Call to the pen
Fansided

Braves’ MiLB News: Surgery and Signings

By Wayne Cavadi

facebooktwitterreddit

It’s been another interesting week for the Atlanta Braves’ offseason. Earlier in the week they inked two veteran bullpen arms in Jose Veras and Matt Capps. The Braves must have had a hunch that something was up with their bullpen. After signing another veteran in Todd Coffey to a minor league deal to compete for a bullpen spot, MLB.com announced promising young reliever Shae Simmons will miss 2015 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. They also signed a veteran outfielder to compete in left field.

The Braves signed Todd Coffey to a minor league deal on Tuesday. The 34-year old righty will compete with Jim Johnson, Jason Grilli, Jose Veras and Matt Capps in spring training to form one of the oldest bullpens in baseball. Coffey, a journeyman middle reliever, hasn’t made a big league appearance since July 2, 2012 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Coffey sat out the 2013 season and latched on in Triple-A Tacoma in the Seattle Mariners system in 2014 and was untouchable. He went 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA and an 8.2 strikeout per nine ratio. Of the five senior righties competing for spots on the Opening Day roster, Coffey seems like he may have the least of a chance, however if he can roll last year’s success over into a strong spring training, nothing is out of the question.

The big hit the Braves took was losing 24-year old righty Shae Simmons. The Braves had shipped off David Carpenter earlier in the offseason and now with Simmons on the shelf for all of 2015 recovering from Tommy John surgery, they have lost two of their best righties out of the bullpen from 2014.

The 2012 22nd round draft pick, Simmons made his long awaited big league debut last season after compiling a 3-4 record with 40 saves and 1.69 ERA over his three year minor league career. He was impressive recording his first career save and posting a 2.91 ERA while striking out 23 batters over 21.2 innings in his debut. His rookie season came to an end abruptly at the end of July as he began to deal with shoulder and arm soreness. While Thursday’s announcement about the surgery seems like it came out of the blue, the signs for Tommy John surgery were on the table when he was shut down last season.

The Braves seem to be showing some reluctance about moving forward with Zoilo Almonte as Jonny Gomes platoon partner in left field. They signed the light-hitting, blazing fast outfielder/ infielder Eric Young, Jr. to a minor league deal. He has an invite to spring training.

Young, who will be 30 years old come May, is entering his seventh major league season. The 2003 30th round draft pick is competing for a spot on his third big league team. Young has never shown an ability to handle big league pitching consistently, slashing .252/.320/.332 over his 6-year MLB career, however, he makes the most out of his limited times that he gets on base. He has 138 stolen bases in his career, which comes out to 23 a season, and was highlighted by a career-high 46 in 2013.

Young’s advantage, like Kelly Johnson who was brought in earlier in the offseason to compete for a roster spot, is his experience at second base. Young’s speed allows him to be an above average left fielder, but he also plays a solid second base. While the Braves await the arrival of top prospect Jose Peraza, they could use a steady defender behind Alberto Callaspo. The problem with Young is finding a spot in the lineup. Typically a speedster should be atop the order, however, Young’s inability to hit for average or draw walks limits him to a bottom half-type hitter.

The bizarre offseason that has found the Braves continues to evolve seemingly every day. It is one of the most active and curious offseason in recent memory. Braves and baseball fans will see if it all pays off and any of their moves can stick in a few short weeks.

More from Call to the Pen

Home/MLB Prospects