The Atlanta Braves swapped one struggling reliever for another one today, hoping the change of scenery helps both players turn things around. If it works, they could have a weapon. If it fails, it cost the team nothing.
As Jake told you a couple of hours ago, the Atlanta Braves swapped recently DFA’d lefty Jesse Biddle along with Arodys Vizcaino with and his surgically-repaired-but-nowhere-near-ready shoulder, to Seattle for Anthony Swarzak and $2M. That cash makes the trade payroll neutral and effectively a swap of bad contracts.
Vizcaino’s done for the year – if not longer – and his arm’s been of questionable stability for a while. Biddle was solid to start 2018 but tired late and fell apart this year.
We know those guys, but who is this Swarzak guy?
The Twins selected the 6’-4” right-hander from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the second round of the 2004 amateur draft, #61 overall. My Baseball America archive shows Swarzak ranked #72; the Braves selection that round, Eric Campbell, ranked #114 and current Nationals closer Sean Doolittle ranked #115.
The BA draft report (subscription required) projected Swarzak as a “tough sign.” It goes on to report that his low-mid 90s fastball, curve, and changeup along with good command made John Smoltz with a slightly lower-ceiling fair comparison The Twins paid him a $575K signing bonus to skip LSU.
In doing that, Minnesota passed ranked players like, Dustin Pedroia (#53), Kurt Suzuki (#48), and Jason Vargas (33), as well the Atlanta Braves second-round pick, Eric Campbell, who didn’t make it past AA.