The Atlanta Braves Bring Back Relief Pitcher Peter Moylan

Thursday evening Daivd O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweeted out that the Atlanta Braves have had talked with former reliever Peter Moylan.  Then when Friday morning rolled in, news broke that the Braves have indeed signed him.

If your first question is what I think it is – is this another Tommy John patient? – well, yes, yes he is.  Moylan is actually trying to recover from his second TJ surgery that he had only 11 months ago.  He will probably not be ready to pitch until midseason.  Not only has Moylan had two TJ surgeries, he’s also had shoulder surgery and major back surgery.  He’s already been successful returning to baseball after those other injuries so the man is a warrior.

By signing him to a minor league contract, this gives the Braves time for him to recover fully and then possibly have him around when they trade guys like Jim Johnson or Jason Grilli at the trade deadline.

The 6’2″, 225 pound right-handed has an eight year career in the big leagues.  The 36-year-old pitched for the Braves from 2006-2012.  His most prosperous years in Atlanta were in 2009 and in 2010 when he appeared in 87 and 85 games respectively with an ERA south of 3.00 in both seasons.  He has a career ERA of 2.80 with a 1.322 WHIP, 213 strikeouts and 309 games pitched in.

He has four playoff appearances with the Braves when they went in 2010.  He has a 0.00 ERA from those appearances in the postseason.

The Australian had a deep fan base here with the Braves and was always well liked within the clubhouse.  He brings the type of leadership attitude to the locker room that you’re always looking for.  He’ll fit in very nicely with the Braves if he can recover from the surgery to pitch once more.