Atlanta Braves Keep Tweaking, Add LHRP Brian Moran
With the Braves’ bullpen still unsettled over the next several days, John Coppolella signs Indy ball pitcher Brian Moran to bolster the ranks.
From writer and scout David Lee comes news this afternoon:
Braves signed LHP Brian Moran out of indy ball's Bridgeport and assigned him to AAA Gwinnett. Brother of Colin Moran, nephew of BJ Surhoff.
— David Lee (@David11Lee) August 10, 2016
Brian Moran (no current baseball-reference page; this is a link to the cached version) is soon to be 28 years old, 6’3″/210 and is a southpaw reliever who hails from Port Chester NY. The Seattle Mariners found him at UNC/Chapel Hill via the 7th round of the 2009 draft.
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From there, his journey has had lots of slow progress, mostly up to the AAA level. However, he was bitten by the Ulnar Collateral Ligament beast early in 2014, which cost him the entire season.
2014 was already shaping up to be an odd year for Brian as the Blue Jays had made him a Rule 5 Draft selection… but then dealt him to the Angels. The Angels held Moran for the year, but then returned him to Seattle without putting him on the major league roster.
Another Rule 5 draft came by in December of last season and this time the Indians picked him up. However, somewhere between then and April of this year, both the Indians and the Mariners opted to let him go – just when he was about to start throwing again. He subsequently signed with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.
Moran’s minor league career has been good: 3.08 ERA overall with good control – 96 walks in 321 total innings. The year off did not hurt either: 3.12 in 35 innings with 12 walks and 42 strikeouts. His WHIP was a little high, but historically has been in the 1.2 range.
Moran was last in AAA with Tacoma in 2013, but will be assigned to Gwinnett to see what he’s got. It’s a low risk move for the Braves and a chance at redemption for Moran. Let’s hope he can make the most of it!
Also of Note today:
Progress on the Shae Simmons front:
Shae Simmons threw an inning for Gwinnett today: H, BB, 14 pitches.
— David Lee (@David11Lee) August 10, 2016
Ditto for John Gant:
Rehabbing #Braves RHP John Gant went 4 IP, 6H, 3R, 2ER, 1BB, 3K (70 pitches) for @GwinnettBraves this afternoon.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) August 10, 2016
…and John’s Dad chimed in with a few additional details:
Most important thing is he's healthy and feels good. 65% strike ratio - off speed looks real good @MichellePGant @Mouseisms
— John C. Gant (@JohnCGant) August 10, 2016
Next: Is MLB unilaterally re-interpreting a rule?
Glad to see some results on both of these rehabbing pitchers.