Atlanta Braves adjust roster to prepare for opening day
By Fred Owens
With opening day six days away, the Atlanta Braves adjusted their roster, selecting the contract of three veteran non-roster invitees.
Saturday morning, the Atlanta Braves announced roster moves in preparation for the season-opener next Thursday. The club selected the contracts of utility man Ehire Adrianza and reliever Nate Jones.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Braves placed Touki Toussaint on the 60-day IL with a shoulder strain and announced that Abraham Almonte cleared outright waivers and accepted assignment to the alternate site. The club also optioned Bryse Wilson to the alternate site (more on him later).
It appears the team requested outright waivers on Almonte Wednesday, the same day they optioned Guillermo Heredia to the alternate site. Major League Rule 10(b) mandates a minimum 47-hour claiming period, meaning the Braves couldn’t announce the move until Friday afternoon.
The assignment of Toussaint to the 60-day IL comes out of nowhere. There was no indication of an issue with his shoulder when he pitched an inning and striking out two Twins on Sunday.
At 10:40 this morning, the Atlanta Braves announced that they had selected Pablo Sandoval‘s contract, designated Phillip Ervin for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot, and released Jason Kipnis. There’s also another related release we’ll discuss later.
Atlanta Braves crowded active-roster.
Jake made a case for Jones earlier this week; Jones and Adrianza performed so well this spring that their selections weren’t a surprise.
Until he gave up a home run to Kyle Garlick Friday night, batters seemed unable to make hard contact. The Garlick homer was just the third hit allowed by Jones this spring in 7-1/3 IP. The run bumped his ERA up from 0.00 to 1.23; the hit and his first walk of the spring nudged his WHIP up to 0.545.
Adrianza’s been the find of Spring training; He went 1-4 with two-RBI in Friday’s game, pushing his average down to .412. He also committed his first error of the spring on a throw from Victor Vodnick. Other than that tough error, he’s looked every bit the slick-fielding utility man his resume indicates he is.