Braves Cut Pastornicky, Veras

The Braves announced a couple of cuts Thursday, as they released both RHP Jose Veras and 2B Tyler Pastornicky. Veras was signed this offseason to a minor-league deal, and I thought that he had a good chance of cracking the big league bullpen on Opening Day due to his experience. Just two seasons ago Veras was the closer for the Houston Astros, and has a 3.91 career ERA in nine seasons. However, Veras has struggled mightily in Spring Training this season, as he gave up 7 earned runs in 5.1 innings. I was surprised to see them give up on Veras so soon, but they have an abundance of righty relievers to choose from.

In Pastornicky, the Braves cut ties with a kid who has been in their organization since they acquired him in the Alex Gonzalez-Yunel Escobar trade. It seems like yesterday when Pastornicky was an intriguing prospect for the Braves, and he actually beat out Andrelton Simmons for the starting Shortstop spot on Opening Day in 2012. However, Simmons emerged and Tyler has been an afterthought evern since. Pastornicky is what you would call a AAAA player, a guy who is too good for AAA but not quite good enough to contribute in the majors. He hit .243 in 239 ABs for Atlanta in the big leagues. He spent most of last season in AAA Gwinnett. Pastornicky had been participating in minor league camp this spring.

Scroll to Top
%d bloggers like this: