Sent 1B Freddie Freeman to AAA Gwinnett on rehab assignment.
Sent UT Sean Rodriguez to GCL Braves on rehab assignment.
Signed LHP Kevin Matthews & assigned him to A- Rome.
Sent RHP Chaz Roe to A+ Florida on rehab assignment.
Signed free agent OF Asmin Bautista to a minor league contract.
Promoted LHP Joe Rogers from A- Rome to A+ Florida.
Promoted C Alan Crowley from R Danville to A- Rome.
Released A- Rome 1B Ramon Osuna.
Released R GCL Braves RHP Bredio Vega.
Sent Freddie Freeman to AAA Gwinnett on rehab assignment
Regardless of how you may or may not feel about Freeman’s experiment at the hot corner, it’s exciting that one of the best bats in baseball is on the comeback path. Tomorrow’s game in Buford could be quite a draw, with Freeman playing 3rd and the team firing off a pretty decent firework display after the game.
Sent UT Sean Rodriguez to GCL Braves on rehab assignment
Rodriguez’s comeback will take a little longer, which explains why he’s starting it at GCL. Still, we’re possibly a month away from seeing Rodriguez in Atlanta, and that’s a significantly faster return than anyone expected when he suffered his car accident-related injury in the offseason. It’s exciting that he’s back on a baseball field, and he deserves it after what happened.
Signed LHP Kevin Matthews and assigned him to A- Rome
The 33rd overall pick of the 2011 draft, the Georgia native had athleticism and talent when he was drafted by Texas. Injuries have impeded his development, however, with Matthews appearing in just 51 games over 7 MiLB seasons. He hasn’t started a game since 2014, and after missing all of 2016, he came out of the pen in his first game with Rome, pitching 2 scoreless innings. It’s not too late for Matthews to get back on the prospect path – he’s only 24. As long as he’s in relief, his value as a prospect will be somewhat muted, but if the southpaw can stay healthy, it will be interesting to see what he can bring to the mound here in his comeback season. It’s an interesting signing from the Braves’ front office, the kind of signing that is always welcome: low risk, high reward.
Assigned RHP Chaz Roe to A+ Florida on rehab assignment
It’s just another stop on the comeback trail for Roe. Unrelated fact: Chaz isn’t short for anything; it’s his actual first name.
Signed Int’l FA OF Asmin Bautista to a minor league contract
A 16 year old from the DR, the left-handed hitting OF is Atlanta’s first international signing of 2017. He signed for a $300,000 bonus, which is the maximum bonus Atlanta can offer this year. That’s due to last year’s international bonanza, wherein Atlanta spent heavily, willingly putting themselves into future penalty in order to maximize the one year haul. It was a good strategy, but the consequence is an arguably quieter summer this year on the international market. Bautista should be one of the better prospects Atlanta comes away with this year, but we’re likely years away from knowing what kind of prospect he’ll be.
Promoted LHP Joe Rogers from A-Rome to A+ Florida
This promotion may have come about due to Florida wanting a 3rd relief lefty to ease the workload on Corbin Clouse and Adam McCreery. It’s hard to argue that the 26 year old Rogers (5.17 ERA / 4.17 FIP / 4.57 DRA) has really mastered the Sally League. With over 5.2 walks and 1.1 HR allowed per 9, there’s a lot of volatility to his game, but he did notch 22 Ks in 15.2 innings, and he suffered from some bad luck (.432 BABIP).
Promoted C Alan Crowley from R Danville to A- Rome
Drafted in the 26th round last year from Reedley College, Crowley looked good in his pro debut (.327/.375/.385). He’ll try to replicate that line in the Sally, where he will likely back up Lucas Herbert.
Released 1B Ramon Osuna from A- Rome
A 14th round pick in 2016, Osuna hit .276/.342/.423 in rookie ball last year. That success didn’t translate to low-A ball, where this year, in 72 plate appearances, Osuna hit just .164/.222/.209 with a K rate of nearly 50%. It’s a small sample size, and he’s young, so he may catch on somewhere, but a pairing of a 48.6 whiff rate with a .045 ISO is a deadly combo for your future prospects. The Braves felt like they didn’t need to see anymore. Or, perhaps, they felt like they just couldn’t.
Released RHP Bredio Vega from GCL Braves
This is not how you want your rate stats to progress over 3 years in rookie ball:
K-rate: 24.0% / 16.7% / 10.5%
BB rate: 13.6% / 15.7% / 26.3%
Yikes.
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