Atlanta Braves Spring Chop: How many Relievers?

The Braves are trying to bring Peter Moylan back to Atlanta – again.  With games starting this coming weekend, sorting the bullpen out could become a tall order… but what else is going on here?

First off:  the news of the day… the Atlanta Braves are negotiating to bring back Peter Moylan.

This is not a slam dunk – Bowman also reports that Kansas City is also involved is discussions for his services.

Petey is 39 now after having burst onto the scene in 2006.  He’s earned everything he’s done in baseball:  7 stints in AAA, more in the majors, two Tommy John surgeries.

Even with all that, the Royals trotted him out for 79 appearances in 2017 (which tied for the lead in the majors among pitchers).  He’s been very good in the last 2 seasons:  129 outings, 3.47 ERA and a strong WHIP of 1.10 in 2017.

But let’s remind ourselves about just how many relief candidates there are in the major league camp – here’s Grant McAuley’s list:

Without passing judgment over the names, here’s the tally of those currently in contention for bullpen roles:  Biddle, Blair, Brothers, Cabrera, Carle, Dayton, Freeman, Gomez, Hursh, Jackson, Lindgren, McCreery, Minter, Morris, Pfeifer, Ramirez, Ravin, Sanchez, Socolovich, Vizcaino, Whitley, Winkler, aaaand possibly Scott Kazmir or another starter like Max Fried or Lucas Sims.

That’s 25 names – many without real shots, but they’re all already in camp and will get looks – if not for now, then possibly for future considerations.

So while I really like Moylan – and yeah, there’s the whole ‘veteran thing’ about him – it does beg a couple of questions:

• Does the team already think the bullpen options are a bit thin?
• Do they think there’s too much youth?
• Is Moylan really considered a better option than the others above?

If that last question is answered “yes”, then you’d have to ask another question:  does this signal a step in a direction that the Braves feel is needed to be more competitive… now?

Bigger Picture

Before considering that too much, try this on for size (nice catch by @DarthHenshaw):

We already heard today about the Braves trying to add another outfielder, and Fred just gave us the run-down on Corey Dickerson, who was (surprisingly) dumped from the Rays yesterday.

First reaction to this notion of Camargo getting some OF time might be “is something else going on at third base?”  Not an unreasonable take.

More from Tomahawk Take

• Atlanta Braves: Which offseason moves have other NL East teams made?
• Show the bullpen some love
• Braves News: Atlanta’s left field situation, Dansby negotiations, more
• Alex Anthopoulos discusses the Atlanta Braves payroll, rotation, Grissom, Swanson, Acuña, and more
• Braves News: Braves 2023 rotation speculation, Correa deal on hold, more

My question would be “is something going on in the outfield?”

The Braves’ depth chart for the outfield would include Inciarte, Markakis, Lane Adams, and Ronald Acuna in some order, with Preston Tucker probably being the next in line.

This combination of both (a) trying to get Moylan and (b) trying to add another outfielder tells me that Anthopoulos isn’t done… and indeed is trying to improve the team now.

Over on MLB.com yesterday, Anthony Castrovince listed 6 reasons that the Braves shouldn’t be overlooked by their opponents this year.  I would tend to concur… but they need a bit of additional help, as we’ve discussed (a lot).

Next: Want some power?

Maybe this is a step in that direction.  Maybe it’s a flier being taken.   Maybe it’s something else.  I’m just glad there’s something going on.