Transaction Monday: Braves Add Relievers to the Fold

Three new arms (well, two at least) are added in a flurry of moves

The first two editions of this series were pretty light in terms of real moves to talk about, but things have definitely sped up. Hence a need to do another recap after a week rather than two. We have two signings for the bullpen, a couple of players who were added to the 40-man to keep them from hitting minor league free agency, and a couple of minor league releases. We also have a massive group of players who hit minor league free agency. Plus a trade, but we kind of already addressed that.

The moves covered today include November 7-to-November 13.

November 8 - Braves release RHP Brad Brach and LHP Davis Schwab.

Brach pitched for the Braves back in 2018 and spent 11 consecutive years in the majors until 2022. After ugly seasons with the Cubs, Mets, and Reds, the Braves gave him a shot in '22 with Gwinnett but the results were pedestrian (4.88 ERA, 3 HR, 10 BB in 24 ING). Schwab, on the other hand, was a 37th rounder in 2019. He spent the last two seasons at Rome with a 4.87 ERA and 74 walks in 92.1 innings. The Braves moved on.

November 9 - Braves trade RHP Jake Odorizzi and $10 million to the Texas Rangers for LHP Kolby Allard.

I've already covered this trade. The money terms weren't known at the time. It does seem excessive at first blush to pay all but $2.5 million for Odorizzi’s salary in 2023, but this is likely creative accounting. They added the $10 million to the previous year's tax sheet, earning them some freedom in 2023.

November 10 - Braves select the contracts of RHP Seth Elledge and Michael Tonkin.

Both of these righties were eligible for minor league free agency and the Braves added them to the 40-man to keep them around for now.

Elledge is a former 4th-round pick of the Mariners in 2017. A relief-only option, Elledge soon was traded to the Cardinals during his breakout season of 2018. That year, he worked 44 games with 55 innings and 74 K's. His 2.13 ERA remains a career-low. From 2019-21, Elledge was a fixture in Memphis with runs with the big league club. He got into 23 games with St. Louis, struggling badly with his control and giving up too many homers. Last year, he went 1-5 in Gwinnett with a 3.88 ERA over 43 games. He had a 12.2 K/9 in 46.1 innings with 3.1 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9, all positive rates compared to his career.

Elledge depends on a 93-94 mph sinker that generates some pretty good spin, though only okay movement. He'll also flash a 83 mph slider that also grades out as a borderline plus option. Elledge still has two options remaining and is just shy of one year of service time. 2023 will be his Age-27 season.

On the other hand, Tonkin is about to turn 33 and was a 30th rounder by the Twins in '08. His brother-in-law is Jason Kubel. Like, I don’t have anything to add to that, but figured I should mention it. Tonkin made it to the majors with the Twins in 2013 and played an additional four seasons in the big leagues before starting his post-Twins journey. That took him to Japan for a season, both of the farm systems of the Brewers and Diamondbacks, Long Island of the Atlantic League, and a brief run in Mexico. Last year with Gwinnett, he worked 47 games with 16 saves, a 3.17 ERA, and 73 K's to 15 walks. It's almost surprising he never got a promotion to the bigs.

Much like Elledge, Tonkins depends on his sinker and slider. Both are a tick or so harder than Elledge (94-95 mph heater with 83-84 mph slider). He's also been known to throw a curveball plus a four-seamer and even, briefly, a cutter. Unlike Elledge, Tonkin has no more options remaining.

Overall, both of these moves will likely have little impact on the Braves in 2023, but give the Braves a bit more depth.

November 10 - 28 minor leaguers elected free agency.

Due to the fact that the Braves had a veteran-heavy Triple-A roster, this amount shouldn't be too surprising. But there are some names that I wanted to mention. Southpaws Thomas Burrows and Corbin Clouse are both relief-only options that looked, for a time, as potential arms for the pen. Burrows, long ago acquired in the Luiz Gohara trade, struggled with control in 2021 and then got beat around last year. Clouse just never could stay healthy. After a 1.94 ERA in 2018, he appeared just 36 times from 2019-2022. Granted, there was a pandemic season mixed in there, but after just 13 appearances in 2021, he didn't pitch in 2022.

Odalvi Javier never had the best stuff, but as someone who watched him a few times in Danville, I can tell you that he's a guy who will battle with everything he has. A real bulldog. Lefty Lisandro Santos has been around for awhile, but has definitely had flashes of greatness. Last year, he K'd 102 in 66 innings. But his control issues kept him from advancing faster than the Braves wanted. I imagine they'll give him an offer to come back to see if they can finally get the now 24-year-old to avoid so many self-inflicted troubles. Jasseel De La Cruz was brought back in 2022, but the Braves might be ready to waive goodbye after his second consecutive season of a 7+ ERA. Outside of one 16-homer season with Rome in 2018, Jefrey Ramos's raw power never developed.

November 11: Braves sign RHP Nick Anderson, designate IF Rylan Bannon for assignment.

This one was a bit sudden. The deal will pay Anderson $875,000 while in the majors and $180,000 if he's sent to the minors. The split contract is a product of the fact that Anderson, despite being 32-years-old, has two options left.

Anderson had a time where he was among the best arms in baseball. His first two seasons were crazy-good. Then came the injuries. He'd appear in just six games in the majors during 2021 due to a partial UCL tear suffered in spring training. That fall, he received a UCL brace surgery, an interesting procedure where collagen-coated tape is attached to the damaged UCL ligaments. Essentially, it's the lesser form of Tommy John surgery. While the recovery schedule isn't quite as lengthy, Anderson still didn't pitch in a competitive ballgame until August of this year as he tried to work his way back into the mix. He appeared 19 times in the minors and never got promoted to the bigs. After the season, Tampa Bay waived Anderson before he left via free agency and the Braves pounced.

When Anderson is right, he's nearly unhittable with a mid-90's fastball that has great movement and a hard curveball that has a lot of late movement. While it lacks a ton of spin, its late life makes it far more lethal. Hitters struggle to square up against Anderson leading to a 34.2% rate of getting under the ball when the major league average is just short of 25%. And that's when they can actually connect. In 2019-20, Anderson had a 53% whiff-rate on his curveball.

Anderson is a flyball pitcher and will give up a few homers. That often makes a pitcher a little less effective in high-leverage situations, but Anderson was able to avoid much trouble because his walk rate was microscopic and he gets a ridiculous amount of strikeouts. That means that a majority of the homers he allowed were solo bombs. Though...Ozzie Albies did hit a Grand Slam off Anderson when he was still a Marlin back in 2019. That remains the only Grand Slam he's allowed.

For all of what Anderson has been, he remains a wild card because we haven't seen the good Anderson since 2020. That version is worth a lot more than $875K. But effective relief arms that stay out of the trainer’s room are a rare breed for a reason. Can Anderson return to his formerly dominant self? Possibly. But that can't be counted on as the Braves build their 2023 roster. He's going to have to prove himself first.

As for Bannon, the 26-year-old played in his first five games in the majors last year, going 2-for-15. All of the at-bats came with the Orioles. He appeared in one game with the Braves, playing two innings at second base and never getting an at-bat.

November 12 - The Braves sign Jesse Chavez to a minor league contract.

So, this was broke by Jesse himself on Instagram. It's a minor league deal, which is a nice move by Chavez to allow the Braves to keep him in the mix without taking up a 40-man roster spot. If he makes the Braves, he will receive $1.2 million. Chavez's story is fairly well-known by Braves fans by now. Originally the compensation for Rafael Soriano after 2009, Chavez was later traded to the Royals. Over a decade later, he returned to the Braves on a minor league deal and eventually carved out a role for the eventual champions. He left the Braves after the year for the Cubs, but was traded back to the Braves for Sean Newcomb. Later, he was part of the Raisel Iglesias trade to the Angels - only to get cut there and return to the Braves once again.

Over the last two seasons, Chavez has logged 103 innings, walked 31 batters, and struck out 110. He's not a high leverage guy, but has been a solid option for Brian Snitker who will likely be given every opportunity to make the 2023 roster.

That’s all for now. This week has a chance to be pretty active as well as tomorrow is the deadline for protecting players ahead of the Rule 5.

Last Three Transaction Mondays…

• November 7 - Sam Hilliard trade, several minor league re-signings

• October 24 - Some players reach minor league free agency