Atlanta Braves make a few notable minor league moves

While fans have been focused on the lack of major moves by the Atlanta Braves major league team, there have been notable moves in the minors.

Many Atlanta Braves fans have been bemoaning a lack of moves by the major league team, but recently the team has been making a number of moves at the minor league level. Let’s get them wrapped up.

Let Go

First, two players were recently let go by the team. This is something not uncommon as the team begins to sit down to prepare for the upcoming season in meetings and discusses certain players. It is unfortunate for the players, as they end up getting a shorter window to find a new team than other minor league free agents (many of whom are struggling to find work as it is currently).

Last May, the Atlanta Braves signed Japanese catcher Yuta Okazaki. Okazaki had come to the United States to play college baseball, and after his college career, he played 3 seasons in independent leagues, showing well with his bat in 2015 and 2016, but struggling in 2017. The Braves saw something to bring him in, but he did not get much time, making just 3 plate appearances over 3 games, going 1-3 with 2 strikeouts on the season. He was released on January 16th.

Also released January 16th was a name fans of the minor leagues will recognize, left-handed reliever Chase Johnson-Mullins. Incredibly tall (6’8″) and thick (270+ pounds), CJM has been known for his tremendous curve and mid-90s velocity from the time he was a 13th round pick from Shelton State Community College after transferring to Shelton State from Kentucky.

He’s had some off-field stuff that led to time away from the field in the past, but with a 2.92 career minor league ERA and 141 strikeouts over 144 2/3 innings, he’s been considered a potential big league relief arm.

Brought In

A few guys who have been signed were recently mentioned as either Spring Training invites or assigned to levels, so their name got brought up, but their deal was, in fact, signed quite some time ago.

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Pitchers: RHP Claudio Custodio, RHP Ben Rowen, RHP Lukas Young – Custodio and Rowen are older, likely reliever types and most likely organizational fodder, with Custodio perhaps having one of the smallest frames on the mound I’ve seen lately (5’10” listed and 155 pounds listed, and both numbers look exaggerated), but he’s just switched to the mound the last few seasons after being a position player for multiple seasons. Young is a Georgia boy who was just drafted in 2017.

Catchers/Infielders: IF Andres Blanco, C Ryan Casteel, IF Pedro Florimon, IF Ariel Montesino, IF Andy Wilkins – Blanco and Florimon are older, utility infielders who could be guys that shuttle up and down from AAA to the majors depending on how they perform and the need at the big league level. Casteel will be interesting to watch as a former Indy Ball catcher. Wilkins gives the team depth at first base, and Montesino has been a slow-developing infielder for the Twins org before he was signed, but there is legit talent there.

Outfielders: Ryan LaMarre, Rafael Ortega – Very feasibly due to the Atlanta Braves major league situation, these signings are more “legit” guys that could end up in the major leagues than other position groups mentioned. LaMarre put up a .279/.322/.382 line over 165 at-bats in 2018. Ortega has been in the majors three different times. He’s a leadoff/on-base type from the left side that could be a good defensive 5th outfielder late in the season.

There will be more guys signed over the next few weeks as spring training comes into play. The Atlanta Braves use their minor leagues very well through the regular season, so any of these guys could end up in the bigs.