Atlanta Braves filling gaps on the final day of 2019 mock Winter meetings

A fifth who pitches better than that

Early Saturday afternoon, I simulated the signing of Jordan Lyles to a one year $2M contract.

Lyles always possessed good stuff but ended up in bad locations. In 2018 the Brewers acquired him at the deadline and in a very small sample size, dropped his ERA a full run and showed the ability to get batters out in relief.

He joined the Pirates this season and won eight of his first nine starts, throwing 53 1/3 innings, striking out 58, walking 17, and pitching to a 2.70 ERA and 1.088 WHIP. Then he went into a horrible slump losing his six of his next eight starts. He left the other two games with the teams tied having given up three-run sin one game and one run in the other.

At the deadline, the Brewers once again traded for Lyles, a move David Justice ranked as the second-best deadline move of 2019, ahead of the Astros’ trade for Zack Greinke. Brewers GM David Stearns told Robert Murray of The Athletic ($$) why traded for Lyles.

"“We viewed his recent performance in Pittsburgh as not representative of who he really was. We thought he was pitching meaningfully better than that and was having some really poor fortune.”"

Stearns’ evaluators were right. After arriving in Milwaukee, Lyles became the Brewers’  best starter, posting a 2.45 ERA in his starts. He has a 2.35 ERA, 1.107 WHIP in 58 2/3 innings, striking out 56 and walking 22.  The Brewers were 10-1 in his starts The loss he and the Brewers suffered came in the form of a 1-0 shutout by Mike Minor. Lyles gave up three hits in seven innings while Minor gave up four hits in eight.

"Lyles told The Athletic’s Murray, the reason for his success was sitting behind the plate. When Jordan Lyles was asked about his second-half resurgence, he smiled and pointed to the other side of the Brewers clubhouse. “That man right there,” Lyles said. That man, of course, is Yasmani Grandal"

Lyles went on to say, the game calling and pitch framing of Grandal gave him confidence.

"“It takes more pressure off me trying to call my own game, making sure the catcher is putting down the right fingers the whole game. I can . . .sit back and see what he’s putting down and go from there. Mentally, that has been a big help."

The simulated pairing of Lyles with our newest catcher Roberto Perez looks like a recipe for success and is another move typical of the current actual Atlanta Braves GM.