- The Braves have released minor-league catcher Ryan Lavarnway, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The Braves’ recent acquisition of Anthony Recker likely meant the Braves had less playing time for Lavarnway, but given Lavarnway’s career .374 minor-league OBP, he should be able to find work elsewhere. He has appeared in the last five big-league seasons, spending time with Boston and Baltimore in addition to Atlanta.
Braves Rumors
Coppolella On Prospects, Fredi
- Braves GM John Coppolella tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution that any of Ozhaino Albies, Rio Ruiz, Dansby Swanson, Lucas Sims and Tyrell Jenkins could be promoted to the Majors this season, describing each prospect as “close” to MLB-ready. Coppolella also acknowledged the issue of manager Fredi Gonzalez’s job security, though he didn’t take a firm stance one way or the other. “My hope, and I don’t know whether or not it’s going to happen, is that Fredi is here to see it,” said Coppolella in reference to the Braves’ return to prominence. “I don’t know that he will be, I don’t know that he won’t be. I want him to succeed. I care about the man personally.”
Angels Acquire Jhoulys Chacin
The Angels have acquired righty Jhoulys Chacin from the Braves, as first reported by David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). Lefty Adam McCreery is going to Atlanta in the deal.
Chacin is owed $1.1MM on the minor league deal he signed with Atlanta this winter. That makes him a reasonably-priced addition for a Halos staff that has been devastated by injuries early in 2016.
A 28-year-old veteran of eight MLB seasons, Chacin has pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 26 2/3 innings over five starts this year. While that isn’t the most enticing mark in terms of run prevention, he has racked up 9.1 K/9 against just 2.7 BB/9 to go with a 48.1% groundball rate, leading ERA estimators to value his efforts thus far much more highly.
Of course, Chacin was only available on a meager commitment this winter because he’s lacked consistency at the major league level. There have been some notable highlights — including two seasons with nearly 200 innings and mid-3.00 ERAs while pitching at Coors Field — but Chacin has dealt with shoulder issues and proven susceptible to the long ball of late.
McCreery, 23, was a 22nd-round pick in the 2014 draft. He’s a tall and lanky reliever who has thrown 38 innings at the Rookie level over the last two years but has yet to make his 2016 debut. McCreery made strides in his second run at Rookie ball last year, striking out 28 batters in 28 2/3 innings while allowing just ten hits and five earned runs, but he still coughed up 14 free passes in that span. As Scout.com has explained, McCreery has high-powered stuff but has struggled to harness it with his huge frame.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Braves Release Rob Wooten
- Also via Eddy, the Braves have released right-hander Rob Wooten from Triple-A Gwinnett. The long-time Brewers reliever signed a minors pact with Atlanta this winter and had a nice showing with Gwinnett, yielding just three runs on seven hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. The rest of Wooten’s career has come with the Brewers organization. He owns a 4.07 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 185 2/3 Triple-A innings and a 5.03 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 68 big league frames.
Braves To Designate Matt Tuiasosopo
The Braves have designated outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo for assignment, per the MLB.com transactions page. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported earlier today that Tuiasosopo would be removed from the roster to make way for the return of infielder Gordon Beckham from the 15-day DL.
Tuiasosopo, who’ll turn 30 tomorrow, received just three plate appearances with Atlanta but nevertheless marked his first MLB action since 2013. Over 404 career plate appearances at the major league level, he owns a .206/.288/.353 batting line with a dozen long balls.
NL East Notes: Harper, Wright, Appel, Braves
Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper is beginning to receive the “Barry Bonds” treatment, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, noting that the reigning NL MVP walked 13 times (including four intentional walks) in just 19 plate appearances over the life of a four-game series versus the Cubs. Harper, who also hit a sacrifice fly and was hit by a pitch during the series, incredibly recorded just four official at-bats. Rosenthal spoke to Harper, manager Dusty Baker, and Reds first baseman Joey Votto (arguably the game’s most patient hitter) about Harper’s approach at the plate and how favorably he compares to Bonds. While all of the interviewed parties agreed that Harper isn’t at Bonds’ level, Votto expressed admiration, opining that Harper could eventually deliver seasons with a .500 OBP and a .700 slugging percentage. Harper acknowledged that it’s difficult to exhibit patience even when he’s being pitched around. “You want to hit, you want to be excited, you’re trying to do everything you can to help your team win,” he said. “But you have to have the courage in the guys behind you.” Beyond faith in his teammates, Harper noted that selectively knowing which pitchers to battle against — Jake Arrieta, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke (pitchers that “are going to paint”) — is important as well. The interview is well worth a read in its entirety.
A few more notes from the NL East…
- David Wright is continuing to learn how to manage his spinal stenosis, a condition that will impact the remainder of his Major League career, writes Newsday’s Marc Carig. Wright explained to Carig that he had to test his limits earlier this season and thus played in four consecutive games, culminating in a day game after a night game, knowing that the club had an off-day the following day. Upon waking up on that fifth Day, Wright found that he could scarcely stand upright for more than a few minutes and had difficulty walking. “I learned right then that if I tried to do this during the whole course of the year, I’m not making it,” said the Mets’ captain. “It’s just not happening.” Wright’s condition means that manager Terry Collins will have to be judicious in his off-days, particularly during day games that follow night games.
- Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com spoke to Phillies farmhand Mark Appel about the team’s upcoming No. 1 selection in the draft, and Appel said that he hopes to get the chance to offer some advice to whoever is selected with that pick. “Looking back, it’s one of those things that it’s a blessing and a curse, it really is,” said Appel, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Astros in 2013 but traded to Philadelphia in the offseason Ken Giles blockbuster. “Whoever the Phillies take first overall, hopefully I’ll be able to meet him and share some of the things that I struggled with and failed at to make him a better player and hopefully see him realize the potential that he has.” The pressure, expectations and public nature of being selected first overall are “hard to explain,” Appel said, admitting that he placed too much pressure on himself after being selected by Houston. Appel is off to a better start with the Phillies, having pitched to a 3.00 ERA through his first 27 innings at Triple-A, although as Seidman points out, the 13 walks and 39 overall baserunners he’s surrendered in that time still suggest that he has some work to do.
- Braves GM John Coppolella and vice chairman John Schuerholz discussed the club’s historically bad start with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The pair continued to dismiss the notion that the team is tanking, and Nightengale writes that the Braves’ hope was to start out like the Phillies have this year — winning games while in the process of rebuilding. “It’s my first year as a GM,” said Coppolella. “I didn’t want to have the worst record ever.” Nightengale draws a parallel between the 2016 Braves and the 2014 Cubs, noting that there were many cries for president of baseball operations Theo Epstein’s dismissal at the time. The Cubs, of course, have baseball’s best record just two years later, and the Braves’ front office that their farm system, built in a rebuild similar to Epstein’s, will also yield quick results. Also of note, Nightengale adds that the GM continues to vow that Freddie Freeman will not be traded, and Freeman himself voiced a desire to see the rebuild through and spend his career in Atlanta. “I owe everything to this organization,” said Freeman.
Braves Acquire Anthony Recker From Indians
The Indians announced today that they have traded catcher Anthony Recker to the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. The former Mets backstop will begin his return to the NL East at Triple-A Gwinnett, per the announcement. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets that Recker had an opt-out clause in his minor league deal looming.
Recker, 32, spent the previous three seasons with the Mets organization and seen significant in the Majors from 2013-15, appearing in 140 games. In that time, Recker totaled 432 plate appearances and batted a combined .190/.256/.350 with 15 home runs. Recker is a considerably more accomplished hitter at the Triple-A level, though, where he’s batted .274/.361/.481 in 1428 plate appearances, including a .246/.395/.426 start to the 2016 season with Triple-A Columbus. He’ll serve as a depth option for the Braves, who currently have A.J. Pierzynski and Tyler Flowers catching at the big league level. Interestingly, Atlanta already has multiple catchers with minor league track records at the Triple-A level in the form of Ryan Lavarnway and Blake Lalli, though Lalli has seen quite a bit of time at first base this season in addition to his time behind the dish.
Braves Have Reportedly Discussed Managerial Change
TODAY: The Braves have “become more receptive to” the idea of giving Gonzalez more time, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Inciarte is now back and the Braves have a more favorable schedule coming up, so Gonzalez could get “at least a couple more weeks” to get the team on track.
THURSDAY: The Braves have gotten off to the worst start in baseball (7-20 record with a -54 run differential), and the club’s dismal performance has led Atlanta officials to discuss the possibility of dismissing manager Fredi Gonzalez, reports MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Were Gonzalez to be fired, the Braves would likely turn to bullpen coach Eddie Perez, at least on an interim basis, Bowman adds. Yestetrday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale listed third base coach Bo Porter and first base coach Terry Pendleton as options when discussing Atlanta’s potential managerial changes.
Of course, as Bowman notes, it’s more than fair to wonder whether any manager could have navigated this roster to a respectable performance. The Braves never fancied themselves contenders in the NL East heading into the 2016 season, but the front office stressed over the winter that it felt the team would improve upon the club’s 67 wins in 2015. Instead, the Braves have seen astonishingly poor performances from a number of players, including infielders Erick Aybar, Jace Peterson (who was recently demoted to Triple-A) and Adonis Garcia. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski has also been among the league’s least-productive hitters, and veteran relievers Jim Johnson, Eric O’Flaherty and Jason Grilli are each sporting ERAs of 5.40 or worse. Gonzalez, of course, can’t be faulted for the fact that Ender Inciarte has played just three games this season, while Daniel Winkler will miss the year following an elbow fracture. Hector Olivera, whom the front office had been counting on to take a step forward, is currently in limbo as the league investigates him in connection with some truly troubling domestic violence allegations.
Then again, a team’s manager is often the first to take the fall when a club underperforms. Such was the case around this time last year when the Brewers fired Ron Roenicke and the Marlins parted ways with Mike Redmond. There’s been some recent buzz about future managerial candidates in Atlanta, with FOX’s Ken Rosenthal writing last week that it was “difficult to imagine” Gonzalez surviving this eight-game road trip, and Nightengale tweeting just yesterday that Bud Black was a strong candidate to manage the team in 2017. That type of talk from well-reputed reporters isn’t often pulled out of thin air, so the discussions among the Atlanta brass have likely been ongoing for a fair amount of time.
Bowman writes that “all indications” point to Gonzalez entering this weekend’s upcoming series in Arizona as the club’s skipper, and recent wins over the Cubs, Red Sox and Mets have helped his case to some extent. Atlanta’s best player, first baseman Freddie Freeman, voiced support for Gonzalez when speaking to Bowman and said that the blame should be placed on the players, not the manager. “We’re the 25 guys [who have to] go out there and play every day,” said Freeman. “We’re obviously not playing to our capabilities. To say that’s Fredi’s fault is unfair in my opinion.” As Bowman notes, there’s an argument to be made that with the Braves’ rotation only just now coming together — Julio Teheran, Jhoulys Chacin, Aaron Blair and Matt Wisler have all delivered fairly encouraging results recently — and Inciarte just now returning, Gonzalez should be given a lengthier look.
The 52-year-old Gonzalez has served as Atlanta’s manager since 2011, and the team is a combined 432-405 during that time even in spite of the woeful results from 2015-16. Gonzalez’s Braves posted winning records for his first three seasons as skipper and won the NL East in 2014, but there’s been a growing number of Atlanta fans calling for change since a late collapse in 2014. That year, the Braves got off to a 52-43 start before limping to a 27-40 record following the All-Star break. Overall, the team is just 101-155 dating back to the second half of that 2014 campaign.
Julio Teheran Thought To Be Trade Chip; Torey Lovullo For Braves' Manager?
- If the Braves decide to make a change at manager, Cafardo suggests that Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo would be a good fit for the rebuilding club due to Lovullo’s experience in dealing with younger players. Lovullo posted a winning record while serving as Boston’s interim manager last year and received quite a bit of credit for helping end 2015 on a positive note after the disastrous first few months of the Sox season.
- Many scouts and front offices feel Julio Teheran will be made available before the trade deadline. The Braves had some talks with the Giants and Cubs about Teheran last winter, and the 25-year-old righty has likely elevated his value with a good start to his season after he struggled in the first half of 2015.
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Braves Among Several Clubs Eyeing Top International Prospects
MLB.com has released its list of the top thirty international prospects, and it’s headed by infielder Kevin Maitan — a much-hyped Venezuelan youngster who is said to be set to sign with the Braves. Most of the remaining names on the list are also attached to major league clubs, but #2 man Vladimir Gutierrez is an exception. The 20-year-old righty is still a wild card, with many teams said to be intrigued. Thirteenth-ranked outfielder Randy Arozarena is also still up for grabs, it seems. Check out the list to see who could be destined for your club, and be sure to read the accompanying piece from Jesse Sanchez breaking down the market.