Braves Announce September Callups

The Atlanta Braves have announced the first additions to the September roster expansion late Sunday night, via press release.

Most of these were very much no-brainers and should need very little explanation. After rotting away on the Braves’ bench for 55 games in 2013, the switch hitting Joey Terdoslavich will see his first callup of 2014, after slashing .257/.339/.386 in Triple A Gwinnett. This has been a step back from the .318/.359/.567 line he produced in 85 Triple A games in 2013, but would show an immediate drastic improvement to the Braves bench, which features a .195 hitting Ryan Doumit as it’s primary pinch hitter.

Jose Constanza gets another shot at the big league club, despite the presence of Todd Cunningham, who has more upside on pretty much every front. But I suppose Cunningham has never done this.

Chasen Shreve will get another long look after a successful 5 inning cameo earlier this summer. Schreve brings to the table what Fredi Gonazalez confused James Russell for: a left handed pitcher who gets lefties out. The presence of Shreve also allows the Braves to rely on Luis Avilan a little less, which is never a bad thing.  Hard throwing Juan Jaime has had mixed results in 2 different stints with the big league club this year, but will likely be provided ample appearances to prove his true talent.

Christian Bethancourt is of course the biggest name on this list when it comes to star power. The 22 year old slender Panamanian catcher should already have your attention as his presence has already recently sparked trade rumors involving Evan Gattis, and has been heralded as the “catcher of the future” for Atlanta.  His 2 week gig earlier in the season showed some defensive promise, but left a lot to be desired offensivley, which has always been the question for Bethancourt.

Overall it’s a handful of expected moves by the Braves, and not really any bad ones per say amongst them.  We can only hope that Fredi doesn’t start Jose Constanza every other day.