Braves eyeing revenge on subpar 2023 rotation member after he signs with NL East team
Who was the hardest pitcher to watch for Braves fans in 2023? Most people's answer could be facing the 2024 Braves offense this time.
For as good as the Atlanta Braves were in 2023, their starting rotation was mostly patchwork outside of Strider, Morton, and Elder. While Max Fried and Kyle Wright were sidelined most of last year, Atlanta went through a carousel of backend starters hoping to find one that would stick.
Luckily, the Braves offense could now have a shot at extracting some revenge on one of those band-aid starters from last season. According to Miami Marlins beat writer, Christina De Nicola, former Brave Yonny Chirinos will be one of the non-roster invitees in Marlins camp.
Chirinos signs minor league deal with the fish
It's true none of the band-aid starters took grasp of the fifth spot in the rotation, but Chirinos probably had the worst results among the guys given a chance last summer. He was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay (the Rays putting him on waivers was a red flag in itself), and went on to make just five starts for Atlanta in his stint with the team.
What followed was Chirinos giving up at least three earned runs in each of his starts. Including a couple of stinkers where he surrendered six against the Mets and Pirates in each outing. Granted it was a small sample size, but a 9.27 ERA, 5.27 FIP, and five homers allowed in just 22.1 innings with the Braves didn't earn Chirinos many fans in Atlanta.
Even when you combine his halfway decent numbers from the Rays, his 2023 totals still leave a lot to be desired. Via Fangraphs, Chirinos posted a 6.20 xERA, 5.43 FIP, and -0.3 fWAR in 85 innings last year. Not great Bob.
The good news is now the heavy hitting Braves offense may get their chance to thump Chirinos around next season if he makes the Marlins squad. However, that is a big if considering Miami has a lot of really talented (and much younger) starting pitchers. Regardless, even if it is a depth signing for the Marlins, pitcher injuries occur all the time, so seeing Chirinos in mid-June isn't outside the realm of possibility.
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