- The Braves placed righty reliever Chris Withrow on the 15-day DL with an inflamed elbow, and the recently-claimed Chaz Roe will take Withrow’s spot on the roster. [Updated Braves depth chart at Roster Resource.] Withrow has posted a 3.31 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 1.79 K/BB rate over 32 2/3 IP for Atlanta this season. He drew some trade attention from the Mets prior to the deadline, though this injury could scuttle the Braves’ chances of dangling Withrow as trade bait in the August waiver period.
Braves Rumors
Brian McCann Clears Waivers
Yankees catcher Brian McCann has cleared waivers and is now eligible for an August trade, reports FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman, who notes that there’s no word a potential deal is in the works. However, he also points out that the Braves – McCann’s previous employer – engaged in talks with the Yankees before this past Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline and like the idea of the 32-year-old returning to Atlanta to help guide a young team.
In addition to the Braves, the Rangers also showed pre-deadline interest in McCann, according to Heyman. Of course, they ultimately solved their backstop issues by acquiring Jonathan Lucroy from the Brewers. Notably, McCann has a full no-trade clause, so he has the right to veto any potential deal. For their part, the Yankees aren’t inclined to give away McCann and the $34MM remaining on the five-year, $85MM deal they signed him to before the 2014 season.
New York still regards McCann as one of the game’s most productive catchers, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, though his offensive prowess from Atlanta hasn’t quite transferred to the Bronx. Since he first donned a Yankees uniform, McCann has hit .233/.310/.421 – good for a league-average wRC+ of 100 – while slugging 64 home runs in 1,414 plate appearances. Defensively, McCann has mostly earned strong pitch-framing grades from StatCorner and Baseball Prospectus.
As a full-time member of the Braves from 2006-13, McCann piled up seven All-Star nods, slashed .277/.350/.477 with 171 homers in 4,150 PAs, and was worth 27.7 fWAR. If the Braves don’t reacquire McCann or add another starting-caliber backstop between now and next season, they could once again hand the reins to veteran Tyler Flowers. The 30-year-old acquitted himself well over the season’s first few months before suffering a broken hand in July. He’s owed just $3MM next season and his contract includes a $4MM club option for 2018.
Braves Claim Chaz Roe From Orioles
The Braves have claimed right-hander Chaz Roe off waivers from the Orioles, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Roe, whom Baltimore designated for assignment July 29, threw 9 2/3 innings with the club this season and allowed four earned runs on seven walks, also posting 11 strikeouts. Roe played a larger role for last year’s Orioles, with whom he amassed 41 1/3 frames, pitched to a 4.14 ERA, induced ground balls at a 52.1 percent clip, and logged solid strikeout (8.27) and walk rates (3.7) per nine innings. The 29-year-old previously saw major league action with the Diamondbacks and Yankees.
Braves Designate Brandon Snyder For Assignment
The Braves have designated infielder/outfielder Brandon Snyder for assignment, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Right-hander Madison Younginer will come up from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Snyder’s place on the Braves’ roster.
Snyder, 29, garnered 34 plate appearances for the Braves prior to Sunday and hit .182/.206/.515 with two home runs. He previously saw action with the Orioles, who selected him 13th overall in the 2005 draft, Rangers and Red Sox. Snyder has collected 192 big league PAs and slashed .232/.272/.420 with seven long balls. Across 12 minor league seasons and 3,902 PAs, he owns a .273/.336/.436 line.
Braves Select Roberto Hernandez's Contract
- The Braves announced last night that they would selected the contract of righty Roberto Hernandez, who will start tonight against the Cardinals. (They cleared a roster space earlier today when they shipped reliever Hunter Cervenka to the Marlins.) The pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona has pitched for two Triple-A teams this year, combining for a 4.60 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. He hasn’t yet appeared in the big leagues in 2016, but he appeared in all of the previous ten seasons, pitching to a career 4.58 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 56.5% ground ball rate.
NTC Helped Prevent Braves From Landing Ryan Braun
- While the Braves checked in on Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun before acquiring Matt Kemp from the Padres, Braun’s limited no-trade clause helped prevent talks from going anywhere. There are only six places the Brewers can trade Braun without his permission, and Atlanta isn’t one of them.
[SOURCE LINK]
Marlins Acquire Hunter Cervenka From Braves
The Marlins have acquired lefty reliever Hunter Cervenka from the Braves, Fan Rag’s Tommy Stokke tweets. The Marlins have announced that they’ve sent minor league infielder Anfernee Seymour and lefty Michael Mader to Atlanta.
The 26-year-old Cervenka slowly made his way through the Red Sox and Cubs systems after Boston drafted him in the 27th round in 2008. He briefly wound up in independent ball after being released by the Cubs last season, then signed a minor league deal with the Braves in the middle of the 2015 season. He made his big-league debut this season and has gotten good results in the big leagues despite a very high 6.1 BB/9, with a 3.18 ERA and 9.3 K/9 in 34 innings. He has solid velocity for a lefty, with a fastball that averages around 93 MPH, and a good slider that has helped him hold opposing lefties to just .143/.264/.242.
Cervenka should give the Marlins’ bullpen a second lefty to complement Mike Dunn. Marlins relievers have been slightly below average against southpaws this season, allowing them to hit .250/.342/.383.
The 21-year-old Seymour was the Marlins’ seventh-round pick in 2014. He was hitting just .252/.293/.306 while playing shortstop for Class A Greensboro. MLB.com rated him the eighth-best prospect in a weak Marlins system, noting his excellent speed — he has 36 steals this year.
The Marlins picked Mader in the third round in 2014, and after struggling to strike batters out last year at Greensboro, the 22-year-old has taken a modest step forward this season at Class A+ Jupiter, with a 3.50 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 103 innings in the rotation. MLB.com ranked him the Marlins’ 24th-best prospect, reporting that he throws his fastball in the low 90s and also has a changeup and an inconsistent but potentially decent curveball.
Injury Notes: Salazar, Cabrera, Gregerson, Teheran, Rosenthal, Hochevar
A trio of notable players just hit the 15-day DL, so we’ll cover them all right here:
- The Indians announced that they have placed righty Danny Salazar on the 15-day DL while he rests his prized right elbow. Fortunately, an MRI seems only to have revealed inflammation, so the hope is that Salazar won’t miss an extended period of time. And Cleveland has plenty of rotation depth on hand, including Cody Anderson and Mike Clevinger, with the latter getting the nod for the time being. Still even a relatively brief absence will have an impact; Salazar has been nothing short of outstanding, and the AL Central-leading club holding a four-game cushion in the division race.
- After already recently placing infielder Jose Reyes on the shelf, the Mets have now done the same with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. He suffered a strained patellar tendon and is headed for an MRI. The team also added just-signed outfielder Justin Ruggiano to the 15-day ranks. Cabrera’s loss is notable for an organization that was already scrambling to fill in for missing infielders. Matt Reynolds will come up for the meantime to help fill the void, but it seems there’s some real concern that the injury could require a fairly lengthy absence.
- Astros reliever Luke Gregerson is headed to the 15-day with an oblique strain, the team announced. That not only will keep him out of action for a bit, but will clear the way for Ken Giles to take over as the team’s closer with Will Harris struggling of late. Gregerson has been rather excellent this year despite himself losing the 9th-inning job previously, with ERA estimators valuing him even more highly than his 3.09 ERA.
- The Braves have added righty Julio Teheran to the DL as well. He is dealing with a lat strain that isn’t believed to be serious. Atlanta will obviously want to exercise plenty of caution in handling the injury, even if it isn’t particularly worrisome, as Teheran is a key piece of the organization’s rebuilding plans and there’s no need to rush him back.
- Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal has been given platelet-rich plasma injections in his bothersome righty shoulder, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. GM John Mozeliak says that it’s possible Rosenthal Of course, St. Louis will be looking for more than just physical improvement; it’ll also hope that he can fix his skyrocketing walk rate during a rehab stint.
- As expected, Royals righty Luke Hochevar underwent a procedure today to help deal with a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets. He is expected to be out for six months, which would conceivably mean that he’ll be ready for a full spring camp if the rehab goes according to plan. It seems likely that the Royals will decline their end of a $7MM mutual option on the reliever, which would make him a free agent, though certainly it’s possible to imagine him staying with Kansas City on some kind of creative, two-year deal of the sort that the team has reached in recent years with several injured hurlers.
Braves Notes: Jim Johnson, Aybar, Braun
Before acquiring Matt Kemp, the Braves looked into a deal for outfielder Ryan Braun, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweets. Braun, certainly, would have been the more intriguing addition, given that he has significantly out-produced Kemp this year, though presumably Milwaukee is much less interested in holding onto a big chunk of Braun’s salary to facilitate a deal. Atlanta GM John Coppolella acknowledged the importance of the financial component of the pact in recent comments, as Bowman reports. “We didn’t give up a draft pick, and we didn’t trade away any prospects,” he said. “So, we were able to stick with the plan that we had while still filling a major need for us with right-handed power.”
- Right-handed reliever Jim Johnson still seems to be the likeliest Braves player to be traded, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. While the team would love to find a taker for shortstop Erick Aybar, though, there simply isn’t any interest in him, per the report.
Padres, Braves Swap Matt Kemp, Hector Olivera
The Braves and Padres have agreed to a swap of bad contracts, announcing a trade of Hector Olivera from Atlanta to San Diego in exchange for Matt Kemp and cash considerations (which reportedly total $10.5MM). If there was any question about this being a purely financial move from the Padres’ vantage point, that was answered with the news that Olivera will be immediately designated Olivera for assignment once his suspension is complete.
[Related: Updated San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves Depth Charts]
The 31-year-old Kemp is owed $21.5MM in each of the next three seasons. The Padres had been slated to pay $18MM of that annually, with the Dodgers kicking in $3.5MM per year. That $3.5MM from the Dodgers will now reportedly be redirected to the Braves. Atlanta already owed Olivera $28.5MM from 2017-19, so the trade effectively amounts to the Braves adding Kemp for an additional $25.5MM over three years — an annual rate of $8.5MM.
A Kemp trade has long been difficult to imagine, as his considerable power is largely negated by his poor defense and his difficulty getting on base. Though he’s clubbed 24 homers this season, Kemp is hitting .262/.285/.489 overall, which translates to just a few ticks above the league-average batting line, per park-adjusted metrics like OPS+ and wRC+. However, while Olivera is owed less money than Kemp, his recent off-field issues look to have motivated the Braves to rid themselves of him before he ever has the opportunity to play another game in their uniform.
Olivera is currently serving a suspension through Aug. 1 under MLB’s domestic violence policy after being arrested and charged with assault of a woman at a Washington D.C.-area hotel back in early April. He’s the third player this season to serve a suspension under the newly implemented policy and has received the strongest punishment of the three. The Braves’ acquisition of Olivera has been ill-fated from the start, as defensive questions at third base quickly forced him into left field, and he’s yet to produce the plate whatsoever in an Atlanta uniform. The 31-year-old has tallied 108 plate appearances in the Majors, but the resulting .245/.296/.378 slash is considerably below the league average, and he hasn’t been productive in his limited minor league time, either. Olivera is owed $28.5MM from 2017-20.
From the Padres’ perspective, the deal is entirely about shedding some of the remaining money on Kemp’s contract and, presumably, clearing a spot for slugging corner outfield prospect Hunter Renfroe to debut with the big league club, whether it’s now or later on in the summer. (Renfroe, 24, was San Diego’s first-round pick in 2013 and has slashed a combined .323/.351/.594 in 121 games at the Triple-A level.) The trade that brought Kemp to San Diego in exchange for Yasmani Grandal, Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin was a head-scratcher at the time and has proven to be a bust for the Padres, but they’ll avoid paying everything that was left on Kemp’s contract with this trade, which continues GM A.J. Preller’s quest to shed payroll and give an opportunity to younger players.
As for the Braves, they’ll accept a portion of Kemp’s contract as a means of getting out from underneath a similarly regrettable trade. One year ago to the day, Atlanta traded Alex Wood, Jose Peraza, Luis Avilan and Jim Johnson to the Dodgers in a three-team deal (also including the Marlins) that sent Olivera, Paco Rodriguez and Zach Bird to the Braves. Atlanta had reportedly coveted Olivera as a free agent but lost out to the Dodgers’ huge offer of $62.5MM. Atlanta had seemingly hoped that Olivera could become a long-term option at third base, but things certainly haven’t panned out that way. GM John Coppolella candidly called the Olivera deal “a bad trade for us and one that I wish we had back” in a Twitter Q&A with fans last month, and he’s at least managed to rid himself of an asset from which the organization very clearly wanted to distance itself.
While Kemp’s defense and OBP will most likely continue to detract from his value, he’ll certainly add some power to a lineup that is currently bereft of home run threats outside of Freddie Freeman. He figures to play left field for the Braves while Mallex Smith is on the shelf, and the possibility of a Nick Markakis deal could open right field for Kemp in the long term. Given Atlanta’s rebuild and stockpiling of young talent, however, it seems reasonable to expect that they may eventually be open to moving Kemp themselves as a means of clearing way for a more youthful option to join Smith and Ender Inciarte in the outfield.
ESPN’s Keith Law first reported that the two sides were approaching a Kemp/Olivera swap (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that it would be just those two players in the deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added that there were cash considerations in the deal. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported (on Twitter) that Olivera could be immediately be designated for assignment. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweeted that an agreement was reached . Bowden tweeted the amount of cash changing hands. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted that the $10.5MM was the same $10.5MM the Padres were to receive from the Dodgers — not an additional $10.5MM.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
