Atlanta Braves Bullpen Trims Fat, Reveals Itself
The Atlanta Braves made some roster moves recently that shed some light on the Bullpen situation.
As I previewed in February, it was clear before the Grapefruit League schedule began that the bulk of the roster spots up for grabs in Braves camp were out yonder in the Bullpen. This isn’t really unique for MLB clubs. The bullpen battle has indeed been the most competitive, but it can be summarized pretty unceremoniously.
An injury here.
A service time consideration there.
Add some Rule 5 Draft considerations, and violà ! The Bullpen is starting to shape up.
Braves relievers Matt Marksberry and Chris Winthrow were optioned to AA and AAA, respectively. You could have made an argument for both of these fellas making the roster, but ultimately the didn’t have a lot to sway fate in their favor without wowing during their limited early action. It seems that they did not.
It’s not all their fault though; the Braves’ bullpen is chock full of contract considerations amidst an underwhelming crew of job applicants. Jose Ramirez is out of options, meaning he can’t be sent down to the farm without being exposed to waivers. Evan Rutckyj and Daniel Winkler are Rule 5 Draft picks, meaning that they have to stick on the 25-man roster or potentially be lost.
The proven-ish-ness of lefties Ian Krol and Carlos Torres was also working against the recent southpaw cuts by the Braves.
Hunter Cervenka was also reassigned to the minors, but he was a non-roster invitee and really didn’t have a shot by most accounts.
So what gives? What’s next? Where’s Waldo? I’ll list some questions and follow with answers.
More from Tomahawk Take
- Braves News: Atlanta makes a pair of trades, prospect debuts, more
- Atlanta Braves History: How the Red Stockings became the Braves
- Braves News: Atlanta Braves acquire Eli White from the Texas Rangers
- Atlanta Braves Swing Trade with the New York Yankees for Lucas Luetge
- Atlanta Braves 2012 Top Prospects Review: Zeke Spruill
THE QUESTIONS
- Will Jason Grilli be ready for Opening Day? He is quite old in baseball years, and that Achilles injury could prove to be his… well… you know. If Grilli isn’t ready, it obviously opens up a temporary bullpen spot and hands Arodys Vizcaino the closer spot on Opening Day. I’m not sure if either of those facts are really worth any hand-wringing.
- Does Fredi Gonzalez want a proper long-man in the ‘pen?
- I didn’t like what I saw from Rutckyj this Spring. He’s walked 5 in 3 innings and his stuff has looked… soft. Is he looking like the type of arm that the Braves want to commit to a whole season of active roster occupation to? Also, can his name possibly be pronounced like the announcers would have me believe?
- People are pretty hyped about Jose Ramirez’s velocity. But people always be hyped about velocity. He currently has more MLB walks than MLB innings. Has his big arm and lack of minor league options already afforded him a shot on the active roster?
- Has Winkler’s strong start, plus the fact that he needs to stick on the roster for 90 days or be offered back to the Rockies, already earned him a roster spot?
THE ANSWERS
- Grilli may not be 100% coming out of the Spring, but I anticipate he’ll be on the roster. The Braves can carry and extra pen’ arm for the first week and a half or so, because an early day off will allow them to skip the first appearance of their 5th starter spot. He’ll have time to get some ‘sim’ game action and get back to it. Grilli is too grizzled for a rehab assignment. Mere grunting will propel him back to the closer’s role.
- I’m convinced that Williams Perez is your Opening Day long man. Fredi G is a traditional kind of guy (though maaaaaaybe less and less so… have you seen all those shifts this Spring?), and frankly the 2016 Braves may need a reliever accustomed to logging multiple innings. With Folty coming back soon, and the likes of Aaron Blair knocking on the door to the bigs, it’s clear that Perez has no real future in the Braves rotation anyway.
- Winkler’s in. The Braves recently got a good look at him having success in the Arizona Fall League. They must have seen upside worth waiting for to select him as a Rule 5 pick while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. All things point towards giving him his 90 days to prove himself. Or not.
- It’s nearly impossible to be sold on Ramirez when looking at his numbers, but it’s equally impossible to be sold on anyone that would take his roster spot. Dude throws gas, and I figure the Braves will cross their fingers and hopes he has learned to stop walking everyone.
- I just don’t know about the lefties. Dave O’Brien expressed recently that he thinks Alex Torres and Ian Krol are the frontrunners. However, Torres is a non-roster invitee, making him the less impactful loser between he and Evan Rutckyj, who would be potentially lost if he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. DOB was asked about Rutckyj’s fate after his recent poor showing:
Yes, I think they'll keep him around at least through end of camp before making decision. https://t.co/wn2yxPaKRM
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) March 15, 2016
I’m going with Evan beating out Torres and making the club out of the chute, but I’m holding my nose while doing it and assuming he’d be on a short leash.