The Braves introduced Thursday morning that they’ve positioned left-hander A.J. Minter on the 15-day injured record on account of irritation in his left hip. Proper-hander Jimmy Herget has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Minter’s spot on the roster. Atlanta additionally handed veteran infielder Joey Wendle by waivers unclaimed and assigned him outright to Gwinnett, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Structure experiences. Wendle is approaching seven years of MLB service, which is effectively north of the 5 wanted to reject an outright project in favor of free company, and he’ll have 48 hours from the time of the outright project to make that call.
Minter, 30, has been one of many Braves’ steadiest relievers over the previous seven-plus seasons. Excluding an anomalous 7.06 ERA in 29 1/3 innings throughout 2019’s juiced-ball season, he’s saved his ERA to three.78 or higher every season and labored to an general 3.32 mark by 335 2/3 MLB frames.
Minter has been sturdy once more this season, working to a 2.95 ERA with a 27.7% strikeout fee, 7.2% stroll fee and 40.4% ground-ball fee. His 95.2 mph common fastball is a career-low, although it’s solely a half-mile lower than his common fastball from a 2020 season that noticed him submit a 0.83 ERA in 21 2/3 frames. The left-hander is slated to turn out to be a free agent at season’s finish and is incomes a $6.215MM wage in 2024.
The staff hasn’t but offered an anticipated timetable for Minter’s return, however his absence is a notable one, given his observe document. Minter’s seven holds path solely Joe Jimenez (10) for the staff lead. With the left-hander now sidelined for not less than a pair weeks, right-hander Pierce Johnson might see extra leverage work. Fellow southpaws Dylan Lee and Tyler Matzek might additionally get some further late-inning alternatives.
As for Wendle, his stick with the Braves group might wind up proving excessively transient. The Mets launched him earlier this month, and Wendle shortly latched on with Atlanta on a brand new massive league deal. That deal was signed on Might 24, however Wendle was designated simply three days later — earlier than Wendle even received right into a sport with the Braves.
A flexible utilityman recognized for his high quality glovework and usually sturdy bat-to-ball expertise, Wendle has seen his offensive manufacturing take a major downturn over the previous three seasons. He hit simply .222/.243/.250 in 37 plate appearances as a Met earlier this 12 months and carries an anemic .237/.273/.331 line (66 wRC+) in 726 plate appearances relationship again to the 2022 marketing campaign. If Wendle accepts the outright project, he’ll stay with the Braves as a depth choice, however he may also select to discover alternatives with different golf equipment if he prefers.
