The Atlanta Braves announced the first round of Spring Training cuts late Wednesday morning, optioning catcher Chadwick Tromp to AAA, while reassigning pitchers Blake Burkhalter, Roel Ramírez, and Brooks Wilson to minor league camp.
The #Braves today optioned C Chadwick Tromp to Triple-A Gwinnett, and reassigned RHP Blake Burkhalter, RHP Roel Ramírez and RHP Brooks Wilson to minor league camp. Atlanta now has 61 total players in camp.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 1, 2023
What the first round of Spring Training cuts means for the Braves
None of the four players cut today were expected to make the major league team. Only Chadwick Tromp is on the 40-man, but with Sean Murphy and Travis d'Arnaud, the only chance Tromp would make the team if there was an injury to either.
Tromp only got into one game with the big league club last season, but 3-4 with two doubles in his lone game against the Marlins.
Tromp and Roel Ramírez are also leaving the team to play in the World Baseball Classic, with Tromp leaving the team today to fly to Taiwan.
Snitker said Tromp is leaving on March 1, because of the long flight to Taiwan and that early game. https://t.co/hzb4Hylgbm
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) February 20, 2023
Ramírez pitched in one game in both 2020 and 2021 for the St. Louis Cardinals, and only managed to pitch one inning, allowing 9 earned runs. He pitched 21 games in Gwinnett in 2022 and had a 4.91 ERA in 22 innings.
Brooks Wilson was on the Braves' 40-man roster last season but was released during the non-tender period. He ended up re-signing shortly after to a minor league deal. He missed all of 2022 with Tommy John.
Blake Burkhalter was a 2nd round pick in last year's draft. He only pitched three games in the Braves' minor league system. The Braves drafted him partially on the endorsement from former Braves starting pitcher, Tim Hudson.
Despite exclusively being a reliever at Auburn, the Braves view him as a starter, which is something to keep an eye on this season.
The Braves still have plenty of cuts to come in the next few weeks, with 61 players still in big league camp. It is likely some guys will hang around a little longer than they normally would