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Atlanta Braves Outright Adam Walker: Now What?

By Fred Owens

Oct 1, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Angel Pagan (16) rounds third base during the seventh inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Angel Pagan (16) rounds third base during the seventh inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 24, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Wooden baseball bats rest in the rack before the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
May 24, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Wooden baseball bats rest in the rack before the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Last night the Atlanta Braves opened a 40 man roster sport by sneaking Adam Walker through waivers.

Once again the Atlanta Braves front office Hart/Coppolella duo made a pretty nice under the radar move slipping Adam Walker through waivers. Is anyone surprised?

Last week I explored the Braves waiver claim of Adam Walker. At the time there was speculation – that I tried to dispel – that Walker would be our fourth outfielder. Last night we found that Walker cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40 man roster and sent to Gwinnett.

To understand how well this was orchestrated requires a look at the overall timeline.

November 16, Milwaukee claim Walker from the Twins; to get to Milwaukee Walker had to clear all AL teams and a good number of NL teams.

December 2, Orioles claim Walker from the Brewers; to get to the Orioles Walker had to pass through all of  the NL teams and most AL teams.

January 26, Braves claim Walker from Baltimore; to get to Atlanta Walker reversed the path to Baltimore.

Atlanta Braves GM John Coppolella has a plan and he's sticking to it.
Atlanta Braves GM John Coppolella has a plan and he’s sticking to it. /

So the Braves claimed Walker and since he cleared waivers on the 31st they must have instantly put him back on waivers. Why?

Every team in both leagues has now seen Walker on the wire so often by now he’s almost invisible.  Earlier in the off-season they ruminate over the names and grab players on spec but not two-week before spring training.

At this point GMs and their staffs are focused on finalizing a roster and if they are looking it’s for players with an immediate ability to fill a 40 man roster spot.

That’s not Walker. They say Timing is everything and in this case Hart and Coppy timed the move perfectly.

This was not only a pretty slick move but once again opens a  roster spot and of course rekindles speculation about who fills that spot.

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