In a surprise move the Braves have optioned Chris Withrow to AAA.
Marksberry as well. Both were considered favorites for spots in the pen. Wow.
In a surprise move the Braves have optioned Chris Withrow to AAA.
Marksberry as well. Both were considered favorites for spots in the pen. Wow.
Last edited by striker42; 03-14-2016 at 07:53 AM.
Looks like the Braves want to let Withrow ease himself back in after having TJ and back surgeries. Makes sense.
As for Marksberry, the Braves seem to be sticking with guys they might lose if they send them out. Marksberry has options so they don't have to worry about losing him.
Sounds like Withrow has not yet fully recovered his arm strength.
Opens the way for Ramirez to make the team as a RH reliever.
Alex Torres will probably be one of the lefties.
Last edited by nsacpi; 03-14-2016 at 10:51 AM.
Braves1976 (03-14-2016)
Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
Good move with Withrow. Don't overwork the guy.
Yup. No reason to rush him back. We'll need him next year.Originally Posted by UNCBlue012
Marksberry has options left no problem here with that move.
Good moves, no reason to rush Withrow and keep in mind the lefty Torres is dominate vs righties historically (and has reverse splits) so we have plenty of options vs righties including him. Plus it is good to see Bowman wrong again, just like he was on naming Carpenter to make the team (Carpenter of course got released about 24 hours later). I say this in part because if he can be wrong this often it's more likely the Braves are smarter than him and still are considering Evan Rutckyj. Further, I am wanting to give Rutckyj every chance we can give him because I like his potential and stuff for a lefty. I know he has had a few outings so far where he walked too many (today for example). But that isn't enough for me to give him back to the Yankees without giving him a real shot. If we keep him around I'm expecting him to be ready to be a good bullpen piece for 2017.
I also don't think much of Krol so if he has options left I'd send him down unless he has a strong finish to ST.
Bowman responded on twitter to someone saying Rutckyj didn't help his cause today with this: "Mark Bowman @mlbbowman 2h2 hours ago Orlando, FL @chip_hendrix yeah, he was really already out of the mix." That said, to have Bowman tell it the kid didn't even exist and was never in the mix.
Last edited by Braves1976; 03-14-2016 at 06:45 PM.
Alex Torres is a little better against lefties if you go by career xFIP. His issue is the walks, whether against lefties or righties. I'm also not impressed by Krol. I believe he has an option left. I'd give Rutckyj a shot as the second lefty behind Torres.
Braves1976 (03-14-2016), JohnAdcox (03-14-2016)
Alex is also still a pretty good reliever overall given his success vs righties. I could care less that he is left handed, if he is dominate vs righties and useful enough vs lefties he's a good reliever to have around. It's funny Bowman is so hard on Rutckyj who's trying to make the jump from AA but Krol has given up 5 hits, 3 ER, and only walked one less in only .2 more innings. Rutckyj has only given up one hit and no earned runs, he just needs to cut down on the walks and I think he'll do okay. Krol is what he is and has three so-so to bad years in the Majors to show for it. He's not even been a good lefty specialist in the Majors as was expected.
FWIW, DOB's take on Rutckyj still seems more fair as he said this concerning him a few mins ago:
David O'Brien @DOBrienAJC 3m3 minutes ago
Yes, I think they'll keep him around at least through end of camp before making decision.
Last edited by Braves1976; 03-14-2016 at 07:55 PM.
I'm still hoping we can acquire at least one LHRP option that is better than what he have now. There's bound to be a castoff or two at the end of ST that we can pursue. Just looking at box scores and career stats, Rutckyj seems like a big long shot. In my view, the FO did a poor job of accumulating depth at this position, which is a little surprising and concerning after last year's bullpen debacle.
Yeah. We are short lefty relief depth. And there is some sort of unwritten rule that injuries strike where you are short depth.
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