Atlanta Braves shuffle the bullpen: Touki Toussaint recalled

After Tuesday’s meltdown on the mound, the Atlanta Braves adjusted the bullpen again, but haven’t touched the rotation . . . so far.

The Atlanta Braves opened the homestand this week hoping to continue their three-game winning streak, but Mike Foltynewicz looked lost, and reliever Jesse Biddle booked his passage out of Atlanta.

Shortly after the game, the Braves announced the roster move everyone begged for after Austin Riley found his groove at Gwinnett.  Rumors that AAA pitching sent a thank you card to Alex Anthopoulos are as yet unverified.

At the same time, the team made another expected move, designating the struggling Biddle for assignment.

The question isn’t why did he go, but more like ‘why did they recall him in the first place?’  The lefty pitched badly in his rehab starts and had another 20 days before the required activation or designation decision deadline.

The Atlanta Braves have 10 days to trade Biddle, and it seems likely someone will provide cash considerations to acquire him. He had success early on in 2018, throws a mid-nineties heater, and lefties are always in demand.  We at the Take wish him luck wherever he lands.

The return of Touki

Taking Biddle spot in the pen – or perhaps the rotation – is righty Touki Toussaint.  Touki joins Sean Newcomb and Bryse Wilson as starters propping up a struggling bullpen.

Like Newcomb, Touki’s pure stuff screams “starter” as a final destination. He entered 2019 as a top 100 prospect in MLB, ranked #70 by Baseball Prospectus, #53 by Baseball America, and #50 by MLB Pipeline.

When last we saw Touki with Atlanta, he stepped in after Kevin Gausman’s ejection in Miami and provided four innings of four-hit one-run relief.

During that appearance, the booth and some Twitter Critters (see my timeline) suggested the Marlin game and a previous appearance in similar circumstances against the Mets on April 4, indicated the young right-hander pitched more effectively in relief. I disagree.

Any pitcher who has stuff as nasty as Touki’s must get every opportunity to start.  Fangraphs’ pitch scores highlight the only area of weakness is command, a problem every young pitcher faces as he matures.

He last worked at Gwinnett in a less successful outing against Buffalo, throwing 4-2/3 innings and allowing five runs – all earned – on eight hits, walking three, hitting two batters and striking out a pair. A rough night indeed.

He’s in the bullpen now, but as badly as Mike Foltynewicz pitched last night, one wonders who will start next time around. Newcomb, Toussaint, and Wilson are all candidates, but it shouldn’t be Foltynewicz.