The Braves had several transactions on Tuesday. They put Jacob Webb and Phil Pfeifer on the 45-day IL, opening up two spots on the 40-man roster. They used one of those on Charlie Culberson, who they added to the major-league roster, and the other will be used on Jhoulys Chacin, who they just signed to a one-year deal.
#Braves Sign RHP Jhoulys ChacÃn: pic.twitter.com/Go3BbaKLPN
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 21, 2020
Chacin has had a pretty productive 11-year major league career, including a brief stint with the Braves in 2016 when he made five starts and recorded a 5.40 ERA. However, he was extremely productive as recently as 2017 and 2018 with the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers. In 2017 for the Padres, he posted a 3.89 ERA in 32 starts, and in 2018, he led the league in starts with 35, went 15-8 and recorded a 3.50 ERA for the Brewers, helping them to the NLCS.
2019 was a bump in the road for Chacin, though. He was the Opening Day starter for the Brewers, but after a 3-10 start with a 5.79 ERA, he was released by Milwaukee. Chacin later signed with the Red Sox but was even worse in six appearances (five starts), posting a 7.36 ERA. The Twins picked him up this offseason, but he was released by Minnesota two days ago.
A month ago, the Braves acquiring more starting pitching would have seemed like overkill. However, because Cole Hamels has been unable to recover from his injuries and Felix Hernadez decided to opt-out, a backup plan needed to be put in place. The Braves can still give Kyle Wright the final spot in the starting rotation, but if he struggles, having a veteran like Chacin in the cards is a wise decision. The need for long relief is also necessary early in the season since starters are only expected to go a few innings. Chacin could help in that regard as well.
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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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