With injuries piling up in the Atlanta Braves bullpen and in the rotation, Alex Anthopoulos is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to adding depth. Today, the club claimed pitcher Yonny Chirinos off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays. Chirinos had been designated for assignment by Tampa Bay on July 17.
Chirinos, a 29-year-old right-hander out of Venezuela, has pitched in five different major leagues, appearing in 64 games (33 starts) since 2018. The righty did miss all of 2021 because of Tommy John Surgery.
This season, Chirinos has split time between Tampa Bay and their AAA affliate, the Durham Bulls, and has also appeared as both a long reliever and a starter. He has a 4.02 ERA and a 5.52 FIP in 62.2 innings across 15 games (four starts). With the Bulls, Chirinos has a 4.66 ERA in 19.1 innings across five games (four starts).
Chirinos has fared much better as a reliever than as a starter this season. In his four starts, the righty has a 6.43 ERA in 21 innings. As a reliever, he has a 2.81 ERA in 41.2 innings. His starter FIP of 5.62 is only slightly worse than his reliever FIP of 5.40, however.
Chirinos's Baseball Savant percentiles are ugly to look at (if this is something you care about, please shield your eyes). His BB% is the only stat where he ranks above the 50th percentile. He is below the 10th percentile in eight categories, including xSLG, xERA, xBA, and K%. His K% is especially egregious, ranking in the 1st percentile.
The Braves have not announced a corresponding move, which they'll need to do with the 40-man roster full. They also have not announced whether Chirinos will join the Braves on the active roster or if he'll be sent down to Gwinnett.