Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop Opening Day! Cody Ross, Jose Peraza
By Jeff Schafer
Opening Day 2015: Cardinals-Cubs start MLB schedule
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The 2015 season is finally here! The Cardinals play the Cubs Sunday night to open up the new season. ESPN will cover this game with commentary by Don Shulman, Buster Olney, Curt Schilling and John Kruk. On ESPN 2 starting at 7:00pm ET they will have Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown with host Karl Ravech. It will be interesting to see what the new look Cubs will be and also we’ll get to watch former Brave Jason Heyward with the Cardinals.
The season begins with one of baseball’s oldest rivalries – the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs at historic and recently renovated Wrigley Field on Sunday night.
Jon Lester and Adam Wainwright are the starting pitchers for the Cubs and Cardinals, respectively. ESPN2 will televise, with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 ET.
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Top prospect Peraza adds excitement to Gwinnett Braves
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The Gwinnett Braves should be extremely better than they were in 2014 – that was one of John Hart‘s main objectives this offseason and I think he accomplished this. Also heading to Gwinnett will be the Braves top prospect Jose Peraza to get more seasoning at second base and possibly a little centerfield before heading up to the majors. We’ll be paying attention to Gwinnett all season and hopefully pulling for a good team.
Peraza started hitting as soon as he got comfortable again and the speedy second baseman’s talents should be on full display when the Gwinnett Braves open the International League season on Thursday night against Durham at Coolray Field.
“He’s been playing really well,” G-Braves manager Brian Snitker said as minor league champ neared its end in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. “He doesn’t look anything at the plate like he did [early in exhibition games] with the Braves.”
Peraza, who doesn’t turn 21 until April 30, hit a combined .339 with 60 stolen bases last season for Class A Advanced Lynchburg and Class AA Mississippi, rising to the top of Atlanta’s prospect list.
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Diamondbacks release Cody Ross, option Yasmany Tomas to Triple-A
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: When the rumors were breaking out last week that the Braves could be interested in Arizona’s Trevor Cahill, I thought a D-Backs outfielder could also be added into a trade. They had a plethora of outfielders during the 2015 Spring Training but now they’ve moved two of their guys. Ross and Tomas have been scratched from their MLB team. Would Ross be a good fit in Atlanta? I asked Grant McAuley of 92.9 Atlanta about a possible Ross and Jonny Gomes platoon for the Braves and he responded with “Well, it would also be two righty hitters with similar splits. Expect to see Kelly Johnson be Gomes’ platoon partner.”
The Diamondbacks announced on Twitter that the club has released outfielder Cody Ross. Ross is owed $8.5 million for the 2015 season plus a $1 million buyout for 2016. Ross, 34, has played in only 177 games over the last two seasons due to calf and hip injuries. In that time, he compiled a combined .268/.322/.378 with 10 home runs and 53 RBI in 570 plate appearances.
The D’Backs also announced that they’ve optionedYasmany Tomas to Triple-A Reno. The club signed Tomas to a six-year, $68.5 million contract in December. However, he played poor defense at third base — bad enough for the team to consider using him part-time in the outfield. With the outfield as crowded as it is, it may benefit Tomas more to get consistent playing time in the minor leagues.