BRAVES NEWS
Braves trade Tyrell Jenkins and Brady Feigl for Luke Jackson
It’s not quite a huge blockbuster that some fans may have been craving from the Braves during the Winter Meetings (which they came out of in good shape, according to Scott), but the Braves still made a very notable trade on Thursday. They sent fan favorite Tyrell Jenkins and Brady Feigl to the Rangers in exchange for Luke Jackson. Our friends over at MLB Daily Dish described it as a “change of scenery” trade, with the idea being that all parties involved could probably benefit from being in a new organization.
Armando Rivero gets picked up by Braves in Rule 5 draft
Earlier on Thursday, the Braves picked up another pitcher — this time they made the acquisition via the Rule 5 draft, as they selected Armando Rivero from the Cubs’ organization.
There was some traction at Rivero becoming a starting pitcher, but he found his home in the bullpen, putting up some devastating numbers for Iowa. He will walk a few, of course if you’re in the Rule 5 with his ability that’s probably why, shown by his 4.66 BB/9 but put up an outstanding 14 K/9 rate in 2016. In 2016 he struck out nearly 40% of the batters he faced, and accumulated an 2.13 ERA and 2.84 FIP, along with a 80% strand rate.
Yet another hard throwing arm in a Braves bullpen that should be much improved in 2017.
In order to make room for Rivero, the Braves made the decision to release Williams Perez. As David O’Brien noted, it was a quiet end to Perez’s time as a Brave.
“It was tough to make a move with Williams; we like Williams a lot and wish him the best,” Braves general manager said. “With some of the veteran starting pitching that we added this year, as well as with the young kids that we have coming up, it seemed like that was from an area of strength.”
While the Braves didn’t entirely rule out the possibility of re-signing Perez to a minor league deal, Coppolella said it was more likely he would get a major league offer from another team.
Braves may have “some interest” in Tyson Ross
Meanwhile on the rumor mill, DOB tweeted the other day that the Braves have shown a bit of interest in potentially signing free agent pitcher Tyson Ross. Ross missed all but Opening Day of the 2016 season due to shoulder issues and is currently coming off of surgery, which is what made the Padres decide to let him go. He did put up a 3.26 ERA and a 2.98 FIP (for 4.4 fWAR) in 2015, so he would definitely be a positive addition if he can come back healthy and return to form.
MLB NEWS
Cardinals are on the verge of signing Dexter Fowler
Multiple reports have placed former Cubs outfielder and free agent Dexter Fowler in St. Louis. This is because he’s apparently in town to take a physical, which obviously means that he’s about to join them. The details haven’t been confirmed as of the time I’m writing this, but it appears that St. Louis has picked up one of the better players on the free agent market.
A recap of the 2016 Winter Meetings
So the Winter Meetings have come and gone and while the Braves may not have done anything that was super exciting, there was still plenty of news-worthy stuff going down in Maryland. The crew over at MLBDD had a full recap of the week’s events, so if you missed anything, it would be worth your time to check it out.