Braves call up newly acquired reliever, option Darius Vines to Gwinnett

The Atlanta Braves are trying something new.

In this case, it will be a recently acquired reliever who makes his Braves debut this weekend out of the bullpen.

Atlanta announced this morning which they called recently acquired people Jimmy Herget from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Herget was removed from his mission by the Angels and was later traded for cash to Atlanta, a deal strikingly similar to the Pierce Johnson acquisition in his potential: a reliever stuck on a bad team with an exemplary pitch that he didn’t throw enough.

Herget, 30, was DFA after ten AAA games for Los Angeles this season, going 1-2 with a 3.97 ERA in 111 innings. Over three seasons in the Angels bullpen, he went 6-7 with a 3.28 ERA, pitching 112.2 innings and recording nine saves.

He has pitched seven innings for Gwinnett since the trade, allowing three runs in seven innings, striking out seven and walking two. He converted his only save opportunity for the Stripers.

The corresponding move for Atlanta was an option on a prospect Darius Vines returning to Gwinnett after last night’s game. Used out of the bullpen after starter Ray Kerr was released, Vines pitched three innings and allowed six runs on six hits, including a home run, while striking out only two and walking one. Throwing 78 pitches (53 strikes), Vines got thirteen whiffs (ten on the slider) but also allowed six hard-hit balls – surprisingly, only two of them were hits, showing that the line could have been worse without Atlanta’s defense. plays on hard-hit balls with expected batting averages of .660 (Andrew McCutcheon’s 105.4 mph fielding in the 7th) and .910 (Michael A. Taylor’s 101.4 mph fielding in the 6th).

Herget last pitched Tuesday the 21st, tossing 1.1 innings against Jacksonville with two hits and one run allowed on 16 pitches, and is expected to be available this weekend without restriction.

The Braves are back in action this afternoon against the Pittsburgh Pirates at 4:05 p.m. ET with Reynaldo López taking the mound against right-hander Mitch Keller.