It appears as if the Sean Newcomb era with the Atlanta Braves could be at an end as the team designated him for assignment on Tuesday.
Not everything worked out as expected during the Atlanta Braves rebuild that won them a World Series in 2021.
While trades for Max Fried and Dansby Swanson — along with the early round picks like Ian Anderson and Austin Riley — ended up being gems during the rebuild.
Other moves did not go as swimmingly, and perhaps the most glaring one on the mind of Braves fans is the trade of Andrelton Simmons for Sean Newcomb. A lot of that had to do with the love fans had for Simba, which meant Newcomb was always facing an uphill battle with the fanbase.
And now it looks like Newcomb’s tenure in Atlanta has come to an end as the team designated him for assignment on Tuesday.
The #Braves today recalled RHP Touki Toussaint and LHP Dylan Lee to Atlanta, designated LHP Sean Newcomb for assignment and optioned Huascar Ynoa to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night’s game.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 19, 2022
The lefty spent parts of six seasons with the Braves and finished with an ERA of 4.25 in 383.1 innings with 390 strikeouts, a WHIP of 1.453, a BB/9 of 4.8, and a K/9 of 9.2.
His bes seasons came in 2018 and 2019. In 2019 he had a 3.90 ERA as a starter and won 12 games.
The next season, he struggled out of the gate and came back as a big piece of the bullpen finishing the year with a 3.16 ERA in 68.1 innings. He also pitched 3.2 perfect innings in that 2019 postseason.
However, the last two — now three — seasons for Sean have been a struggle with a 6.71 ERA in 51 innings and 37 walks.
The command just hasn’t been there for him.
It’s possible he returns. Players who are designated for assignment can either be traded or claimed off waivers seven days after the designation.
If Newcomb isn’t claimed or traded, he can either accept an assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett or elect free agency.
He likely clears waivers and accepts free agency. It’s to the point now where Newcomb needs a fresh start somewhere else.
Still just 28 years old, and will turn 29 in June, someone will give him a chance to see if he can finally put it all together. The Braves just don’t have that kind of time to wait and see.
Braves Option Huascar Ynoa to Gwinnett
This seemed like a pretty obvious decision for Brian Snitker to make. Ynoa earned a chance to be a part of this rotation off his early-season performance last year.
But he has not looked the same since coming back from injury last year with an ERA over six in his last 12 starts.
He started mixing in a change-up a little more on Monday, and that’s a huge development for him.
Sending him back down to the minors will allow him to continue to develop that pitch and perhaps he can come back later in the year and get another shot in the rotation.
If not, he should fit into a bullpen role nicely with that fastball-slider combination that he has.
Braves Recall Touki Toussaint and Dylan Lee
Calling up Touki and Lee is nothing more than having some more arms to cover inning if needed.
It’s likely that Spencer Strider gets a shot to take Ynoa’s spot in the rotation as Briant Snitker said they will continue to go with a six-man rotation even after the upcoming off day.
Touki has made two starts at Gwinnett already allowing just 2 earned runs on 6 hits over 8.2 innings with 16 strikeouts. But, walks remain an issue as he’s handed out seven free passes.
For a team that’s already walking too many batters, it’s hard to imagine Snitker will give Touki a start while he continues to struggle with walking batters.
If this is the end of the line for Newcomb and the Braves, we wish him all the best going forward. This was a move that had to be made, and hopefully it works out for both parties.