The Braves made their first round of Spring Training roster moves on Friday morning, trimming it to 55 players.
#Braves trim Spring Training roster: pic.twitter.com/gUcNgvIH04
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 6, 2020
It is no surprise to see the majority of these guys go down. Jasseel De La Cruz and Husacar Ynoa need more seasoning in AAA before contributing in the big leagues. The men assigned to minor league camp, Bryce Ball, Thomas Burrows, Trey Harris, Kurt Hoekstra, Greyson Jenista, Connor Johnstone, Carlos Martinez, Kyle Muller, and Braden Shewmake were never going to make the roster in the first place, so the only shock, if any, would be the timing. Out of all of these guys, Bryce Ball made the biggest name for himself in camp and continues to ascend as a prospect.
Bryse Wilson was always on the outside looking in for the Braves’ open rotation spots, but this officially takes him out of the running as Felix Hernandez and Sean Newcomb seem favored to occupy them. Wilson will need to develop better secondary pitches in the minors if he wants to make an impact at the next level.
If there was a head-scratcher among these moves, it was the Braves optioning Jacob Webb down to AAA Gwinnett after posting a 1.39 ERA in 36 appearances last season. Sure, he is due some negative regression, but I believe he is one of the eight best relievers on this roster. However, it does make sense to some extent.
Webb just recently made his first appearance of the Spring this past week after dealing with an elbow impingement late last season. The Braves may not believe that he is up to speed at this point, but I am sure he will end up working his way back up. It is just a bit puzzling to see him sent down so soon after only being able to make two appearances, but at the same time, they were not pretty either. He gave up 4 earned runs in just 1.1 innings of work.
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