Cory Gearrin Recalled To Atlanta; Martinez Back To Gwinnett

Hello again everyone from sunny Michigan, where the weather is what we call hot; low 90’s with a truck load of humidity thrown in. I know you guys down South have that covered, but one of the few reasons to move North is for the mild summers.

And, speaking of moving, that’s exactly what Cory Gearrin and Cristhian Martinez are doing today. The Braves have recalled Gearrin to Atlanta for the third time this season, and sent Martinez back to Gwinnett.

Gearrin has mostly been effective in Atlanta, posting a 1-1 record with a 3.60 ERA in 13 games. The 25 year old reliever will mostly be used in middle and long relief. His recall was really neccessitated by the poor performance of Jairo Ascencio, (ERA of 6.97, WHIP of 2.03) who was optioned back to Gwinnett earlier this week when Tommy Hanson was activated off the DL.

Martinez, on the other hand, has generally been effective, though his performance has been more errtic of late. In total, he’s posted an 0-2 record with an ERA of 3.53 in 19 Atlanta games. His record in June was not nearly as impressive, as he posted a 5.19 ERA in a total of five appearances during the month.

It’s hard to be critical of this move. What’s critical, in my opinion, is to get some quality arms in the pen behind Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel, especially before Venters’ arm falls off. Without bashing Fredi’s bullpen usage any further, it says a lot about a manager’s confidence in his other options that he chooses to use Venters in back-to-back outings, with a four run lead when he entered the game in the second outing, as was the case in Seattle this week.