Beachy Wins Fifth Starter Slot; Maybe Minor Starts As Well. Wagner Still On Roster
By Editorial Staff
Hello again from the world-class winter wonderland!
Today is turning into quite the news day. First, word leaks that the Braves are (or at least may be) for sale. Then we learn that Brandon Beachy has won the fifth starter’s job, based on his performance this spring, and that Mike Minor was told that he would be sent to AAA Gwinnett to work on his off-speed stuff. Fredi Gonzalez was quoted as saying that Beachy gave the Braves a better chance of winning right now, and that’s why he won the competition for the fifth starter’s job. That’s when things really started to get interesting!
In what was supposed to be just another spring tune-up, Jair Jurrjjens left his start after only one inning with an apparent muscle strain. It was not immediately known how serious the injury was. At this point, the official Braves position on the starting rotation changed, saying that Beachy was in the lead at the moment, but that the final decision would be announced on Sunday. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that the Braves are just buying time to determine the severity of JJ’s injury. If it looks like he’ll miss a start, look for both Minor and Beachy to break camp with the team.
In a final quick addendum to what Fred wrote about the Braves losing two pitchers on waiver claims yesterday, it needs to be said that the reason they were exposed to waivers was that they were moved off the 40 man roster. While the Braves are obvioulsy clearing slots for the final moves of spring training, one of the roster spots is still taken up by none other than Billy Wagner. Do the people that are voting for Wagner in our poll know something the rest of us don’t? Or will Wagner finally get moved off the roster?