Atlanta Braves: Kevin Gausman claimed on waivers by Reds, Mike Foltynewicz recalled
By Steven Teal
The Atlanta Braves announced on Monday afternoon that starter Kevin Gausman was claimed via waivers by the Reds.
I’m not sure many Atlanta Braves fans thought the starting rotation would see so many struggles this season. This is especially true for Kevin Gausman who was a fantastic find for Atlanta at the 2018 trade deadline.
When he was acquired from Baltimore, the Braves decided to make a few tweaks to Gausman’s delivery and it paid dividends.
He tossed 59.2 innings for Atlanta in 2018 with a 2.87 ERA allowing just 19 earned runs on 50 hits with 18 walks and 44 strikeouts. He was able to mix his pitches fairly well and that’s when he’s at his best.
Unfortunately, that success did not transfer over to 2019 as Gausman has found little if any, success on the mound. This is what led the Braves to place him on waivers and let someone else take their chance with Gausman.
The 28-year-old held a 3-7 record through 16 total starts for the Atlanta Braves. His ERA currently sits at 6.19 and has allowed 92 hits, 55 earned runs, 27 walks with 85 strikeouts.
Opponents are also batting .290 against Gausman so far in 2019. A lot of his success comes from being able to control his pitches and get opponents to chase his splitter. His BABIP is at .320 for 2019 and that tells you just how ineffective his pitches have been.
With this claim, the Reds assume all of Gausman’s remaining salary. Gausman is arbitration-eligible in 2020 and I think it’s safe to assume Atlanta would have non-tendered him in the off-season.
I wish Kevin all the best in the future. He didn’t find much success this year but he always had a great attitude and never made excuses for himself. It just no longer made sense to keep him on this roster. Mike Foltynewicz was the corresponding roster move made by the Braves front office.
Folty will start the second game of the series against the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. The Atlanta Braves right-hander has made a lot of progress while pitching for Triple-A Gwinnett. He’ll face an extremely powerful offense but here’s to hoping he has more success than he did earlier in 2019.
The series with Minnesota begins tonight at 8:10 PM EST. Mike Soroka (10-2, 2.37 ERA) will face off against Jake Odorizzi (12-5, 3.73 ERA) at Target Field.