Atlanta Braves remove two pitchers from the 40-man roster

Braves make roster moves in October

As we’re all enjoying playoff baseball, the Atlanta Braves front office continues to do their due diligences to their rosters.  In the past two days, we’ve seen moves with two pitchers.

Left-handed pitcher Ian Krol and righty Armando Rivero have been removed from the 40-man roster and have been outright to the Gwinnett Braves.

Rivero to the Gwinnett Braves

Rivero, who the Braves selected in the Rule 5 draft last offseason, spent all of 2017 on the DL with a shoulder injury.  He began feeling discomfort while throwing in Venezuelan during the 2016 winter ball.  He never pitched in Spring Training for the Braves and was placed on the 60-day DL on July 17.

Within the rules of a Rule 5 drafted player, when the player is outright, his former team has the option to reclaim him.  The Cubs were offered Rivero back, but they declined.

The 29-year-old didn’t have surgery on his shoulder in hopes that rest would heal the issues.

The Braves will send the 6’4″ 190-pound righty to Gwinnett to prove himself.  This move just makes sense for all parties.  We were excited when the Braves drafted him in the Rule 5 draft and hope he can still live up to expectations.

Rivero still has three options remaining so there’s a good chance he’s the guy we see next year being sent back and forth between Gwinnett and Atlanta…if he proves he’s healthy and able to pitch at the next level.

One Less Lefty On the 40-Man

Have we seen the best of Ian Krol?  Maybe, maybe not.  One thing is for sure though, the 26-year-old is not on the 40-man roster right now.

Yesterday, the Braves decided to outright Krol to Gwinnett.  Krol could have elected to be a free agent since he has over three years of MLB service time, but he decided to stay with the Braves organization.

Krol appeared in 51 games for the Braves in 2017.  He held a 5.33 ERA while striking out 44 and walking 21 hitters in 49 innings pitched.  Throughout the year, many folks wanted Krol off the roster immediately.  He was very inconsistent and you never knew what we were going to get…most of the time not the good Krol.

The Braves traded for Krol during the 2015 offseason.  Braves received Krol and Gabe Speier for Cameron Maybin…yeah, that Coppy trade isn’t working out too well.

Krol will have a minor league deal now.  Hopefully this is a wake up call for Krol and he will be determined to make his way back to Atlanta.

Next: Braves LHP Jacob Lindgren healthy & ready for 2018

The Braves now have 39 players on the 40-man roster.  They still have two guys on the 60-day DL though…Jacob Lindgren and Danny Santana.