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Braves Claim Kyle Kubitza, Designate Manny Banuelos For Assignment

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The Braves have claimed third baseman Kyle Kubitza off waivers from the Rangers, according to an announcement from Rangers VP of communications John Blake. Texas had designated the 26-year-old infielder for assignment earlier this week. The Braves, too, announced the move, adding that left-hander Manny Banuelos has been designated for assignment.

[Related: Updated Atlanta Braves Depth Chart]

Kubitza is a known commodity for the Braves, who selected him in the third round of the 2011 draft. The Texas State product ranked among the Braves’ top 30 prospects from 2011-14, per Baseball America, but he was traded to the Angels in January of 2015 in exchange for minor league lefty Ricardo Sanchez and minor league right-hander Nate Hyatt. Kubitza’s stock tumbled with the Halos, however, and he ultimately landed with Texas after Anaheim designated him for assignment. In 928 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Kubitza is a .249/.342/.399 hitter. He’s walked in a strong 11.8 percent of his plate appearances at that level but has also struck out at a 25 percent clip. He has drawn praise in the past for a strong throwing arm and soft hands at third base.

Banuelos, 25, made his big league debut with Atlanta last season. The once-vaunted Yankees prospect managed just a 5.13 ERA in his 26 1/3 innings at the big league level, though, and the 2016 season has been a considerable struggle for him. He’s battled elbow issues this season and is currently on the disabled list with Double-A Mississippi. Banuelos has a collective 5.33 ERA in 50 2/3 innings across three minor league levels this season, and he walked more batters (22) than he struck out (21) in 30 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level.

Braves Notes: Maffei, Smith, Inciarte, Banuelos

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It was on this day in 1954 that the legendary Hank Aaron recorded his first home run and first two RBIs in a big league uniform.  Aaron’s first-inning single drove in Danny O’Connell for the first of Aaron’s MLB record 2297 career RBIs.  In the sixth, Aaron collected his second RBI in the form of a solo shot off Cardinals’ starter Vic Raschi, putting Aaron on the path to 755 home runs.  Here’s the latest from the modern-day Braves…

  • Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei tells Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his corporation has no plans to sell the Braves in the near future, though there will eventually be a “separation” between the team and the company.  “Liberty has been a company that has tended to move through assets,” Maffei said. “It wouldn’t be forever.  Here we are nine years later (since buying the team).  I don’t know when that’s going to be. It could be another nine years.  But someday I suspect the Braves will be out on their own.”  For now, Liberty Media “are happy owners” and Maffei is looking forward to the new opportunities provided by the Braves’ new stadium.
  • Maffei also responded to local criticism that the Braves would be better served by local ownership who spent more on payroll.  “What happens is, we have a budgeting process where the Braves’ management brings us a budget, a payroll budget included.  And I don’t think we have once changed the number,” Maffei said. “It’s not like we come and say, ’Nah, you got to cut that.’ I don’t think that has happened in the nine years that we have been involved.”
  • Manager Fredi Gonzalez wants outfielder Mallex Smith to remain in the majors, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.  Smith has hit just .162/.262/.243 over his first 42 career plate appearances but Gonzalez feels that more big league experience “will be better for him than going down [to Triple-A].”
  • Smith was called up when Ender Inciarte went on the DL with a hamstring injury, and Inciarte is still around 10-14 days away from a return, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.  Inciarte is hitting in extended spring training games but has yet to run the bases.
  • In other Braves injury news, Manny Banuelos recently threw a 20-pitch bullpen session but there isn’t a timetable for his return, Grant McAuley of CBS Radio 92.9 tweets.  Banuelos has yet to pitch this season due to a sore elbow, which is a particularly worrisome injury in his case given that Banuelos has already undergone a Tommy John procedure earlier in this career.

East Notes: Rickard, Banuelos, Eveland

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Outfielder Joey Rickard has been told that he’s made the Orioles’ roster, Roch Kubatko of MASN tweets. Of course, it comes as little surprise that Rickard, a Rule 5 pick from the Tampa Bay organization, would make the team after batting .390/.463/.576 this spring. Rickard could be having a significant impact on the Orioles’ roster composition, too, as FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan recently noted. Hyun Soo Kim is unlikely to make the Orioles’ 25-man and his immediate future is unclear, and while Kim’s .182/.229/.182 performance this spring is part of the reason why, but Rickard is part of the reason too. As Sullivan notes, Rickard doesn’t have much power (he only had two home runs all of last season in the minors) but was successful last year thanks to his abilities to hit for contact and control the strike zone. Rickard might also be able to add value with his defense and baserunning. If everything goes right, that could make him similar, as a player, to the late Ryan Freel, who was surprisingly productive for the Reds from 2003 through 2006. Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • Braves lefty Manny Banuelos is fighting elbow soreness, and there’s no timetable for his return, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. A recent MRI indicated there was no damage, but the Braves are determining their plan for Banuelos, who had Tommy John surgery three years ago and had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow last September. Banuelos, who was competing for a job in the Braves’ rotation, says he doesn’t think his current soreness is a huge problem. “Doesn’t feel like it, but we’ll see,” he says. “I’m not worried too much. I wish I could pitch, man.”
  • Rays lefty Dana Eveland has an opt-out Friday, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Eveland is competing for a role in the Rays’ bullpen and has gotten good results in Spring Training, striking out eight batters and walking three in 10 2/3 innings while allowing three runs, none earned. He signed a minor-league deal with the team in September.

NL East Notes: Mujica, Frieri, Francoeur, Foltynewicz, Gant

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Let’s take a look at a few spring roster battles out of the NL East to round out the evening …

  • Like most organizations, the Phillies have several opt-out dates approaching — particularly in their relief corps. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, the Phils face potential decisions on Edward Mujica (Saturday) and Ernesto Frieri (next Thursday) in short order, with Andrew Bailey (May 1) and James Russell (June 1) to follow. Mujica seems destined for a big league job, says Zolecki, while it’s not clear that Frieri will make it onto the active roster after rough results thus far.
  • Members of Braves brass like Jeff Francoeur as a right-handed bench bat, which means the club could elect to give him its last outfield spot over Nick Swisher and Emilio Bonifacio, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Braves brought Swisher to camp with the hope that he’d show well enough to entice another team to trade for him. While Swisher has hit .294/.429/.382 in 34 at-bats, a deal hasn’t come along. Thus, the Braves could ultimately eat the 12-year veteran’s entire $15MM salary in order to get rid of him. Bonifacio, who’s due a much more palatable $1.25MM this year, is potentially movable. If not, the Braves will have an easier time eating his contract than Swisher’s.
  • Elsewhere, Mike Foltynewicz is favored to beat out Williams Perez and Manny Banuelos for the Braves’ fifth starter spot, per O’Brien. Regardless, the Braves won’t need a fifth starter until April 12, so they might start the season with an eight-man bullpen. That would ostensibly bode well, at least temporarily, for the out-of-options Jose Ramirez and Rule 5 pick Dan Winkler.
  • MLB.com’s Mark Bowman agrees that Foltynewicz is making a strong case for a rotation slot with the Braves. He has recovered quicker than expected from a scary bout with a blood clot. Meanwhile, John Gant has remained in the running longer than might have been expected. Per Bowman, the 23-year-old, who came over in last year’s Juan Uribe/Kelly Johnson swap with the division-rival Mets, may be in line behind Foltynewicz and Jhoulys Chacin.
  • Meanwhile, the Braves will be looking around for southpaw relievers as players begin to shake loose from other organizations, Bowman suggests. Ian Krol has underwhelmed and doesn’t seem likely to take a roster spot, leaving Alex Torres as perhaps the only southpaw currently in camp who’ll be on the Opening Day roster. One internal option that could re-enter the picture, he adds, is Hunter Cervenka, who has already been shipped down to minor league camp.

Connor Byrne contributed to this post.

AL East Notes: Sabathia, Heyward, Saunders, Bautista, Kopech, Panda

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CC Sabathia’s announcement that he would enter rehabilitation for alcohol abuse on the eve of the Yankees’ Wild Card playoff game last October stunned fans and those throughout the industry, and now, the left-hander offers an honest account of the factors that led to his decision over at the Players’ Tribune. Sabathia explains the reasons that he first turned to alcohol and the way in which his addiction evolved in an extremely candid, personal chronicle of his battle with the disease. Sabathia details his time spent in rehab and thanks his family as well as friends in the game such as David Ortiz, Torii Hunter and David Price for their support throughout the process. The big lefty writes that he feels mentally stronger than he ever has heading into a season and offers a message of hope to those that are going through their own battles with addiction.

Some notes from the AL East…

  • Prior to Jason Heyward’s trade to the Cardinals last offseason, the Yankees and Braves discussed a blockbuster framework that would’ve sent Heyward, Andrelton Simmons, David Carpenter, Melvin Upton and Chris Johnson to New York in exchange for Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, Manny Banuelos, Gary Sanchez and Ian Clarkin, according to a report from Jon Heyman (links to Twitter). Per Heyman, New York ultimately wouldn’t pull the trigger on the deal. A later, much smaller trade would see Carpenter and lefty Chasen Shreve sent to the Yankees in exchange for Banuelos. Heyward, meanwhile, was dealt to the Cardinals in a trade that sent Shelby Miller to the Braves. Atlanta, of course, flipped Miller to the D-backs this winter in a potentially franchise-altering deal.
  • Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins joined Buster Olney on today’s Baseball Tonight Podcast (audio link, with Atkins appearing at about the 29-minute mark) to discuss his background in baseball and a few Jays topics. Olney asked Atkins about the reported near-trade to acquire Jay Bruce which would’ve sent Michael Saunders to the Angels as part of a three-team deal. “[Saunders] has been unbelievable,” said Atkins when asked about the rumored swap. “With the rumors, spending time with him about that, he was as humble, as professional and as committed as possible to make sure that this will be the best trade that never happened.” Atkins went on to praise Saunders’ mobility and a pair of homers against inside fastballs — one from an opposing lefty. The inability to turn on inside pitches is often a concern with players coming off knee surgery, Atkins said, but Saunders to this point has shown no such ill effects.
  • Olney also asked about reports of Jose Bautista’s lofty asking price in extension talks with the Blue Jays. Atkins called Bautista “one of the smartest guys” he’s been around and said interactions with his right fielder have been nothing but positive. “My interactions with him, contrary to what people may think based on what’s been read, have been incredible,” Atkins said. “They’ve been amicable, they’ve been warm, they’ve been open, full of laughter and really, full of positivity. … I think, unfairly, some things have been portrayed that aren’t necessarily true. It’s unfortunate that there’s been somewhat of a negative light cast on his potential demands, and the focus has gone away from what a talented player he is and what a great person he is.”
  • Red Sox prospect Michael Kopech, a right-hander that received a 50-game suspension during last year’s minor league season for use of the banned stimulant Oxilofrine, has run into some trouble once again, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Kopech suffered a fractured right hand in an altercation with a teammate, per Bradford. “It was stupid,” GM Mike Hazen told Bradford of Kopech’s incident. “He’s going to have to grow up, obviously, with the things that have happened so far. He’s got a long road to go to get to the big leagues. He obviously has a ton of potential. He’s got a long way to go. These types of things, you don’t want to put more barriers in front of you than playing professional baseball already presents you.” Kopech was selected with the 33rd overall pick of the 2014 draft as compensation for the Red Sox’ loss of Jacoby Ellsbury in free agency. When he was able to take the field last year, the 19-year-old logged a 2.63 ERA with 9.7 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 in 65 innings (15 starts, one relief appearance).
  • Pablo Sandoval has been working with Red Sox infield instructor Brian Butterfield to alter the positioning of his glove on certain plays as well as his general first-step quickness, manager John Farrell tells reporters, including Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. Mastrodonato notes that while Farrell has raved about the preparation of Hanley Ramirez, he’s been more cautious in his descriptions of Sandoval, telling the media today that there’s still “work to be done” in terms of his defense and finding his timing at the plate. Sandoval, per Mastrodonato, says he’s been focusing quite a bit on his first step and spent the entire offseason hitting right-handed in an effort to get his right-handed swing back to its peak levels. (Sandoval, for those who weren’t aware, abandoned switch-hitting about a third of the way through the 2015 season.)

Hart, Coppolella On Offseason, Olivera, Bethancourt, Pierzynski, Minor

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Braves president of baseball operations John Hart and general manager John Coppolella addressed the media today in the wake of the regular season’s completion and discussed a number of roster-related topics heading into the winter. Here’s a rundown of some highlights, courtesy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien and MLB.com’s Mark Bowman …

  • Fixing the bullpen will be the team’s top priority this offseason, according to Hart, who adds that his secondary and tertiary priorities will be supplementing the offense and determining if there’s a need to make an addition that would upgrade the team’s starting pitching. The third goal listed will depend specifically on the health of presently injured starters Mike Minor, Manny Banuelos and Mike Foltynewicz, he added.
  • In the team’s initial talks with the Dodgers regarding Hector Olivera, Los Angeles initially asked for Andrelton Simmons to be included in the deal — a notion which the Braves quickly shot down.
  • Right-handed reliever Chris Withrow, who also came to the Braves in a recent trade, is expected to be ready for Spring Training 2016, per Hart. Another Tommy John victim, Shae Simmons, likely won’t be ready to join the Braves’ bullpen until sometime in May. Speaking generally, Coppolella noted the potential for significant improvement in 2016 simply by way of getting injured players back to full health. While the duo admitted that a 100-win team isn’t going to materialize next season, the expectation is a better record than the 67-95 mark with which they finished the season.
  • Though many reports have linked the Braves to acquiring young catching help this season, the team still “loves” Christian Bethancourt’s skills behind the dish and consider him a part of the future plans. That said, the Braves still hope to re-sign A.J. Pierzynski, though they fear that an American League club that could offer some additional at-bats at designated hitter might swoop in and sign the veteran backstop.
  • The Braves will head into 2016 planning on Minor being healthy enough to return to the rotation. That seemingly rules out any possibility that the club would look to non-tender Minor following a lost season due to shoulder surgery. Minor won an arbitration hearing against the Braves last offseason and was awarded a $5.6MM salary. His pay can’t be cut any more than 20 percent via the arb process, and the more likely scenario would be that he simply agrees to an identical salary for the 2016 season.

Injury Notes: Nelson, Travis, Tulo, Banuelos

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A serious knee injury to Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang will have immediate impact as the post-season nears, and that’s not the only injury to watch today. Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson exited his outing tonight after being struck in the head by a line drive. It was a scary situation, and he’s obviously being handled with extreme care, but the 26-year-old righty was able to walk off and is reportedly coherent as he heads to a hospital for treatment.

As we send our best wishes to Milwaukee, here’s the latest on some other medical situations around the league:

  • Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis will undergo exploratory surgery on his left shoulder, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm was among those to report on Twitter. That will end whatever hope had remained for him to return this year. It’s unfortunate for both Travis and the Jays that he won’t have a chance to rejoin the club late in the year. Travis, 24, was a revelation for Toronto after coming over in an offseason swap for Anthony Gose. He owns a .304/.361/.498 slash over 239 plate appearances. With good baserunning and fielding added in, he was certainly one of the league’s most impressive rookies, though he’s been out since late July. His progress over the fall and winter will certainly be important as the Jays plan for next season.
  • Of course, the Blue Jays are also waiting to learn when shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will return from his own shoulder issues. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter, the club is still looking for a full understanding of the situation and does not yet have a timeline. Tulo saw a specialist today in hopes of learning more. There is no indication at present that the collision which led to the injury will post any long-term difficulties for the star infielder.
  • Young Braves left-hander Manny Banuelos underwent a procedure today to remove a bone spur from his elbow, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter links). It went as well as could be hoped, says O’Brien, as there was no ligament damage found. The former top prospect, now 24, made his big league debut after generating solid results at Triple-A in his first season with the Atlanta organization.

NL Notes: Brewers, Mets, Banuelos

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Big league spring matchups started today, which means that the sights and sounds of game action are officially back. It also provided a first look at Jung-ho Kang of the Pirates, who showed that his raw power is real in swatting a home run to center field. He still has a ways to go in earning playing time and proving his value, of course, but it was a nice start for the Korean ballplayer. Earlier today, MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth broke down the Bucs’ winter in the first installment of this year’s Offseason in Review series.

  • Though the Brewers are still in the process of finalizing their deal with Francisco Rodriguez, the team found now a good opportunity to outright righty Brooks Hall, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. “This was strategically calculated,” explained assistant GM Gord Ash, “because [Hall] has not pitched that much, he’s been injured on and off. We hoped we could sneak him through, and that’s exactly what was able to happen.”
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson indicated to reporters today that trade talks regarding the team’s starting pitching have been very quiet of late, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. New York has an oft-discussed glut of rotation candidates, but seems content waiting for a good offer to come in or for an internal need to arise before deciding upon a course of action.
  • The Braves seem to be angling towards using recently-acquired youngster Manny Banuelos as a reliever to start the year before shifting him to the rotation, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (Twitter links). Whether or not that action comes at Triple-A or with the big league club remains to be seen, but Atlanta is hoping to mix and match his roles in order to build his innings in a manageable way while allowing him to compete all season. Once considered one of the game’s best prospects, Banuelos will look to turn things around in Atlanta, which gave up reliever David Carpenter to acquire him.

East Notes: Yankees, Braves, Howard

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The Yankees are making the right moves to build their bullpen by adding inexpensive depth, ESPN’s Keith Law writes (Insider-only). Chasen Shreve, acquired from the Braves in the Manny Banuelos deal, gives the Yankees another hard-throwing lefty to go with Andrew Miller and Justin Wilson, and David Carpenter, the Yankees’ other acquisition in that deal, should be tough on righties. Miller, of course, was very expensive, but he was one of baseball’s best relievers last season. The Braves, meanwhile, got a project in Banuelos, and they could try to continue developing him as a starter, hoping his velocity rebounds after missing most of 2012 and all of 2013 due to injury. Here are more notes from the East divisions.

Braves, Yankees Trade David Carpenter For Manny Banuelos

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The Yankees have acquired right-hander David Carpenter and left-hander Chasen Shreve from the Braves in exchange for southpaw Manny Banuelos, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports (Twitter link).

It was just three years ago that Banuelos was considered to be one of baseball’s top prospects and projected as a future cornerstone of the Yankees rotation.  His progress, however, was halted by injuries — he pitched only 24 innings in 2012 and missed all of 2013 recovering from Tommy John surgery.  Returning to the mound this past season, Banuelos posted a 4.11 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.29 K/BB rate over 76 2/3 minor league innings spread across the high-A, Double-A and Triple-A levels.

Injuries notwithstanding, it’s rather surprising to see New York move on quite so quickly from a pitcher who doesn’t even turn 24 years old until March.  Just a few years ago, Banuelos was almost seen as an untouchable for the team, or at least someone the Yankees wouldn’t deal for anything less than an established star player.

If Banuelos regains his health and past form, the Braves may have gained a steal in a controllable young arm who has yet to even reach the bigs.  It’s yet another interesting move towards youth for the Braves this offseason, as they’ve added the likes of Shelby Miller, Tyrell Jenkins, Max Fried and Jace Peterson while trading Justin Upton and Jason Heyward, yet Atlanta also isn’t totally rebuilding, as evidenced by the signings of veteran free agents Nick Markakis and Jason Grilli.

Carpenter adds some immediate value to the Yankees, as the righty has posted strong numbers (a 2.63 ERA, 3.92 K/BB rate and 141 strikeouts over 126 2/3 IP) with the Braves over the last two seasons.  Brian McCann apparently played a key role in Carpenter’s acquisition, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that McCann gave the Yankees a “strong endorsement” of his former Atlanta teammate.  New York recently traded right-handers Shawn Kelley and David Phelps, so Carpenter and his 95mph-fastball brings some right-handed strength back to the Yankees bullpen.

Carpenter was arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, and was projected to earn $1.1MM through the arb process by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz.  The righty has been involved in some other notable AL East trades in recent years; Carpenter was part of the 10-player deal between the Astros and Blue Jays that brought J.A. Happ to Toronto in July 2012, and Carpenter was also dealt along with then-Jays manager John Farrell to the Red Sox in November 2012.

Shreve, 24, was picked in the 11th round of the 2010 draft and owns a 3.22 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 2.64 K/BB rate over 276 2/3 innings (all in relief) in the Braves’ farm system.  He made his Major League debut last season, striking out 15 batters and allowing just one run over 12 1/3 IP.  Shreve should also be in the mix to win a spot in the New York bullpen in Spring Training.

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