While Braves fans have become accustomed to good news off the field to start the season, Mark Bowman revealed some significant information regarding Mike Foltynewicz.
Snit says Folty will make an additional rehab start. So, they may push Toussaint from Thursday to Friday and Teheran from Friday to Saturday (which is where Folty would’ve lined up). Soroka would be one of the candidates for Thursday’s start.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 16, 2019
While speculation had been Folty would return to the rotation this weekend, that no longer seems to be the case. Last night, in his latest rebab start for Gwinnett, Folty worked his way up to 85 pitches. However, only 49 were for strikes, and his overall line was a bit underwhelming:
Rehabbing #Braves RHP Mike Foltynewicz's line with Gwinnett:
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) April 16, 2019
3.2 IP, 6H, 5R, 4ER, 4BB, 5K, 1HBP
(85 pitches/49 strikes)
This was his third and presumably final rehab appearance. His next start could come for Atlanta this weekend.
As a result, he will see another start at Triple-A. Bowman speculated what the ripple effect would look like for the rest of the rotation. There are multiple options, even one where Mike Soroka could make his 2019 debut. It is something that will certainly be monitored closely.
Beyond the rotation, Bowman also had an update on Brian McCann:
The plan is for McCann to be activated tomorrow
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 16, 2019
While the news on Folty is a bit discouraging, this is good news for the Braves. McCann went down with a hamstring injury against the Marlins. Thankfully, it seems his time on the injured list will be minimal. With the move expected tomorrow, there will likely be another corresponding move to come. The Braves could be quite active with transactions over the next few days.
Stay here with Talking Chop for updates on the moves as they become official.