Sunday Morning Chop – Atlanta Braves News
By Fred Owens
Former Reds starter David Holmberg signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves on Friday. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Minor League Machinations
According to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. the Braves signed former Reds starter David Holmberg and one time Phillies reliever Ethan Martin to minor league deals.
The 24 year old Holmberg was a second round selection of the White Sox in 2009 and traded him to Arizona along with Daniel Hudson for Edwin Jackson – (oops, bad deal pale hose) in 2010. Following the 2013 season he was part of a convoluted three team trade whose purpose was to have Heath Bell from Arizona and Ryan Hanigan (Reds) end up in Tampa. When the dust settled Holmberg was in Cincinnati.(Another deal that wasn’t a magnificent success.)
Holmberg’s career so far consists of 62 IP over 12 starts and two relief appearances with a 6.24 ERA , 7.92 FIP and a 1.677 WHIP averaging 4.79 K/9 and 5.08 BB/9. The lefty is still young but his track record suggests a bullpen role may be in his future.
Martin is a 26 year old RHP selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2008 draft. They traded him to the Phillies as part of the package to acquire Shane Victorino in July of 2012. His major league debut came against the Braves in August of 2013. He took the loss that day after pitching 4 1/3 innings and allowing six runs on eight hits striking out six and walking three. He made eight starts that year and showed the kind of stuff you would expect from a first round pick but had trouble locating it. He finished 2013 with a 6.08 ERA, 5.65 FIP and 1.700 WHIP in 40 IP and while he did strike out 10.6 per nine he also walked 5.9 and gave up two homers per nine.
Marin made two relief appearances in June of 2014 but spent the rest of that season AAA and all of 2015 in AA. Martin made Baseball Prospectus prospect list in 2009 at #59 and again in 2010 at #98. After being absent for a while he reappeared on MLB’s prospect list at #80 in 2013. and before you ask, no he hasn’t had TJ surgery since becoming a pro.
The same link reports that the Tigers signed former Brave right-handed pitcher Jake Brigham. Brigham is he’s also seeking a contract with NPB’s Rakuten Eagles so where he’ll land no one is sure. You may recall that Brigham threw 16 uninspiring innings for the Braves last season finishing with an 8.64 ERA.
Next: Is Aybar tthe Braves Shortstop or not?
That’s A Wrap For Sunday December 13, 2015
Teams took a deep breath after the winter meetings ended with just a few completing moves they started in Nashville. The coming week should be busy as players – except Scott Boras clients – like to know where they’re going before buying their last Christmas presents. The Braves continue to do their Jekyll and Hyde act:
- They bring back perennial reconstruction project Jim Johnson on a major league deal to a bullpen full of arms many of whom are better
- They take advantage of the Diamondbacks lust after Shelby Miller to extract a huge overpay for him and a catcher most didn’t know we had
- They give perpetual under achiever Emilio Bonifacio a major league deal having already signed his younger clone Gordon Beckham and having Daniel Castro on board
- They follow that by extracting another former top pick and a young Venezuelan rated the best catcher in the 2014 international prospect list for the disappointing Christian Bethancourt.
One wonders what the next stunner will be. Whatever it is we’ll keep you informed here at the Take.