Evening Chop: Just A Whole Bunch of Random Atlanta Braves Newsy Notes

Sep 23, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Darren O’Day (56) pitches during the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Baltimore Orioles defeated Washington Nationals 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

TOPIC 2:  DARREN O’DAY

Well that’s interesting.  Crasnick went on to report that ‘industry expectations’ suggest that reliever Darren O’Day will end up signing for 4 years and $32-34 million… $8.5m AAV.  So why would the Braves get in on that action??

Well, they did say that the bullpen was going to be a priority this year.  And if we end up with a stable full of young starting pitchers… and Bud Norris… then solid relief is going to be important.  But (a) lean years were already mentioned; and (b) why would O’Day himself do it?

Well, if the Braves actually pull off a couple of trades for Miller and Julio Teheran, then it’s possible that those lean years could be shortened.  O’Day could opt to go ahead and sign with Washington… they will still be contending for at least another year or two as presently configured.  But the Braves might ask him to hold off on a decision for another week just to see how things fall out in these trades that haven’t happened yet.  Then he could make a more informed decision about just what he’d be signing up for.

Just a thought.

Minor Again?

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• Show the bullpen some love

David O’Brien, writing in the myajc.com pages today, said this:

"The Braves are interested in re-signing left-hander Mike Minor and utility players Pedro Ciriaco and Eury Perez after not tendering them a contract, general manager John Coppolella said."

Ciriaco and Perez?  I could see that.  Minor?  I’m about 90% sure that this won’t happen.  Too much conflict between team and player for that, it would seem.

Mike O’Neal

Michael O’Neal is a lefty pitcher you’ve never heard of… and may never hear of again.  But during the past two short seasons, he’s been throwing in an independent league… posting numbers that were honestly pretty forgettable.  He was at Auburn University and went undrafted, but he still wanted to play.

He’s now 23½ and hails from Columbus, GA.  A week ago, though, he managed to seize hold of a dream.  He signed with the Braves.

Guessing he’ll be assigned to an instructional team, and then will go from there.  But it’s nice to see good things happen to people from Braves Country.  Congratulations, Mike!

Next: Hey Look! New Guy!

The End

Amen to that.