Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Shuffling and Getting Shuffled
Less than 24 hours later, Braves prospect Morris back at Double-A
Less than 24 hours after joining the Braves in Washington, the relief-pitching prospect was on his way back to Double-A Mississippi early Saturday. Morris, 23, was optioned to open a spot for reliever Ryan Weber, who was recalled again from Triple-A Gwinnett.
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Because Weber was sent down to Gwinnett on April 3, the Braves had to wait 10 days to recall him. And so that they would have a fresh arm in the bullpen Friday to pitch and inning or more if necessary, they brought up Morris, 23, who was already on the 40-man roster, making the transaction a simple one.
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“You’re a roster guy that we can do that to,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said of Morris’ two-day whirlwind trip to the big leagues and back to the bushes. “It’s (about) not going short (in bullpen) up here. It’s like I told him, ‘People really like you in the organization, they like your arm, and just keep doing what you’ve been doing.’
“They say there’s a lot to like there. I’ve never seen him throw, but the reports are good, and the fact that he is on the roster makes it easy for him to be that guy (to be brought up for a day).”
For his troubles, Morris got to spend a day in a major league uniform in D.C., got paid a one-day prorated portion of the major-league minimum $507,500 salary, and spent a night at the Ritz-Carlton, the team hotel in a Washington suburb.
[ ed. note: …and such is the life of guys who are the 38th-40th names on the 40-man roster… and have minor league options. I expect Morris was briefed on the expectations upon arrival (maybe before), but being shuffled from place to place still feels a bit unfair.
You could suggest that if the active roster held 26 players instead of 25 that he might get to stick around longer… but then the 26th guy would still face the same treatment.
“It’s not personal, it’s business”
Yeah, but it’s personal to the player, which is exactly why it’s good to brief him on the plans. After all, if he should get into a game, you’ll want to know that he’s not brooding over the fact that his call-up euphoria has been dashed.
To the credit of the Braves: you almost never hear about issues like this going on… and that’s most likely because they do their level best to keep the players in the loop. ]
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