The Braves have made another move that could help boost its bullpen, acquiring Jose Ramirez for a player to be named later from the Seattle Mariners.
The #Braves announced they acquired RH reliever Jose Ramirez from the Mariners for a player to be named later and/or cash considerations
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 4, 2015
Ramirez is a former Yankees farmhand who was sent to Seattle in July in the deal that sent Dustin Ackley to the Yankees. Given that a lot of guys in our scouting staff have worked with the Yankees in recent years, they are likely familiar with Ramirez. The velocity is there: he has touched 100 MPH and has averaged over 95 MPH on his fastball in his short stints in the big leagues. However, he has had injury problems in the past that saw the Yankees transition him to a reliever, and he also has horrendous control issues.
The team gave up essentially nothing, however, to pick up Ramirez, and the 25-year old is not a free agent until 2022. At the moment he is out of options, however and if he does not make the team out of Spring Training he will be placed on waivers. This move is nothing to write home about, but is another “upside play” by GM John Coppolella. Now we have to just trust our scouting staff and see what Ramirez has to offer.