The players moved included players that need some work and will most likely not be ready for Opening Day while others are prospects not expected to debut until mid-season at the earliest.
On Friday, the Atlanta Braves announced they had trimmed their roster down to 48 players. They sent three pitchers to AAA and seven players to minor league camp.
Of the roster moves, the Braves sent Luiz Gohara, Patrick Weigel and Huascar Ynoa to Triple-A Gwinnett. Gohara and Weigel are both, at different paces, are working their way back injuries looking to eventually get a spot on the main roster.
Gohara, after dealing with a number of obstacles on and off the field, will look to earn back the status as a top prospect while Weigel will look to get back to his form before his TJ surgery, which was on the verge of getting a call-up.
We’ve yet to see Gohara in any Spring game, though he has done some live BP sessions as he works through (stop me if you’ve heard this one) some shoulder soreness.
Ynoa getting sent to AAA is a promotion for him, having spent 2018 only at Single-A and High-A. Between those levels, he finished with a 4.56 ERA with most of the struggle when he got to High-A. This spring, he’s only pitched a (scoreless) inning with a strikeout.
The Atlanta #Braves made 10 roster moves today, trimming their spring roster to 48 players: pic.twitter.com/QSw7ZvQqvT
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 8, 2019
The other part of the move is the optioning of pitchers Ian Anderson, Kyle Muller, and Joey Wentz, catchers William Contreras and Jonathan Morales and outfielders Greyson Jenista and Drew Waters to minor league camp.
Most of these names have had good showings this spring especially Waters, Muller and Contreras. Waters has a .308 BA with an RBI while Contreras has a .333 average with a homer and two RBIs. Muller has turned in a 1.93 ERA over 4.2 innings with seven strikeouts.
There is a possibility all three of these names gets a call to Atlanta for some length and capacity.
The two #Braves prospects who have stood out most to me: Drew Waters and Kyle Muller.
— Gabe Burns (@GabeBurnsAJC) March 1, 2019
The Braves went on to give an update of the roster which still has 26 pitchers, four catchers, seven outfielders and 11 infielders.
None of these actions precludes calling a player up for a spot appearance in a major league spring game, but it does mean that most of their work from this point will take place in groups associated with their next expected assignment level.
More roster moves like this to come as the Braves begin to shape their roster for Opening Day, which is now under three weeks away.