Atlanta Braves Roster Update: Toussaint, Duvall and Winkler optioned to AAA
By John Le
The competition for roster spots continue to shrink as the Atlanta Braves optioned three players to Triple-A Sunday morning
The Atlanta Braves roster now sits as 35 total players after they optioned Touki Toussaint, Adam Duvall and Dan Winkler to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.
The moves as a whole aren’t that big of a surprise, especially when it comes to Duvall, as each guy still has potential that can help the club at some point.
The #Braves today made three roster moves, optioning OF Adam Duvall, RHP Touki Toussaint and RHP Dan Winkler to Triple-A @GoStripers. Atlanta has 35 players remaining on its spring training roster.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 24, 2019
One could argue that the optioning of Toussaint is a shocker and I would have agreed two weeks ago. Toussaint has made a strong case throughout this spring, but every once in a while he would get tagged with a bad outing … like really bad ones.
These sharp turns have put his spring ERA at 8.62 even though he’s struck out 20 batters and walked only three.
His recent outing must’ve have been a major point for the Braves when deciding who makes the rotation (roster in general) for Opening Day.
I wrote my argument for him making the rotation two weeks ago and how he was one of the clear front-runners with Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman out to start the season.
However, that was two weeks ago, and now it’s kind of clear Toussaint has some things he needs to clean up a bit even when he’s striking out batters with nasty curves. Therefore, he will get to do so with Gwinnett.
The rotation competition has now been headed by Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson, and Max Fried
Here’s David O’Brien’s reasoning on why Toussaint got the boot:
Had two really shaky outings this spring, other young candidates had one or none. https://t.co/6TSIRXDLHK
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) March 24, 2019
Similar things go for Adam Duvall and Dan Winkler. The difference between these two and Toussaint however, is that Toussaint has shown the success potential in games.
Winkler has fanned only five and owns an 8.44 ERA, while Duvall has a batting average of only .171 and struck out seven times.
It’s understandable that there are folks that have called for the releasing of Duvall, BUT, the Braves haven’t found a solid replacement to fill that spot and immediately produce.
Austin Riley and Cristian Pache haven’t been declared to be on the roster come opening day and there’s a chance they won’t, a potential choice similar to Ronald Acuña Jr. last year. Until then, there’s still the optimism that Duvall can get it together.
The Braves did also aacquireMatt Joyce on Saturday but he’s still in “sample” status and isn’t really anymore deserving of a spot than Duvall at the moment.
The decision to move Winkler even with the injuries to A.J. Minter, Luiz Gohara and Darren O’Day most likely was influenced by the step-up from Wes Parsons who still has yet to give up a run.
Let that sink in, a blank ERA in 13.1 innings including an impressive 2 1/3 innings during his recent outing. He’s also struck out 15 batters!
Other names include Shane Carle and Jesse Biddle among others that have made better cases than Winkler.
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The bright side is both guys still can be useful for the club: Winkler has shown in past seasons that he can be a top bullpen reliever, while Duvall can be a power threat (though he hasn’t shown that since joining the Braves).
He has yet to show that he deserves a spot on the bench this Spring but he can be a cheap power option.
David O’Brien mentioned that Duvall has made helpful adjustments, which shows in BP but has yet to show in games.
The last few seasons, Winkler has been one of the better options and consistent options out of the Braves bullpen even after dealing with a serious injury.
Last season, he started to falter a bit during the second half but managed to still turn in a 3.43 ERA on the season.
So in all, moving them to Triple-A makes even more sense when you consider their potential but see how others are bypassing them in performance.
Duvall can still get it together and become a big bench piece, so optioning him was a better choice than just releasing him.
Toussaint and Winkler will most likely be back on the main roster sooner rather than later as the Braves will most likely shift players around to keep players well-rested and fresh as well as ease those returning from injury slowly.
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With the roster at 35, who do you think is next to be optioned (or cut)?