Atlanta Braves Relief Pitcher Mauricio Cabrera Could Return Shortly
By Jeff Schafer
Braves Relief Pitcher On His Way Back After Beginning Season On DL
Today, the Atlanta Braves may have received great news early in the season. Relief pitcher Mauricio Cabrera has been cleared to play catch and could be on the mound soon.
The 23-year-old dealt with elbow soreness throughout the 2017 Spring Training season and was eventually shut down after his March 20th appearance. Cabrera appeared in eight games this spring giving up six hits, four runs, eight walks, one hit batsman and had five strikeouts.
He didn’t have the best spring, but he was pretty much guaranteed a job in the Braves bullpen going into the spring AND he was dealing with the elbow injury. Cabrera appeared in 41 games with the Atlanta Braves in 2016 totaling a 2.82 ERA with 32 strikeouts compared to 19 walks. He was a terrific 7th or 8th inning guy for the Braves.
Cabrera made the jump in 2016 from Double-A Mississippi to the Atlanta Braves. He was actually a starting pitcher until the Braves moved him to the pen in 2015.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lev | W-L% | ERA | RAvg | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | HBP | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 17 | Braves | FRk | .167 | 4.30 | 6.54 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 52.1 | 51 | 38 | 25 | 3 | 24 | 36 | 6 | 1.433 |
| 2012 | 18 | Danville | Rk | .500 | 2.97 | 3.59 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 57.2 | 45 | 23 | 19 | 2 | 23 | 48 | 7 | 1.179 |
| 2013 | 19 | Rome | A | .273 | 4.18 | 5.07 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 131.1 | 118 | 74 | 61 | 3 | 71 | 107 | 6 | 1.439 |
| 2014 | 20 | 2 Teams | A+-Rk | .500 | 5.73 | 6.82 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 33.0 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 1 | 21 | 31 | 4 | 1.455 |
| 2014 | 20 | Lynchburg | A+ | .500 | 5.59 | 6.83 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 29.0 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 19 | 28 | 4 | 1.483 |
| 2014 | 20 | Braves | Rk | 6.75 | 6.75 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1.250 | |
| 2015 | 21 | 2 Teams | A+-AA | .400 | 5.59 | 6.33 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 48.1 | 42 | 34 | 30 | 2 | 35 | 53 | 1 | 1.593 |
| 2015 | 21 | Mississippi | AA | .000 | 5.71 | 6.23 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 17.1 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 18 | 25 | 1 | 1.731 |
| 2015 | 21 | Carolina | A+ | .500 | 5.52 | 6.39 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 31.0 | 30 | 22 | 19 | 1 | 17 | 28 | 0 | 1.516 |
| 2015 | 21 | Peoria | Fal | 6.17 | 8.49 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 11.2 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 1.800 | |
| 2016 | 22 | ATL | MLB | .833 | 2.82 | 3.29 | 41 | 0 | 6 | 38.1 | 31 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 19 | 32 | 1 | 1.304 |
| 2016 | 22 | Mississippi | AA | .500 | 3.21 | 4.01 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 33.2 | 20 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 22 | 35 | 3 | 1.248 |
| Year | Age | Tm | Lev | W-L% | ERA | RAvg | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | HBP | WHIP |
| Mino | Mino | Mino | Minors | .353 | 4.24 | 5.28 | 138 | 50 | 5 | 356.1 | 303 | 209 | 168 | 11 | 196 | 310 | 27 | 1.400 |
| All | All | All | .425 | 4.16 | 5.18 | 188 | 50 | 12 | 406.1 | 348 | 234 | 188 | 12 | 222 | 357 | 29 | 1.403 | |
| AA ( | AA ( | AA ( | Minors | .429 | 4.06 | 4.76 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 51.0 | 32 | 27 | 23 | 1 | 40 | 60 | 4 | 1.412 |
| A+ ( | A+ ( | A+ ( | Minors | .500 | 5.55 | 6.60 | 42 | 3 | 1 | 60.0 | 54 | 44 | 37 | 2 | 36 | 56 | 4 | 1.500 |
| Rk ( | Rk ( | Rk ( | Minors | .500 | 3.21 | 3.79 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 61.2 | 48 | 26 | 22 | 2 | 25 | 51 | 7 | 1.184 |
The 6’3″ 245-pounder is a flamethrower on the mound. His four-seam fastball topped out at 103.83 MPH in 2016. His fastball clocked out on the radar gun over 100 MPH 192 times of his 644 pitches he threw.
Yes, he’s got a cannon attached to his right shoulder
That sounds like something we definitely want in our bullpen and it looks like it may happen sooner than later.
Cabrera has started the 2017 season on the 10-day DL (yes, over the offseason MLB changed the DL from 15-days to 10-days). This is retroactive to March 30th.
Atlanta was optimistic the injury wasn’t anything serious, but we all kinda thought he’d be out for a few weeks. Sounds like he’s going to be back a little sooner!
#Braves' MCabrera has played catch twice w/out issue, Snit said, will throw bullpen Monday. Could begin rehab assignment not long after that
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 5, 2017
He’ll be able to come off the DL on April 9th, but it won’t be that soon. Braves manager Brian Snitker said on Wednesday that Cabrera will throw a bullpen on Monday, April 10th.
Braves bullpen struggled in their opening game of the season. After six strong no-run innings out of starting pitcher Julio Teheran, the pen gave up seven runs in two innings.
Ian Krol was able to get just one out while giving up two hits, a walk and three runs. Chaz Roe came in to relieve Krol and gave up a walk and a run. O’Flaherty then appeared — he was able to get one out, but allowed one hit, three walks and two runs. Awful control, awful pitches, awful everything out of the pen on Monday.
Next: Could Catching Prospect Carson Kelly Be The Answer For Atlanta?
Once Cabrera does return to the Braves bullpen, there’s no doubt he’ll be a valuable asset.