Braves Spring Training news and roster competition

dak said:
Two weeks from the deadline to set rosters, this is what I'm hoping our 8-man bullpen will look like:

Grilli
Vizcaino
Johnson
Ramirez
Fat Hat
[LHP Scrap Heap Addition]
Winkler
Other Torres
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Why do you think we might be going with an 8 man pen?
 
nsacpi said:
Why do you think we might be going with an 8 man pen?
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I think Plan A is for Banuelos to be the 5th starter. He can be DLd retroactively a week or so before the day rosters are set and serve his 15 days before we need a 5th starter on 4/12. Also of note, his first appearance in a game this spring was 3/12. The maximum length of a rehab assignment for a pitcher is 30 days. So he'd need to be activated on the 11th of April. The big tell will be whether Banuelos pitches in an MLB spring training game during the last week of ST, or if they have him pitch on the back fields (so they can DL him retroactively). Theoretically, they could use this same scheme with Folty if they wanted him to be the 5th starter but carry an 8 man pen during the first week and a half of the season.
 
dak said:
I think Plan A is for Banuelos to be the 5th starter. He can be DLd retroactively a week or so before the day rosters are set and serve his 15 days before we need a 5th starter on 4/12. Also of note, his first appearance in a game this spring was 3/12. The maximum length of a rehab assignment for a pitcher is 30 days. So he'd need to be activated on the 11th of April. The big tell will be whether Banuelos pitches in an MLB spring training game during the last week of ST, or if they have him pitch on the back fields (so they can DL him retroactively). Theoretically, they could use this same scheme with Folty if they wanted him to be the 5th starter but carry an 8 man pen during the first week and a half of the season.
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OK. So you see an 8 man pen on a short-term basis. I've actually been mulling that possibility myself. They could also do with Jhoulys Chacin what you discussed for Banuelos since he is signed to a minor league contact. No need to use the DL list. Just wait a week to activate him.
 
Yeah, there are several ways they could play this and achieve the same outcome. On Chacin, I'd guess he has an opt-out, which will give him an edge over the others for the 4th SP slot.
 
dak said:
Two weeks from the deadline to set rosters, this is what I'm hoping our 8-man bullpen will look like:

Grilli

Vizcaino

Johnson

Ramirez

Fat Hat

[LHP Scrap Heap Addition]

Winkler

Other Torres
Click to expand...

Personally think Ogando's probably part of the pen even if there's only one lefty in it - whatever size it is to start.
 
clvclv said:
Personally think Ogando's probably part of the pen even if there's only one lefty in it - whatever size it is to start.
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He's pitched better than Johnson in spring training. But Johnson is the one with the ML deal and I think he will be given a month or two to show he can still do it at the ML level.
 
nsacpi said:
He's pitched better than Johnson in spring training. But Johnson is the one with the ML deal and I think he will be given a month or two to show he can still do it at the ML level.
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He's also pitched far better than Carlos Torres out of that group (I agree there's little chance Johnson doesn't make it)...

Ogando - 5.2 IP, 1.59 ERA, 6 Ks, 2 BBs, .211 BAA, 1.06 WHIP

Torres - 5.2 IP, 4.76 ERA, 3 Ks, 2 BBs, .238 BAA, 1.24 WHIP (3 HRs allowed)
 
Ogando needs to be on this team. He could be a bullpen cornerstone for a long time. No thank you on Carlos. Wish JJ wouldn't be here either but maybe he can pitch well and we can get a marginal prospect again for him.
 
The Don said:
I'm actually excited about our bullpen this year. There's lots of potential especially if Shea comes back strong later.
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Next year's pen is actually the one I'm really excited about. I understand (and am on board with) giving Folty and Banuelos one more year to see if they can somehow become starters, but I remain very skeptical that they can. That said, I think a potential 2017 pen consisting of Vizcaino, Simmons, Banuelos, Folty, Withrow, Paco, and Winkler or Cabrera could be downright scary.
 
clvclv said:
Personally think Ogando's probably part of the pen even if there's only one lefty in it - whatever size it is to start.
Click to expand...

Ogando has been very good so it would be a mistake to leave him off the roster, IMO. Personally, I'd rank him higher than most others in our bullpen as far as potential too.
 
clvclv said:
Next year's pen is actually the one I'm really excited about. I understand (and am on board with) giving Folty and Banuelos one more year to see if they can somehow become starters, but I remain very skeptical that they can. That said, I think a potential 2017 pen consisting of Vizcaino, Simmons, Banuelos, Folty, Withrow, Paco, and Winkler or Cabrera could be downright scary.
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The pen next season could look quite different than this list. Someone like Gant for example could be in it if he's not in the rotation as most believe he'll be a solid reliever if not a starter. Plus others are in similar situations too. Also, I expect at least one or two from this list ends up included in a trade or two. Remember, Braves even included Viz in a couple trade discussions this off-season (including an offer made to Arizona that didn't go down thankfully).
 
Bowman speculates in his latest bullpen piece that the long reliever spot may be between Carlos Torres and John Gant. So Gant may end up in our bullpen sooner rather than later. That said, I'd still like to give Gant a shot making it as a starter. But he could start out in the bullpen and go back to starting later.
 
I think Gant has had something like ten AA starts. I don't see the point in rushing any of these guys to the majors.
 
nsacpi said:
I think Gant has had something like ten AA starts. I don't see the point in rushing any of these guys to the majors.
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I agree since this is a rebuilding year. But it is good to see the kid be so impressive this ST. Personally, I'd like to see him continue working in the minors as a starter and see where that goes for now. Then if that doesn't work out move him to the bullpen later down the road.
 
I do think Gant will surprise and may be one of our best under the radar moves in a long time. Nothing screams over powering he just knows how to get people out. I hope in the long run he's a starter because I think he has a shot to be a very strong middle of the rotation option once he matures.
 
With compete seriousness, did the Braves miss something with Gosselin? He seemed so average but he's been great with the Diamondbacks.
 
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