Transaction Recap: Rehab Stints Continue and Lots of DSL Player Movement

The Atlanta Braves have hit the All-Star Break, but transactions need no games to be made. This week, we look at continued rehab assignments and a LOT of releases/assignments in regards to the DSL roster as this year's international signings quickly get into some action.

*The moves covered in this edition of Transaction Today follow July 4 to July 10. A number in parenthesis represents the player's ranking in the preseason WOW Top 50.

Atlanta
I previously mentioned Bartolo Colon being DFA'd. His release went official on July 4. Also mentioned the activation of Freddie Freeman on the same day in last week's Recap.

Promoted: Akeel Morris (#30)...With this promotion, the Braves have now used three players who were once acquired for Kelly Johnson. Thanks, KJ! Morris is a talented arm out of the U.S. Virgin Islands who was rolling this season over 26 games between Mississippi and Gwinnett. The walks were a bit high in 29.2 innings with Gwinnett, but the strikeouts were a bit high, too (that's a good thing). Morris combines a solid mid-90's fastball with a plus-changeup. He changes speed, keeps his mechanics in line, and fields his position well. There is a chance here Morris becomes a high-leverage reliever. At worst, he should be able to hold down a bullpen spot and be relatively effective when called upon.

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Optioned and Promoted: Jace Peterson...Up-and-down goes the Jace. He was sent down for Freeman and later brought back after a bacterial infection opened up a roster spot. That sounds more sinister than I may have meant. It has been a terrible season at the plate for Peterson, who lost his second base job after logging over 200 starts there the last two seasons. Expected to be a super utility player, he hasn't been able to hit well enough to stay in the majors. part of that is rotten luck. We aren't surprised that he can't hit lefthanders - he never has - but his woeful production against right-hand pitching has been surprising. It doesn't help that his BABIP against them is .247, but the problem runs much deeper than that. He's striking out nearly a quarter of the time, which doesn't bold well for him considering he hits grounders 63% of the time. Grounders often turn into outs and strikeouts almost always are. Again, we can talk about the bad luck factor with a 10% line-drive rate, but what really surprises me is how often he's pulling the ball. In 2015, Peterson sprayed the ball around and wasn't an extreme groundball guy. This season, he's the opposite. A number of things can explain this - difficult to hit your way out of a slump without consistent at-bats, transitioning away from a nearly everyday starter, bad luck (think I mentioned that), and so on. However, in a results-driven business, nobody cares about these excuses. Peterson is simply waiting for the next player to be activated before likely returning to the minors.

Promoted and Optioned: Matt Wisler...It was the fourth time Wisler has been promoted this season and the second consecutive time he spent just a day in the majors. The results just aren't there for Wisler. He continues to show a superb ability to throw strikes but lacks the stuff to get batters out when he absolutely has to. With his recent placement on prospect lists before 2015 and experience, Wisler might make for a decent throw-in should the Braves entertain trade offers for him. Short of that, a switch to the bullpen might be advisable.

Signed to a minor league contract & assigned to Florida: Junior Rincon...Coming off the best season of his career, Rincon was released at some point by the Brewers. A righty who has had control problems in the past, Rincon originally debuted in the Marlins organization back in 2011. He was awful there and would miss the next season with an injury. He returned but didn't impress enough in 2013 before getting his walking papers. He spent the next two seasons in The Pioneer League for the Brewers. It wasn't until last year that he got out of rookie ball for good and split the season between the Florida State League and Southern League. He gets good K numbers, but the walks are hard to deal with - especially since when batters put the ball in play, they too often reach base.

DL: Danny Santana (bacterial infection in his leg)...Santana seems to get his hits in bunches and then disappear for a few weeks. Overall, he's hitting .230/.287/.402 since his trade from the Twins - marks that, while bad, are an improvement over his time in Minnesota to begin the year. Hopefully, the infection is dealt with soon.

DL: Arodys Vizcaino (right index finger strain)...Vizcaino has not thrown over 50 innings in any season since 2011 but was on his way with 34 already tossed this season before his DL trip. I've been a little surprised by his results this season. He's been inducing fewer ground balls and subsequently being hit harder. Only 30% of the balls put in play last year resulted in a fly ball. This year, it's 43%. The biggest reason is a 20% decrease in groundballs coming from his curveball. This might be due to a lower release point, something that started last year and continues this season. In that regard, he's lost nearly 0.7 inches in vertical movement and a little horizontal movement. All that means is his curveball is just not moving as much. None of that is a result of a finger and Vizcaino's FIP, which is 1.50 runs higher than it was in 2015, could be due to an unusual amount of home runs surrendered. Either way, I really want to see him get the ball down more and find some more movement on his curve. Maybe some mechanical adjustments over the break will help.

Gwinnett
Promoted from Mississippi: A.J. Minter (#19)...Over a dozen games spent at four different levels, Minter has allowed two runs (included the first homer of his career), walked four, and struck out 16 over 12 innings. He has yet to appear in back-to-back games which might be the only hurdle standing in his way from a promotion to the major leagues.

Activated and Optioned: Micah Johnson...Johnson was off to a 5-for-14 start with five steals while playing five games combined with the GCL and Rome squads. He played only in the outfield during his rehab assignment and now will continue with Gwinnett. A bit of a confusing move in that the Braves optioned him well before they needed to and had to put him on the 40-man roster to do so. If he plays 20 days in the minors, he'll exhaust his last option.

Mississippi

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Rehab: Sean Rodriguez...Rodriguez's rehab had already taken him to Gwinnett, but with the team headed into the All-Star Break, S-Rod went to Mississippi to continue his rehab. He hasn't shown much with the bat just yet during six games (2-for-18, 3 walks, a K) while playing second base and shortstop. That might influence the Braves to keep him on a rehab assignment after the All-Star Break concludes, but a couple of good games will likely get Rodriguez activated and promoted to the majors.

Promoted from GCL and DL'd: Guillermo Zuniga...Credit to the Outfield Fly Rule guys for some info related to Zuniga here. Zuniga was part of the monster international class last July and an intriguing one at that. Nevertheless, his placement with the Mississippi Braves after just 13.1 innings in rookie ball - including three innings this year - was met with some confusion. The OFR guys, specifically Chris Jervis, got to the bottom of it. The Mississippi Braves roster had room for Zuniga to go to the DL. Double-A rosters have two more total roster spots than rookie league rosters do. Both have a 25-man roster, but the Mississippi roster includes room for 12 extra players while the GCL roster only has room for ten. The more you know.

Activated: Joey Meneses...After missing two weeks, Meneses returned for the July 4th game in Mobile. The 2017 Southern League All-Star can be a solid hitter at the plate but typically needs prolonged stays at a level to show much offense. That's going to limit him moving forward. In addition, while he does have pop, it's not going to be enough to keep him in the mix as a potential first baseman in reserve should the big league club need him. Still, he helps his minor league teams win and isn't blocking anyone.

DL: Omar Obregon...Recently promoted from Florida, where he was repeating a level, Obregon had a hot stick to begin his Double-A run before hitting the DL. In eight games, he hit .320/.393/.400. A middle infielder out of Nicaragua, Obregon has - at times - flashed a decent hit tool from both sides of the plate. He has no power, though.

DL: Joseph Odom...Four games. That's all Odom got after returning off the DL, which had sidelined him all season. He looked good with a three-hit game shortly before hitting the DL and will hopefully not be out of action as long this time as he was to open the season.

Demoted from Gwinnett: Stephen Gaylor...A non-drafted free agent back in 2014, Gaylor wasn't embarrassing himself in Gwinnett, but the Braves needed his spot and demoted him to make room for Johnson. It came a month after his promotion to Gwinnett. Gaylor can lead off in a pinch, but is more properly utilized as a fourth outfielder who does a lot of the little things, including steal a few bags, for the team.

Demoted from Gwinnett: Emerson Landoni...My Name is Landoni and I just play when asked. Guys like Landoni typically land coaching or other jobs with the organization once they decide to give up on the dream. He's been with the Braves since 2012 and he keeps returning to the organization every time he comes up for free agency. His demotion to Mississippi makes it five consecutive seasons he's played for the Braves' Southern League squad. He won't ever hit for much, but when you need a fill-in player, he'll do it. When you need him to magically appear on the DL because of roster constraints, he'll do that, too.

Florida
DL: Drew Harrington...Am I the only one who has to constantly erase "Joey" and type "Drew?" Probably. Picked with the 80th overall selection last June, Harrington has had an uneven season with Florida after skipping Rome. The control is there and he doesn't give up homers, but he also doesn't miss too many bats in the process. A lefty who was dominant with Louisville in 2016, Harrington is one of the high floor guys with a limited ceiling who the Braves are trying to turn into a major league caliber pitcher. He'll take his lumps, but still could be a bottom-of-the-rotation guy or a decent swingman if he reaches what potential he does have.

Rome
Some rehab stints were continued with Rome for Johnson and Rodriguez, but neither player is still with the team now.

Danville
Assigned: Bruce Zimmerman...Atlanta's fifth-round pick, Zimmerman played for both Towson and Mount Olive College. He displayed tremendous control and struck out a lot of batters last season (albeit against a weaker slate than the CAA-affiliated Towson would have faced). Another lefty - the Braves drafted about six thousand of them in June - Zimmerman started a pair of games for the D-Braves last week and struck out six in three innings. He also allowed a run.

GCL
Assigned: Tanner Allison...A 19th round pick out of Western Michigan, Allison signed a few weeks ago. Assigned on the fourth, he's yet to appear for the GCL squad. The lefty was a Third-Team All-American this year while spending less time on the mound than he did his first two years on campus. Despite the .356/.432/.576 split in the MAC as the Broncos star outfielder, the Braves like him better as a pitcher. His numbers...were miserable as a pitcher, though he did strikeout a lot of batters. Trouble is he walked one more batter than he K'd during his career.

Demoted from Danville: Jose Bermudez...He spent just over a week in Danville and never got into a game. A switch-hitting outfielder who the Braves signed all the way back in July of 2015, Bermudez was listed as a pitcher in a recent transaction, but that might have been MILB.com confusing him with a player in the Twins' organization with the same name. Since his return to the GCL, he's appeared twice - both in the outfield. Darn it. That was an interesting move in last week's update.

DSL
Assigned: Eudi Asencio...Okay, there were a lot of moves with the Dominican Summer League squad last week and pretty much all of them are associated with the July 2nd signings. While the Braves were limited in terms of how large of a bonus they could throw out, they weren't limited in the number of players they could acquire. This seems like a lot of players to immediately get into action - and it is. Most J2 guys spend a year training and scrimmaging with the Braves rather than immediately get an assignment with the DSL squad, but Atlanta and their development team are aggressive and felt many of these players needed to get an immediate look. If I find much information related to these guys, I'll mention it. There isn't much, though. In regards to Asencio, he's a Dominican 18-year-old righthander who might have some room to grow into his 6'3" frame. He tossed two scoreless innings in his professional debut while hitting a batter, walking a batter, striking out a batter, and also allowing a hit.

Assigned: Kimberling Encarnacion...A 17-year-old catcher out of the Dominican, Encarnacion will battle Wiston Cerrato and Enmanuel Guitian for playing time behind the plate.

Assigned: Edwin Jimenez...The Braves must like this lefty. Just 16 (he turns 17 in eleven days), Jimenez was quickly assigned to the DSL roster and threw a perfect inning over the weekend with a strikeout. He's 6'1" and 170 pounds out of the Dominican.

Assigned: Eric Jimenez...Undersized, but already 20 years old, the Braves need to see what they have in Jimenez while they can. In his first two games, Jimenez has three hits, a walk, and two steals in 8 PA.

Assigned: Oscar Nunez...One of the few guys whose bonus we do know, Nunez got a $185K sum to join the Braves. I pulled a picture of what he may look like. Of all of the players the Braves signed this July, Nunez is the guy I want badly to succeed. First, Ryan Howard and now the guy who played Oscar on The Office? Un-be-lievable.

Assigned: Henry Quintero...A Cuban-born outfielder, Quintero needs to progress quickly because he's very old for the DSL at 23. He's off to a 4-for-8 start with three doubles and a triple. If there are no VISA problems, Quintero could be a guy we see in the GCL before the end of the season just to get him moving. He played briefly in the Cuban National Series in the '13-'14 and '14-'15 seasons, hitting .223/.274/.325 over 181 PA.

Assigned: Joel Reyes...An outfielder out of the DR, Reyes has good measurements at 6'0" and 200 pounds at the age of 17.

Assigned: Estarlin Rodriguez...A Dominican right-hander, Rodriguez is another Age-17 guy who has already played for DSL since signing. In his first outing, he gave up an unearned run with a walk and strikeout over one frame.

Assigned: Gerardo Santana...17 years old and an outfielder, Santana has a big frame and could potentially flash some power.

Released: Andres Adrianza...All of these new additions to the DSL roster required a number of cuts. Adrianza was one of two players who signed as part of last year's J2 class. The first baseman/sometimes catcher was quickly assigned to the DSL roster last year and hit .219/.300/.271 as a 17-year-old. He remained a regular player in the lineup this year but looked a bit worse than he did in 2016 and will be moving on.

Released: Carlos Centeno...A defense-first catcher, Centeno was a regular fixture in the lineup last season for the DSL squad after playing in 14 games with them in 2015. He only hit .225 with 6 extra-base knocks, though. He was off to a .152 start this season with a higher OBP than SLG. That's pretty impressive (?) considering his OBP was a miserable .200. As he was part of the three-men platoon behind the plate, his release could help Encarnacion get into the lineup.

Released: Franger Carrillo...He got nearly a year in the system before getting kicked to the curb. The Venezuelan hit .178 over 45 professional at-bats - most of which came this year. He was hitting notably better this year, but that's easy to do when you go 0-for-14 in your first taste of organized ball.

Released: Emmanuel Isea...Signed at the tail end of the 2015-16 signing period, Isea hit just .205/.271/.244 over 24 games nearly split between this year and last. The outfielder didn't flash much speed either.

Released: Danyer Salazar...Salazar's fate was likely sealed when he didn't come state-side for the 2017 GCL season. Last year, his second season in the DSL, he improved his OPS by about 120 points to .731, but that wasn't enough for a corner infielder who turned 19 back in February. He was off to a 3-for-21 start before being cut.

Transaction Tuesday: Weigel, Ruiz, Cumberland, Severino

For the first time this season, the Braves have all seven minor league squads up-and-running. No longer will players get "demoted" to Danville just to get them off the active roster for a few days. I don't include all the moves to set the Danville and GCL rosters, but did include a few that correlated with promotions/demotions. Further, we have a release and a retirement in this week's recap. Let's dive in.

*Prospect Rankings come from the WOW Preseason Top 50.

Atlanta

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Promoted from Gwinnett: Jace Peterson...Hopefully, the minor league assignment did him well. Peterson was on fire over 17 games with Gwinnett with a .338/.450/.477 slash. He also played all over, logging time at three infield positions and all three outfield spots. As I mentioned last week, the Braves nearly avoided burning Peterson's final option this year but were a day late in bringing him back.

In addition, the Braves officially signed a number of their draft choices along with three undrafted free agents (RHP Hayden Deal and Walter Borkovich, IF Carlos Baerga Jr.). For more on them, check out Outfield Fly Rule.

Gwinnett
Demoted from Atlanta: Rio Ruiz (#20)...He got 31 games to prove himself, but Ruiz fell on his face after a promising start after arriving in the majors to replace an injured Adonis Garcia. He struck out too much and simply wasn't able to get on base enough. With the emergence of Johan Camargo, Ruiz was riding the bench, which isn't a good fit for a position-limited player on a short four-man bench. Ruiz has taken the demotion in stride, banging out six hits in 16 AB with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.

Activated: Emerson Landoni...After four trips to the DL this year, Landoni has logged just eleven games. He's depth and his trips to the DL are likely not injury-related.

Retired: Braeden Schlehuber...He's been around forever, but his career finally came to a close last week. Originally drafted back in 2008 out of Southern Nevada, Schlehuber struggled with the bat in every season outside of 2012. That year, he hit .270/.328/.439 with Lynchburg and appeared in his only All-Star Game. Since 2015, he's spent most of his time with on the Gwinnett roster or on the Gwinnett DL. This year alone, he was on the DL three times and played just six games. But the DL is used often for "phantom injuries" at the minor league level - especially for catchers who provide depth. I imagine Schlehuber will stick with the organization in a different role, but maybe he just wants to get away from the game for a little while. Added note...Schlehuber was the first Random Prospect I profiled. Reading that post, it's clear this blog has come a long way.

DL'd: Patrick Weigel (#17)...Well, this is unfortunate. Last week, he showed up on the DL with the scariest sentence relating to a pitcher in baseball as he was scheduled for a meeting with Dr. James Andrews. Nothing has been released in regards to that so we are just waiting and preparing. Weigel got off to a dominant start with Mississippi and after a bad second start with Gwinnett (eight runs in one inning), he had settled had settled into a very solid five starts before his June 18th game where he gave up nine runs. There was talk of decreased velocity in that go-around.

Mississippi
Promoted from Florida: Devan Watts...Another find for the scouting department. He was picked in the 17th round out of Tusculum College last year. You know Tusculum, right? The school that produced Dale Alexander, who finished 11th in the MVP balloting back in 1932? Watts gave up two runs in 23.2 innings last year between Danville and Rome. This season, he's allowed a few more. Six, to be exact. Still, his ERA is just 1.95 and he's striking out over a batter an inning with great control. He made his Double-A debut last week with a one-walk, one-strikeout frame. He's one to watch.

Activated: Joseph Odom...Last week marked the first time Odom has been activated this season. He was coming off a mixed bag last year where he hit well during his third year in the Carolina League but struggled after a midseason promotion to Mississippi. He's a solid defensive option behind the plate, but the bat is unlikely to be better than below-average.

DL'd: Joey Meneses...In a way, Meneses reminds me of Adam LaRoche. Not in the sense that'll develop into a pretty good option at first base, but that he often needs repeat assignments to get his bat going at a level. He debuted with Rome in 2013 but struggled. Returning to Rome, he bashed the SALLY League during an injury-shortened 2014. He headed to Carolina next and again struggled. He returned in 2016 and blitzed the league to earn a spot with Mississippi, where he struggled over the season's final two-and-a-half months. Wouldn't ya know it that he's doing well this year? At his current rate, he should be figuring out Triple-A pitching in 2019.

Florida
Promoted from Rome: Oriel Caicedo...This is Year 7 of Caicedo's career (though he lost one year due to injury). Last week, he made his debut at High-A. He has tremendous control and generally posts good numbers, but is just a guy.

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Promoted from Rome: Brett Cumberland (#25)...After a slow start, Cumberland exploded in Rome for a .263/.432/.531 slash. He bashed 10 homers to go along with 15 doubles over 55 games and was hit by a pitch 25 times. Typically, Atlanta lets its minor leaguers spend a year in low-A, but as a college draftee, Cumberland earned a promotion up the chain. Pairing him with Alex Jackson gives Florida two big-hitting prospects who both need to get better behind the plate. In his first three games with Florida, Cumberland has a single, a double, and yes, he's been hit-by-a-pitch.

Promoted from Rome: Adam McCreery...Acquired last season as a project for Jhoulys Chacin, the former Angels' 22nd rounder has shown much-improved control with the Braves. Another tall pitcher in a system of gigantic pitchers, the lefty cut his walk rate nearly in half in terms of BB/9 last season and this season, he's brought back his strikeout rate which slumped last year. McCreery was one of the oldest pitchers at Rome so a new challenge will be good for the southpaw. He gave up a run in two innings during his Florida debut.

Demoted from Mississippi: Chad Sobotka (#40)...The Random Prospect generator picked the wrong week to spit out Sobotka. Just days before I published my profile on him, Sobotka got the heave-ho to Florida. He had struggled badly with Mississippi with just about all his metrics heading in the wrong direction. The Braves are hoping a demotion will clear his head and jumpstart his season. He looked pretty good in his first outing with Florida, striking out two over one scoreless inning.

DL'd: Chase Johnson-Mullins...The tall lefty out of Shelton State Community College (go Bucs!), CJM has been impressive this year as his walk rate is down and his strikeout rate has climbed a bit. On the other hand, he's basically repeating Class A+. Hopefully, the injury is minor and the 6'8, 270-pound behemoth will get back on the mound soon.

DL'd: Wigberto Nevarez...The Braves use the DL for catchers like they use Danville's roster before the APPY season opens. These assignments rarely mean anything. I just want to say, though, if Florida put "Wigberto" on the back of the jersey, I think it would sell pretty well.

Rome
Assigned: Austin Bush...Picked in the 15th round of this year's draft, Bush is a big boy. He's listed at 6'6" and 265 pounds. Obviously, he's Rome's defensive end/first baseman/power forward. He bashed his first professional homerun in his second game and has gone 8-for-19 to begin his career. He's also struck out eight times. Basically, if he puts the ball in play, good things are happening so far.

Assigned: Jordan Rodgers...Another advanced college draftee from earlier this month, Rodgers was a quick sign. In five games with Rome, he's already played three positions. There's some pop here and the potential for a solid utility player.

Activated: Matt Custred...With a logjam of relievers ahead of him, Custred was one of the guys who returned to Rome despite some solid work with last year's squad. Custred spent two months on the DL after an appearance on April 25 before his recent activation. He's been dominant for Rome when he has stayed on the mound, though, striking out 16 over 12.2 innings and has been charged with just one earned run. He picked up 64 K's last year with Rome in 56.2 innings with a 3.18 ERA.

Demoted to Danville and Returned: Alan Rangel...The Braves can no longer use Danville's roster as an extended spring training so it looks like Rangel has impressed enough people to stick with Rome. Still just 19, Rangel's in his third season out of Mexico and has flashed big K numbers with good control in the past. He's struggled through a trio of starts with Rome to this point, but the Braves are buying in for now.

Demoted from Florida: Taylor Lewis...A ninth-round pick in 2015 out of the University of Florida, Lewis rolled last year as he climbed from Rome to Mississippi (with a 19-game dominant stretch with Carolina mixed in). However, the righty was returned to High-A to open this season nd has been a dumpster fire. He walked just 14 batters (2 were intentional) in 66 innings last year, but has given just as many free passes (all unintentional) in 23.1 ING with Florida this year. He also matched his career total in homeruns given up in half-a-season. The Braves are hopeful a return to Rome will get him going, though he gave up a run and uncorked three pitches in his first outing with the team.

Released: Yeudi Grullon (6/19)...I either missed this one for last year's transaction recap or it wasn't posted. Either way, Grullon was sent packing during his fifth year in the system. He never showed much of a stick and hit just one homerun during his 721 PA. He was in his second season as a utility guy for Rome when he was released. He was known more for his pitching the with Rome (three outings to close games) than his hitting.

Danville
(Lots of moves as the Braves set the roster with draft choices and callups from last year's GCL roster. Too many moves to list.)

Demoted from Rome: Jaret Hellinger...Hellinger's struggles in Rome kept the lefty from potentially avoiding a second year in Danville. He allowed 13 ER in 12.1 ING with more walks (9) than strikeouts (6). After iffy campaigns the last two years following his 20th-round selection back in 2015, Hellinger's not too much of a prospect at the moment.

Promoted from DSL: Kelvin Rodriguez...One of the few players who opens his career state-side before heading to the DSL, this is Rodriguez's third season of professional ball. After spending 2016 in the Dominican Republic, he opened this season down there as well before a promotion up the chain to Danville. To this point, he hasn't done much to attract much attention and looks more like a veteran innings guy.

GCL Braves
(Roster finalized this week. I'll include a list of players jumping from DSL to start this season to the GCL.)

Promoted from DSL: Alger Hodgson, Miguel Jerez, Deyvis Julian, Yoeli Lopez (#50), Juan Morales, Luidemid Rojas, Yefri Del Rosario, Yunior Severino (#44), Albinson Volquez...Obviously, Severino is the biggest name here. A switch-hitter with power to spare, Severino was ranked as the 8th best prospect of last year's signing class by Baseball America. He only hit .189 in 10 games in the DSL, but the Braves think he's ready for a more aggressive assignment. Del Roasario was also a J2 signing last year and got a bonus in the high six figures. He's a project pitcher with questionable mechanics but could be a star with big velocity and a nice breaking ball.

DL'd: Jackson Pokorney...Not sure what landed last year's 29th rounder on the DL, but it was a 60-day DL assignment so it looks to be a severe injury. Pokorney was not expected to sign after blitzing his high school competition with a better than .500 average during his senior season, but he put college aside for a chance to join the Braves and hit .259/.340/.318 as an 18 year-old in the GCL last year. A switch-hitter, Pokorney has a projectable frame. For more on Pokorney, here's a profile from USA Today.

DSL
None