Atlanta Braves attempting to save the bullpen; bring in Ravin
After a pair of games that saw the Braves run through a number of relievers, the Gwinnett express has already been idling nearby.
The Atlanta Braves‘ 40-man roster status is already getting… complicated.
In Game 1 of the current Phillies’ series (and the season, for that matter), Atlanta used Rex Brothers, Dan Winkler, Peter Moylan, Sam Freeman, and Arodys Vizcaino in relief of starter Julio Teheran.
In Game 2, an 11 inning contest had them go through Jose Ramirez, A.J. Minter, the just-added Shane Carle, plus repeat visits from Freeman, Moyland, and Vizcaino.
That doesn’t leave a lot of room for error tonight, though as this is being written, a 6-run lead would certainly help the decision-making for Atlanta as we get toward the back half of the contest.
Still, the team decided that they needed more help – just in case – and have chosen to make multiple moves to bring in a fresh arm:
- RHP Josh Ravin – contract selected from Gwinnett
- LHP Rex Brothers – optioned the other direction
- RHP Akeel Morris – designated for assignment
The addition of Ravin to the 40-man roster was the big part of this in terms of roster management. But because the Atlanta 40-man roster was full, that required an equal-but-opposite move and Morris was the victim.
This will expose Morris to waivers, meaning that any team with an available 40-man roster slot can claim him over the next couple of days.
The good news for the Braves is that few teams are actually in the position to pick up a reliever that might not really be ready to contribute at the major league level right now, so unless another club wants to try and sneak him through waivers themselves, odds are probably better than 80% that the Braves will be able to retain Morris.
Oh, and the Phillies? So far, they have recalled RHP Yacksel Rios to add to their bullpen… but not much is working for them.
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In the meantime, Atlanta has also done what they probably should have considered doing as they left Orlando: optioning Brothers to the minors.
During 10 spring outings – 10 innings total – he walked 7 batters and scored a 7.20 ERA with a 1.40 WHIP.
Apparently, the coaches were swayed by his 15 strikeouts, but Brothers’ outing on Thursday was entirely forgettable: 2 walks while facing 2 batters over just 12 pitches.
He isn’t too far removed from better years, but at least he will have some AAA time to get himself right.
Ravin’s first appearance in an Atlanta uniform won’t be his MLB debut – that happened in 2015 with the Dodgers. He was used sparingly: 9.1 innings then, 9.2 in 2016, 16.2 in 2017, but his record has been equally spotty, with a 5.05 career MLB ERA.
But right now, innings are needed – even more than performance, it seems.
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That’s now underscored even more: here is Daniel Winkler into the game for his third appearance in three games. But he just struck out two.