Atlanta Braves: More Bullpen Roulette: Nick Masset Signed
Apr 23, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Marlins relief pitcher
Nick Masset(46) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. The Marlins won 9-1. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves have announced the signing of Nick Masset, a 33 year-old (birthday was Sunday) journeyman right-handed reliever who was DFA’d by the Marlins on Saturday.
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Masset has been with the Rangers (major league debut in 2006), White Sox, Reds, Rockies, and this year with Miami. He threw only 9.2 innings for the Fish in 8 outings, compiling a 1.86 ERA (2.53 FIP, 3.82 xFIP). In one of the all-important stats to Fredi Gonzalez, he has walked just one hitter this season, while striking out 6.
Masset seems to keep the ball in the park – 51.5% ground ball rate this season, which is consistent with his career numbers. His fastball is clocking 91-92 this year. He is also featuring an occasional splitter and a 79 mph curve ball.
This is a major-league deal, which likely means he will be in uniform and in the bullpen tonight as the Braves get started with the Tampa Bay Rays at Turner Field.
The Fallout
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher
Cody Martin. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Newton’s Laws of Motion apply here: for every roster transaction, there is an equal and opposite transaction required… and sometimes more than one. Two roster moves have been required to bring Masset on board:
- Cody Martin is optioned back to AAA to make space on the 25-man active roster.
- John Cornely is designated for assignment to make space on the 40-man reserve roster.
For Cody Martin, he pitched admirably to begin the year, but ended up in the quandary of not being able to handle shorter stints well (especially when actives fires were involved). A starting pitcher through most of his pro career, he was supposed to be the ‘Long Man’ in the bullpen. At that, he excelled. But as needs morphed in unpredictable ways, his role was changing… and his ERA began to suffer along with it.
Now with Eric Stults and Trevor Cahill both in the pen, there’s really no good spot for Martin, and thus he will be heading back to Gwinnett. While he at least he will get better/regular innings there, that’s undoubtedly not his preference. It’s a case of being caught in the shuffle.
26-year-old John Cornely is a pitcher that many fans haven’t seen much of, but he has pitched extremely well in AA and AAA over the course of the past two seasons (1 bad recent outing sent his AAA ERA above 4, but the 2.49 in AA is closer to reality). Unfortunately, he didn’t get much of a chance to show what he could do for Atlanta: 1 appearance, 1 inning, 4 runs, back to Gwinnett.
That’s not typical of Cornely, and while the Braves have been successful in sneaking players through waivers this year, here is a case in which I believe some savvy team might make themselves a good pickup by snatching Cornely away. We will have to see how that goes.
Another Day, Another Arm
Nick Masset represents the second waiver-claim reliever grabbed from the Marlins so far this season. The first was Andrew McKirahan, who got caught with a PED violation and is now sitting out a suspension.
It’s unclear how Masset will be used by Fredi Gonzalez, but you can figure that he will be another option for somewhere in the 6th-7th innings as needed. But he’s ‘been there and done that’ – actually recording 4 saves in 10 seasons.
His career numbers look decent enough – those outside of Colorado, at least. ERAs under 4 are typical back to 2008. Hopefully he can keep going with whatever he had working in Miami and make the Marlins regret yet another roster decision.