Atlanta Braves DFA Trevor Cahill; Dana Eveland Joins the Bullpen
Jun 1, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher
A.J. Pierzynski(15) and
Trevor Cahill(34) celebrate after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-1 at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
New News this morning:
Trevor Cahill has been designated for assignment. Dana Eveland will join Atlanta's bullpen today.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) June 11, 2015
The experiment has ended, though there’s a better-than-average chance that Cahill will remain in the Braves organization, thanks to two factors:
(1) Nobody will claim him on waivers since that would mean assuming the rest of his contract.
(2) If he chooses to refuse the assignment, then that would mean giving up something in the neighborhood of $6-to-7 million.
The Braves are only responsible for half of that amount, thanks to the terms of their trade with Arizona. Nonetheless, it’s real money and a disappointment that they couldn’t make lemonade out of the lemon that Cahill has been since signing a 4 year/$30 million deal (with 2 moot team options for 2016-17).
Cahill’s ERA+ values have steadily and steeply declined since a 108 in 2012. Since then? 97, 67, and now 52. That translates to a 7.52 ERA for the Braves this season. While there were a couple flashes of promise, the body of work has been abysmal.
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Cahill’s departure from the roster clears the way for LHP Dana Eveland, signed this week after he opted out of a Bostonian assignment. Eveland has pitched well in AAA… and probably can’t be worse than Cahill under any scenario, so while the bullpen continues to morph on a daily basis, this suggests a decent upgrade.
Eveland was excellent for the Mets in 2014 over 27 innings: ERA 2.63 with just 6 walks.
Of the four names that were most notably dragging down the performance of this Braves team in April and May, Cahill was the Last Man Standing. He follows the departure of Alberto Callaspo, Eric Stults, and Eric Young.