio has long earned his keep through defensive versatility and excellence on the bases. Meanwhile, O’Flaherty has struggled to rediscover his form from his first stint in Atlanta. But he’ll receive another shot after a strong showing this spring; over 10 2/3 innings, O’Flaherty racked up 14 strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs on eight hits and three walks.
Braves Rumors
Braves Release Paco Rodriguez
The Braves have released lefty Paco Rodriguez, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report on Twitter. He had been competing with Eric O’Flaherty and Kevin Chapman for a spot in the Opening Day pen.
Rodriguez, 25, has been working back from a Tommy John procedure he underwent in October of 2015. He did manage to make it into four spring games, but failed to win the organization’s confidence after agreeing to a $637,500 arbitration salary earlier in the offseason. Atlanta will owe him about a sixth of that sum.
The Braves had picked up Rodriguez in the three-team, thirteen-player swap the organization struck back at the 2015 trade deadline. That deal has not turned out well for Atlanta thus far; all they have to show for the loss of lefty Alex Wood and MLB-ready prospect Jose Peraza, at this point, are young lefty Joey Wentz (chosen with the competitive-balance pick acquired in that deal) and minor-league righty Zachary Bird. (And that’s before getting into the money still effectively owed to Hector Olivera, though his contract was sent to the Padres as part of the salary maneuvering in the deal that brought Matt Kemp to the Braves.)
Braves Making Final Roster Decisions
- Much of the Braves’ Opening Day roster is set, but there are still jobs available on the bench and in the bullpen, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. Chaz Roe, who is out of of options, has the inside track on one of the remaining bullpen jobs, although fellow righty David Hernandez (who the Braves recently added on a minor-league deal) is another possibility. Paco Rodriguez and Kevin Chapman are competing to join the ’pen as lefties, while veteran hitters Matt Tuiasosopo and Mel Rojas Jr. could also have shots at making the team, particularly, it would seem, if the Braves opt to go with five bench players instead of four. The Braves will also keep an eye on the trade and free-agent markets.
Braves Sign David Hernandez To Minor League Deal
The Braves have signed reliever David Hernandez to a minor league contract, the team announced. The right-hander hit the market when the Giants released him Friday.
[RELATED: Updated Braves Depth Chart]
The 31-year-old Hernandez would provide another experienced bullpen option if he were to make the Braves, who have fellow 30-something relievers on hand in Jim Johnson, Eric O’Flaherty and Josh Collmenter. Hernandez might have a legitimate shot to crack Atlanta’s roster, too, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported Saturday that righties Mauricio Cabrera and Armando Rivero are likely to open the season on the disabled list.
The Braves are the fifth major league organization for Hernandez, who debuted with the Orioles in 2009 and has registered a 4.10 ERA, 9.13 K/9, 3.83 BB/9 and a low ground-ball rate (31.6 percent) over 487 innings. He posted similar numbers to his career totals last year in Philadelphia, where he logged a 3.84 ERA with 9.91 K/9 against 3.96 BB/9 and a 37.3 percent grounder rate in 72 2/3 frames. Hernandez has typically helped offset his paltry ground-ball totals by inducing plenty of infield pop-ups (13.5 percent career rate), and he features a 94 mph fastball.
Braves Notes: Hart, Quintana, Markakis
- The Braves have had some interest in trading for White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, though Atlanta president of baseball operations John Hart says his rebuilding team isn’t quite ready to make that kind of major deal. “We’re still growing this team. Our whole mantra has been young players,” Hart said. “It’s worked. We like where we’ve gone. Our farm system has gone from worst to first. At this point we’re probably likely not going to move these [prospects].”
- More from Hart, who said that the Braves “haven’t really entertained anything” in regards to trade offers for veterans, including Nick Markakis. “Nick is a good piece. He’s a super pro player….We’ll look at what happens this year, but he’s an affordable guy,” Hart said. Markakis is owed $10.5MM in both 2017 and 2018. The Braves somewhat surprisingly signed Markakis to a four-year, $44MM deal in the 2014-15 offseason just as the team was beginning its rebuild, and the veteran has hit .282/.358/.386 over 1370 PA since coming to Atlanta.
[SOURCE LINK]
Braves Release Blaine Boyer
The Braves have released right-hander Blaine Boyer, the club announced via Twitter. Boyer was in camp on a minor league contract.
Boyer, 35, posted a 3.95 ERA, 1.53 K/BB and just a 3.5 K/9 over 66 relief innings with the Brewers last season. That low strikeout rate is typical of Boyer’s career (he has just a 5.6 K/9 over 405 1/3 IP during his ten years in the bigs), as he has been a reliable bullpen arm thanks to an ability to induce soft contact and a 51.9% career grounder rate.
If Boyer doesn’t find a job elsewhere, the Braves have left the door open for the veteran to return on another minor league deal, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (Twitter links). Boyer said that the Braves would be his probable choice if he did have to settle for another minors deal, as the Georgia native would be able to live at home while pitching for Triple-A Gwinnett.
Mauricio Cabrera May Start Season On DL
- The Braves may be without high-powered righty Mauricio Cabrera to start the season, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Cabrera, a key cog in the team’s future and immediate bullpen plans, felt some discomfort in his elbow. It’s possible he’ll end up back on track for Opening Day, but the organization will (understandably) be quite cautious, manager Brian Snitker explains. If he does require a DL stint, Bowman says the organization could choose to use the opening to hang onto either out-of-options righty Chaz Roe or veteran minor-league free agent Blaine Boyer.
Bowden: Braves Among "Best Possibilities" For Jose Quintana
Pittsburgh has pursued a trade for White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana over the past several months, but Pirates general manager Neal Huntington found the asking price to be “well above where it made sense for us” (via ESPN’s Jim Bowden). With the Bucs seemingly out of the picture for Quintana, the Astros and Braves are the “best possibilities,” per Bowden, who notes that the White Sox “continue to work hard” to trade the 28-year-old. No deal is imminent, though, according to Bowden, who adds that the Astros would have to part with both right-hander Francis Martes and outfielder Kyle Tucker, two of Baseball America’s top 20 prospects, to acquire Quintana (all Twitter links). Houston balked at giving up a package of Martes, Tucker and righty Joe Musgrove for Quintana during the Winter Meetings.
Braves Release Matt Marksberry
- The Braves released southpaw Matt Marksberry, according to the pitcher himself earlier this week on his Facebook page. Marksberry posted a 5.06 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 1.35 K/BB rate over 26 2/3 innings with Atlanta from 2015-16. He suffered a severe health scare last fall when he was placed in a medically-induced coma following a seizure that caused a collapsed lung, though Marksberry appears to be recovering well from that terrifying situation.
Braves Still Interested In Jose Quintana
The Pirates, Astros and Braves are among multiple teams still showing interest in White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports. Pittsburgh and Houston have been widely linked to Quintana on the rumor mill all winter long, while connections between Quintana and the Braves have been largely quiet since December, when Atlanta reportedly balked at Chicago’s very high asking price for the southpaw. Several evaluators tell Passan that the Braves aren’t a great trade fit for the Sox, as while Atlanta’s farm system is very deep, its top prospects (Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies and Kevin Maitan) are all middle infielders, and Chicago already has Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada slated as their up-the-middle combo of the future. In short, not much has really changed on the Quintana front, as the Sox are in no rush to make a deal unless someone meets their price. “The White Sox have dispatched more scouts than usual” to minor league camps, Passan writes, in a sign of due diligence should a good trade offer suddenly emerge.
