Placed P Josh Ravin (Atlanta) on the 10 day DL (viral infection).

Designated P Miguel Socolovich (Atlanta) for assignment.

Selected the contract of P Anibal Sanchez from AAA Gwinnett.

Recalled C Carlos Perez from AAA Gwinnett.

Demoted P Max Fried from AAA Gwinnett to AA Mississippi.

 

Placed Josh Ravin on the 10-Day DL

Ravin was recalled to help provide long relief for the Braves. After one appearance, where in one inning of work he closed out a 15-2 win Saturday night, Ravin hits the DL with a viral infection.

Ravin probably won’t need terribly long to recover, so we should see the righty back in the bullpen soon.

Designated Miguel Socolovich for assignment

Socolovich gave the team two perfect innings of relief work, but he was the lowest rung of the righty ladder, so he is sacrificed to make room for the soon-to-be-needed Anibal Sanchez. As Socolovich is out of minor league options, the team couldn’t simply send him to Gwinnett. DFA-ing Socolovich means other teams will have a shot at him, and it’s reasonable to think some team out there might claim him.

Socolovich could reject the assignment and become a free agent, but if he passes through waivers, I think it’ll be pretty clear what the market for him is.

 

Selected the contract of Anibal Sanchez from AAA

There is some thought Sanchez could return to prominence with an adjustment to his pitch mix. Last season it broke down as follows, per Brooks Baseball:

4-Seamer: 32%
Change: 21%
Sinker: 17%
Slider: 11%
Curve: 10%
Cutter: 8%

The Fangraphs article I linked above posited that by relying less on his sinker and more on his slider/cutter combo, Sanchez could have a path to functionality again. Here’s what he used last night, in his Atlanta debut:

4-Seamer: 34%
Change: 26%
Slider: 17%
Curve: 10%
Sinker: 9%
Cutter: 3%

So, from a 19/17 split between Slider/Cutters and Sinkers a year ago to a 20/9 split. The sinker wasn’t a good pitch for him last year, and its usefulness across baseball is in decline since batters adjusted their swing paths to beat it. Using it less could help.

Sanchez pitched 3 scoreless relief innings in his debut, which is encouraging. It wasn’t all roses. He issued more free passes (3) than strikeouts (2), and a .125 BABIP isn’t long for this world. But perhaps some of that weak contact came from his improved pitch selection.

Expect Sanchez to serve as the team’s 5th starter once needed, likely April 10th at Washington.

Recalled C Carlos Perez from AAA Gwinnett

Acquired from the Angels after the Braves’ catching depth chart struggled to survive a weekend with the Phillies, Perez should do a nice Tyler Flowers impression when he’s behind the plate. He may not be quite the framer Flowers is (who is?), but he’s a pretty good one, and the rest of his defense is solid enough.

Perez may be a star behind the plate, but he was available because he is decidedly below average when at it. You could dream on his AAA numbers, but it’s important to remember they come in the offensively friendly PCL, and Sanchez played in the even friendlier confines at Salt Lake. Below average doesn’t mean useless, though, and Perez should be adequate as a backup catcher until Flowers returns.

 

Demoted P Max Fried from AAA Gwinnett to AA

Mississippi

 

I don’t think this move is any kind of commentary on Fried as a prospect. It’s likely a move out of convenience in terms of managing the rosters of the respective teams.

Gwinnett hasn’t set its roster just yet, and is still at 31 players. This move puts Mississippi at 26. Mississippi must be down to 25 by Thursday, and Gwinnett must do the same by Friday. Somewhere along the way, I expect Fried to wind up back at Gwinnett to begin the season.