Stephen Dunn - Getty Images
Pitcher Takashi Saito #40 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after injuring himself in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 3, 2010 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
The Atlanta Braves placed reliever Takashi Saito on the disabled list today with a left hamstring injury he suffered in last night's game, and recalled reliever Craig Kimbrel from triple-A Gwinnett. Saito has been solid for Atlanta in the setup role this year, but there have been concerns by many about the 40-year old reliever.
The recall of Kimbrel is an interesting move, as it was thought that he was sent down several weeks ago to work on his slide step and his control, and as the last man in the bullpen he wasn't getting used that much. Something that could hinder his development as a possible future closer for Atlanta.
Kimbrel has done a good job of controlling the walks in triple-A, issuing just 5 bases on balls in the last 14.2 innings pitched while striking out 21 and holding opponents to a .137 batting average over that span.
I wonder what the Braves are waiting for with regards to Chris Resop. They must call him up to the majors by June 15th or else risk losing a pitcher to free agency with a 2.03 ERA and a .204 batting average against at triple-A. Perhaps they're waiting to make a more deliberate move, or perhaps they have bigger plans for Resop (I still can't imagine them putting him in the rotation). They could be keeping him at triple-A in order to inflate his stats and keep his trade value high. Though I can't really see them dealing Resop away to too many other contenders.
0 recs | 42 comments
So much for seeing how it looked after a few days.
Welcome back to the show, Kimbrel!
UMDBHIK - June 4, 2010
Ummm……..also, I wonder who becomes the primary setup reliever. Moylan, Venters, or Kimbrel?
UMDBHIK - June 4, 2010
Good question considering
Moylan has been hit hard lately.
Richie Grogan - June 4, 2010
Chavez? (runs for cover…)
Old Braves' Fan - June 4, 2010
I would go with Moylan. I think, after Wagner, he is the most dependable guy in the bullpen.
His ERA would below 2.00, without those doubles in Philly…
bwellnjonesco - June 4, 2010
is kimbrel in LA?
or on his way?
atl192485 - June 4, 2010
+1
for that South Central rhyme.
UMDBHIK - June 4, 2010
I just keep being amazed by the depth in this organization. One of the best relievers we have had all season goes down, and we bring up a guy that I have confidence in. It seems like every time someone goes down, or needs a day off we really aren’t losing much with whoever replaces him. I wonder how many other teams can say they have the depth we have.
sleezer1788 - June 4, 2010
But why use up another of Kimbrel’s options? I agree, Resop should have been brought up.
kbertling353 - June 4, 2010
We can send him up and back down all year without using anymore of his options. Options are year long, only using one per season…
We can option him like this for two more seasons, after that, he would have to clear waivers before another minor league assignment.
bwellnjonesco - June 4, 2010
Options don’t work that way. You can only use one option a year, so that was already done. They can send him up and down as many times as they want this year and it won’t take away anymore options.
KLB - June 4, 2010
It surprises me how many people believe options work this way, though
Oh well.
Bronn - June 4, 2010
Probably cuz it's like that in videos games, at least the one I play
FitzFan - June 4, 2010
If you don’t research the rules or have someone explain them to you, then you might be a redneck.
jkjk, seriously though, baseball rules are complicated, and I wouldn’t expect many fans to understand them..
bwellnjonesco - June 4, 2010
I never knew how options worked until I looked into them when I got MLB10 The Show.
UMDBHIK - June 4, 2010
It’s really easy to interpret those 3 option years as just three options..
I was under the same assumption until I wiki’d it and read it a few times..
bwellnjonesco - June 4, 2010
Thanks guys. I suppose it makes more sense then. What do you guys think we should do with Resop? I hope we hold onto him – he’ll be a good piece for the bullpen moving forward (when Saito and Wagner are gone).
kbertling353 - June 4, 2010
I kinda want to see what he can do..
There was another pitcher who struggled in the MLB and went to Japan for a year to return and pitch quire successful this year. Maybe pitching with the smaller ball forces them to make an adjustment that translates well back to the MLB???
bwellnjonesco - June 4, 2010
I hope Kimbrel
gets some more significant game time. If Wagner really is going to retire, I’d rather get him some higher leverage situations this year so we can see what we’ve got.
Also, hamstrings are tough to rehab — just ask Jimmy Rollins. I hope he’s not out too long.
fphjr01 - June 4, 2010
Neat.
Scott Coleman - June 4, 2010
I hope Saito gets healthy soon.
Time off may be good for him in the long run.
Frozen Fan - June 4, 2010
It’s not like he’s pitched an awful lot… :\
homerun - June 4, 2010
But dude’s 40, and I know what that’s like. :(
Old Braves' Fan - June 4, 2010
This could actually be good for Saito.
Since it’s not an arm injury, he should be nice and fresh one he comes off the DL. Nothing like keeping the 40-year-old away from Bobby for 2 weeks.
As for our bullpen, it’s obviously not a welcome development. I wish this had happened at a time when Moylan was pitching more reliably, since he’s the obvious replacement. Hopefully Peter figures out whatever’s been wrong the last 2 outings and the ‘pen doesn’t miss a beat.
As for Resop, I really don’t care. But there’s a guy on the roster (still) who is an obvious case for being switched out if we do decide to call up Poser. I almost don’t want that to happen though… I feel like Bobby would actually use Resop (which would probably be bad), whereas at least we know that Martinez won’t cause much damage b/c Bobby won’t use him.
Jacob Peterson - June 4, 2010
Martinez is still on the roster? What the chunk?
ATLforlife - June 4, 2010
Anyone think Bobby will throw Kimbrel into the set-up role?
bravesforever16 - June 4, 2010
I doubt it. He’ll use him in the Chavez role. You’ll see Moylan primarily set up with Venters & O’flaherty sharing the 7th inning duties.
I wonder if Resop is going to come up, and we demote Chavez soon. That’s the better question.
garlick - June 4, 2010
Wow someone is giong to have to be used
which one:
Kimbrel or Martinez
UltimaParadox - June 4, 2010
kimbrel > martinez
atl192485 - June 4, 2010
agreed
but what does Cox think, because he seems like he refuses to use either and Chavez never comes in a game when we are winning
UltimaParadox - June 4, 2010
anyone else
thing moylan is physically hurting somehow? he hasnt looked the same
StottsEra - June 4, 2010
I think
he has just run into some bad luck, he has had more velocity in his last few outings.
Even last night all of them were ground balls.
UltimaParadox - June 4, 2010
He pitched like 5 innings within a week, and the next night hit that speed bump against Philly…
I think he might of just been overused the past week…
bwellnjonesco - June 4, 2010
Resop
Resop seems to have found a groove as a starter at Gwinnett.
WHIP@ 1.16. hits<innings etc.
Wren likely does not want to stick him in a well stacked bullpen
until he has no choice ie June 15. With each start his confidence
should strengthen. It’s quite a luxury to not need a Resop or a Redmond
with any urgency. Nice depth chart at several levels.
sealift67 - June 4, 2010
where is Stephen Marek?
why is he not here instead of Kimbrel? will Kimbrel qualify for a super 2 if he has a great year next year?
jaypatel - June 4, 2010
nah, i don’t think so. he hasn’t been up for the majority of this year. as for marek, i doubt he’d contribute that much right now – considering the strength of our bullpen.
kbertling353 - June 4, 2010
I got Kimbrel’s autogrph the other day, so those Billy Wagner comparisons better be legit(which I think they are).
GouldisGold - June 4, 2010
I thought for sure they would bring up Resop. I think the possible problem is that Medlen is doing so well as a starter and they dont want to risk putting Medlen in the pen and have Resop start and Resop pitch poorly.
The only other thing I can think of is a possible trade and the only one I can see being traded right now is Kawakami. Hanson and Hudson are pitching brilliant, Lowe has an albatross of a contract and J.J. is injured. With Medlen doing so well they could possibly be thinking to move Kawakami in a trade. Call up Resop. Then move Resop or Medlen back to the pen when J.J. returns.
Unless we found someone to take Lowe’s contract which would be . . . AMAZING!!!
Either way I just hope Bobby gets Kimbrel some work instead of him wasting away in the pen.
drumzalicious - June 5, 2010
I can’t see anyone taking Lowe’s contract in June. I really can’t see it in July, either.
I think a lot of GM’s will be scared off Kawakami due to his W-L record despite the fact he’s pitched pretty darn well for the most part and we’d also have to move an OF in all likelihood which means dealing Melky due to McLouth’s absolute zero trade value.
Right now it’s just too early to contemplate all the possible scenarios.
UMDBHIK - June 5, 2010
I don't think we plan...
to use Resop on the field at all, if we don’t have to.
His value could be a bit inflated right now because he’s doing so well. Why muck that up by risking him getting hit in the bigs??
I don’t think the plan is to trade him to a contender, it’s to trade him to a stinker for a player that can help us. The most advantageous move is to leave him where he’s at for as long as possible, keep that value high, and use him as a chip to offset our loss in true prospects when we buy ourselves a bat at/near the trade deadline.
When he comes up, we’re only going to see him sparingly and in situations that are obviously in his favor. I’m looking at the Royals, Tigers and Nats at the end of June.
I think we flip him to the Royals for Podsednik (not straight across, but dunno what the rest of the package will entail). Podsednik has a $2M club option year for 2011, but he can vacate the contract w/ 525 AB. He’s playing well enough, he’s on pace to easily make 525 AB, and the Royals don’t want to let him go for nothing when he tries to get more money in 2011.
-C
cthabeerman - June 5, 2010
TigersWhite Sox-C
cthabeerman - June 5, 2010
I can buy that line of thinking...
why call him up now and risk him doing poorly, when if we wait another week we might be able to coax a valuable piece out of someone in a trade. Or if we can’t, we can still call him up after another start or two and send down Martinez or another.
Mr. Sanchez - June 5, 2010
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