Braves Sign Three Players

The Braves started the week with a new ink pen signing pitchers Chien Ming-Wang and Donnie Veal to minor league contracts and OF Zoilo Almonte to a major league deal

Braves signings take place as the GM meetings start

It’s been a busy Monday for the Braves as the began addressing their needs by diving into the six-year free agent market to sign experienced but less expensive players.

Like last  weeks signings of Sugar Ray Marimon, Greg Smith and Eli Whiteside, these signings are designed to give the Braves some minor league depth rather than answer questions at the big league level.

This could indicate that moving some of our lower level pitching prospects is on the horizon or simply be an increase in experienced arms available in an emergency.  David O’brien thinks it’s the latter.

Chien-Ming Wang

Wang signed with the Yankees in 2000 and made his major league debut in 2005 and became a regular highly regarded of their rotation by winning 19 games in 2006 and 2007. He started 2008 on fire posting a 5-0 record in April with a 3.23 ERA and 1.179 WHIP came back to earth a bit in May posting a 1-2 record and a 5.03ERA.

In June he suffered a Lisfranc ligament and a partial tear of the peroneus longus while running the bases in a game against the Astros. That injury caused Hank Steinbrenner to go on an uninformed rant about the DH and pitchers but more importantly for Wang and the Yankees, cost him the rest of the season. Wang started the next season in the Yankees rotation but it quickly became apparent that trying to get back from his injury too quickly resulted in a change in his mechanics. He was later diagnosed with damage to his shoulder and had season ending surgery in August.

The Nationals signed him prior to the 2010 season but he didn’t pitch in the majors that year. The Nats nontendered and signed Wang back on an incentive laden contract for 2011 and in July he joined their rotation. He made 11 starts posting a 4-3 record with a 4.04 ERA and 1.283 WHIP for the Nationals, good enough for them to bring him back for the 2012 season.

Wang started 2012 on the DL with a hamstring and made only 5 starts for the Nationals that season going 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA and 2.215 WHIP.  He spent part of 2013 with the Blue Jays making six starts with a 1-2 record but an awful 7.67 ERA and a 1.815 WHIP. He signed with the Reds and the White Sox in 2014 but never made it to the majors.

Wang will pitch at 35 next year but age isn’t the issue. At his peak he was a heavy ground ball pitcher (68% in 2006, 58.5% in 2007) with a heavy sinker and devastating split finger. Since his injury that number is dropped to between 52% and 54%, still a great ratio but he’s now a very hittable pitcher; the FIP true believers will say he always was. To be successful Wang must start missing more bats or at least make the contact weak. I don’t expect that to happen.

Live Feed

Birds Watcher

Donnie Veal

Veal was a second round pick by the Cubs in the 2005 draft but left unprotected following the 2008 season was claimed by the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft. As a Rule 5 selection the Bucs had to keep him on their 25 man roster in 2009. He was used sparing as a LOOGY, appearing in 19 games 2009 and throwing 16 1/3 innings with a 7.16 ERA and 2.327 WHIP in 2009.  He spent 2010 and 2011 in their minor league system before signing with the White Sox.

In three years with the Pale Hose Veal remained in his LOOGY role throwing just 48 1/3 innings in 81 appearances posting a 4.10 ERA and 1.324 WHIP. Unlike Wang, FIP smiles on Veal with a 3.38 mark.  He handles lefties really well mixing a low 90s fast ball with a high 70s curve and using his sinker and change sparingly. Those number may mean we see him in the bullpen this season.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/10/2014.

Zoilo Almonte

The Yankees signed Almonte as an international free agent in 2005 at age 17. Like many of these players Almonte had raw talent that needed to be honed into something usable at the big league level. As a result his progress wasn’t as fast as others and he didn’t reach AAA until 2013. In 175 AAA games he posted a .275/.333/.431/.764 line with 24 homers, 30 doubles, a pair of triples and 105 RBI.  The Yankees game him a look in 2013 and 2014 but his numbers didn’t translate to the majors. He managed just a .211/.242/.283/.523 line albeit in just 149PA.

The switch hitting Almonte has a problem faced by many switch hitters, he’s a different hitter on the left side than on the right. Prior to the 2013 season Scranton/Wilkes-Barre hitting coach Butch Wynegar explained the difference.

"“Left-handed, he’s really long through the zone, which is something you look for in a good hitter.  He controls his weight well, gets in the hitting position in plenty of time, can use the whole field and has got a little pop in his bat.“Right-handed, his lower half’s not quite as solid as it left-handed, but that’s the way it is with a lot of switch-hitters . . “"

That year Almonte worked hard at changing the way he approached at bats .

"“I’ve always been considered a player that swings at a lot of pitches,” he said. “This year, I wanted to come in and try not to swing at too many bad pitches. Thankfully, everything’s gone the way I wanted it to go in that part of my game.”"

He showed improvement that minor league season bringing his walk rate up to 10.6% and his K rates dropped to 16%. Last year however his AAA walk rate slipped back to 6.4% and his K rate shot up to 23.1%.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/10/2014.

The defensive metrics like the way he plays the outfield but to make an impact he’ll have to do better at the plate. That the Braves signed him to a major league contract indicates they think he can.

That’s a Wrap

David O’Brien (via Twitter) reports that Braves GM John Hart says the team will just be listening and talking to teams rather than making trades. That makes sense as he’s been out of the GM inner circle for a while and needs to reconnect at that level as well as meet the new guys.  By the time MLB’s Winter Meeting start in San Diego we should have a better feel for the way the front office is moving. In the meantime expect more of these depth signings to restock the minors and add experience where needed. As always when we hear of something we’ll provide analysis here at the Take.