Atlanta Braves Bullpen: Chad Sobotka hits IL, Grant Dayton gets his chance
In a bit of a surprise on Monday, the Atlanta Braves moved Chad Sobotka to the injured list and called up Grant Dayton.
It’s not a surprise that Chad Sobotka is hitting the IL with a phantom injury — officially it’s an abdomen strain — but rather how the Atlanta Braves handled the situation.
Before the game on Monday, head coach Briant Snitker made it sound like Sobotka could be used as the team’s closer against the Padres. And an hour later he hits the IL.
Sobotka should have been sent to Triple-A weeks ago as he’s been terrible to start 2019.
He has a 9.65 ERA in 12 innings with a WHIP of 1.83 and 9 walks to go along with 17 strikeouts.
We all know the stuff is there for Sobotka, but he has to learn to command it on a more consistent basis before he can be trusted in the Atlanta Braves bullpen again.
The same can be said for Jesse Biddle who also just hit the IL with a phantom injury.
Grant Dayton gets his chance
We’ve all kind of been waiting and wondering when Grant Dayton would get his chance in the Atlanta Braves bullpen.
Dayton is no rookie as he’s 31 and has pitched 50 innings in the big leagues — all with the Dodgers.
He was very solid for the Dodgers in 2016 with a 2.05 ERA in 26.1 innings. But he struggled in 2017 before getting shut down and having Tommy John surgery.
Working his way back with Gwinnett to start 2019, Dayton has given up just 1 run on 3 hits and — check this out — ZERO walks over 5.1 innings with 8 strikeouts.
This is a big league reliever, he’s just needed time to prove he’s fully healthy.
The lefty has a very good chance of coming up and having an immediate impact on the Atlanta Braves bullpen. And he’s someone that could be a force out there for the rest of the season.