Braves Sign Joey Wendle – MLB Trade Rumors

The Braves announced a series of roster changes today, signing an infielder Joey Wendle and recalling the left-handed Ray Kerr. In corresponding movements, infielder Luke Williams was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett while he was a right-hander AJ Smith Shawver was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained left oblique. The club already had a 40-player vacancy for Wendle. Kerr will start tonight’s game for Atlanta.

Wendle, 34, is a veteran utility player who signed with the Mets during the offseason on a one-year deal with $2 million guaranteed. He was kept in a limited role, playing in just 18 games during his roughly six weeks with the Mets, stepping to the plate 37 times during that stretch. He hit just .222/.243/.250, a continuation of his difficult 2023 with the Marlins, when he hit just .212/.248/.306 last year.

The Mets released him earlier this week and will have to pay the remainder of Wendle’s salary. Atlanta will only be responsible for the prorated league minimum for as long as Wendle is on its roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Mets pay.

Atlanta has rotated various players in their infielder roles this year, each of them David Fletcher, Luis Guilorme, Zack runs and Williams is looking for that job. Short is still on the roster and has been the club’s regular third baseman of late with Austin Riley fight against intercostal tension.

By sending Williams back to Gwinnett and adding Wendle, the club adds a little more infield depth at virtually no cost, given that the Mets are covering most of the money and Atlanta had an open spot in the lineup anyway. the list. Wendle hasn’t hit much lately, but he has plenty of experience at all three infield spots to the left of first base, as well as brief stints in the corners of the outfield. He’s generally received good marks wherever he’s played and can give Atlanta some glove depth all over the diamond, while Williams can get more regular playing time on the farm.

On the pitching side, Atlanta was a little disrupted by its plans this weekend. Saturday’s game against the Padres was played in the rain and was pushed back to a doubleheader on Monday. During Sunday’s match, Bryce Elder was torched for six earned runs in three innings, forcing Kerr to come in and throw 3 1/3 relief, followed by two more pitchers, then Williams cleaning up a frame.

Elder was chosen before the doubleheader so the club could sign two new weapons, one of them being the “27th man” for Monday. This allowed Atlanta to discuss both Darius Vines And Daysbel Hernández. In both games, five different relievers were used, leaving the bullpen quite stretched. Kerr had the opportunity to reduce the squad to 26. Thanks to the doubleheader, each of the Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Charlie Morton And Max Frit started in three days, Monday to Wednesday. With Elder being picked, they had to recall Smith-Shawver to start yesterday’s game and now Kerr will take the ball today in what will likely be a bullpen game. Pitchers normally must wait 15 days after being optioned before they can be recalled, but an exception is made when someone else goes on the IL.

Atlanta has seemingly extended Kerr as of late, either by design, necessity, or both. His four appearances for the big league club this year came in one inning, two innings, three innings then three and a third. Overall, he has a 2.89 ERA in 9 1/3 innings, striking out 27 percent of opponents without allowing a walk.

It’s a small sample size but perhaps intriguing enough for Atlanta to take the lead for a while. Smith-Shawver will miss at least 15 days with this injury and Spencer Strider was released for the year. Elder was just picked up after posting a 6.46 ERA in five starts this year. Huascar Ynoa And Ian Anderson are injured among minors. Alan Winans And Dylan Dodd each has a 4.50 ERA in Triple-A this year but with uninspiring peripherals.

Kerr was a starter in the minors before the pandemic, but has remained in relief since then. His numbers as a reliever certainly draw attention, as he has struck out 27.9% of batters faced in the majors, between his time in San Diego and Atlanta. In 134 minor league innings from 2021 to present, he has a 3.69 ERA, a 33.4% strikeout rate but a 12.9% walk rate. Maybe Atlanta can create another reliever-to-starter success story like they did with López this year, or maybe it’ll just be a one-off start for Kerr, which may depend on how he looks against the Pirates Today.