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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Jonny Venters ‘injury’ and what that portends

By Alan Carpenter

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 14: Jonny Venters #48 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the New York Mets during the game at SunTrust Park on April 14, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 14: Jonny Venters #48 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the New York Mets during the game at SunTrust Park on April 14, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 2: Jonny Venters #48 of the Atlanta Braves throws an eighth inning pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates at SunTrust Park on September 2, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 2: Jonny Venters #48 of the Atlanta Braves throws an eighth inning pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates at SunTrust Park on September 2, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Of all returning relievers, Jonny Venters was expected to be a veteran anchor.  But the results haven’t been there.  So the Atlanta Braves are sending signals throughout the orgranization with today’s IL move.

The announcement on Monday afternoon from the Atlanta Braves honestly isn’t terribly surprising, but it is telling.

He’s made appearance in 6 of the 15 games thus far, logging just 2.2 innings.  The reason for the low innings count involves the rest of his numbers:

  • 5 walks
  • 6 hits
  • 6 earned runs
  • a WHIP of 4.13 (base-runners per inning)

Yes:  something is wrong with Jonny Venters… but honestly?  It’s almost certainly got nothing whatsoever to do with the calf muscle on his right leg.

The sidelining of Venters is the courtesy given to a veteran player who’s ‘been there and done that’.  It’s not about injury; it’s more about dignity.

Another Atlanta Braves pitcher with performance issues – Sean Newcomb – was optioned to Gwinnett.  His case is a little different – to fix what ails him, he needs to pitch and pitch and pitch again to recover his confidence and become the consistent force that he’s clearly got the talent for.

In Venters’ case, practical considerations are also at work.  He can’t be sent down without permission and it’s not clear that toiling at Gwinnett would do anything for him right now anyway.

So this is one of those ‘phantom IL’ deals that will allow him to work on the side as he feels ready to do so in the hopes of getting back to the form that threw to a 3.48 ERA in the second half last season.

With all of his medical maladies, though, his 34-year-old arm probably feels like it’s about 62 at times… so a rest period is probably not the worst thing regardless.

Who’s taking Venters’ Place?

That’s officially up in the air, but (insert quick offline conference with TT’s Fred Owens) we have a guess.

It almost certainly would have to be someone already on the 40-man roster, and then someone who is pitching well enough to have earned his way up/back to Atlanta.

With both Dan Winkler and Jacob Webb already recalled (on the 14th), that suggests Shane Carle is the one returning:  in 4 Gwinnett innings (2 appearances), he’s walked 1, given up 1 hit, no runs, and has a 0.50 WHIP.  Also, his required 10 days in the minors is now done.

UPDATE:  it’s indeed going to be Carle…

While that’s the news of the day… it’s not really what’s going on with the team.

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