Atlanta Braves news and links: Foltynewicz may have fifth starter spot sewn up

BRAVES NEWS

Braves lose, but Folty has impressive start

The Braves lost 5-3 to the Tigers yesterday, but the big news was the fact that Mike Foltynewicz had his most impressive start of spring training so far. Folty went seven and only gave up one run while striking out seven. He also worked himself out of multiple jams, which is a good sign since that was something he struggled with last season. This didn't go unnoticed by the folks at Fanrag, who said that Folty's effort on Thursday was their "Performance of the Day."

Braves bench picture is starting to clear up

Meanwhile, the team is continuing to pare down their major league squad. The Braves made a few roster moves on Thursday, and things are starting to get a little clearer when it comes to what they want their major league squad to look like as Opening Day gets closer. Cory McCartney of Fox Sports South took a closer look at the various position battles that are going on when it comes to the bench.

With the belief that Atlanta could break camp with a four-man bench and eight relievers, that leaves one spot remaining with a group made up of infielder/outfielders Chase d’Arnaud, Jace Peterson and catcher Kurt Suzuki.

Considering infielder Micah Johnson is awaiting an MRI on his sprained wrist, the 23-year-old Panamanian Camargo’s case would have seemed to be bolstered but he committed six errors in 73 innings at shortstop.

Also, third baseman Rio Ruiz — a .235/.316/.353 — has impressed and veteran Emilio Bonifacio — .286/.355/.429 — provides another outfield option.

Johnson will have surgery on wrist

Unfortunately, Micah Johnson won't factor into that bench competition for the time being, since he'll be missing a considerable amount of time following surgery on his wrist. Johnson suffered a fracture in his glove wrist earlier this week, and it's a sharp blow for the speedy outfielder who was trying to make a solid first impression for his new organization.

MLBTR reviews the Braves offseason

There's yet another offseason review out there, and this one is coming from the crew at MLB Trade Rumors. Again, if there's any detail that you my have missed over the winter, then articles like this are definitely good to read in order to get yourself caught up on what's going on — and also get an idea of what the "outside" world is thinking about the Braves and their chances this season.

MLB NEWS

Who's the most important player for every MLB team?

Opening Day is looming, and that means it's time to get re-acquainted with some of the various faces around baseball. Fox is helping out with an article that tries to tab the most important player on each team. Their answer for the Braves is kind of interesting, to say the least.

Braun: Spring training is too long

Hey man, shout out to Ryan Braun for saying what everybody's been thinking for a long time now: Spring training is far too long. He didn't mince words when discussing the matter with reporters, which led to this lovely quote from the Brewers' star outfielder.