LOS ANGELES — September’s roster expansion brings what could be a nice boost for the Braves.
The club on Friday returned left-handed reliever Dylan Lee from his rehab assignment and activated him. Lee entered the season as one of the Braves’ more reliable relievers, but the team has had to push on without him since May because he dealt with left shoulder inflammation.
“It feels like I got called up for the first time again,” Lee said Friday at Dodger Stadium. “It’s at the end of the year, still got to prove myself. When playoffs come around, the roster gets cut back short again. It’s proving time again.”
It’s Sept. 1, which means teams can carry 28 players instead of 26. Clubs can’t have more than 14 pitchers on their roster, or else the Braves – and everyone else – simply would add two pitchers.
The Braves also recalled outfielder Forrest Wall, who provides terrific speed off the bench, to fill an extra roster spot.
In May, Lee went on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation. “I think it was just work,” he said of the cause. He didn’t pitch in 2020. Between the minors and majors, he logged 51-2/3 innings in 2021, including postseason. In 2022, he pitched 66-1/3 frames between Triple-A and the big leagues. Then he threw 20-1/3 innings before landing on the injured list this season.
A few months ago, Lee received a cortisone injection. He said it helped speed his healing. He was shut down for a month. As his rehab, and then rehab assignment, progressed, the Braves were cautious.
This was difficult for Lee.
“Yeah, because I don’t like to slow things down,” Lee said. “I just want to go full bore all the time. And then I have them just telling me, ‘Hey, this is spring training for you.’ So, it was different.”
To make room on the 40-man roster for Lee, the Braves transferred outfielder Sam Hilliard to the 60-day injured list, as he continues to deal with his heel contusion.
Wall recently was up with the Braves. He’s 1-for-4 and has two stolen bases at the major-league level. At Gwinnett, he had 52 stolen bases.
In 7-1/3 innings over seven rehab appearances for Triple-A Gwinnett, Lee allowed five runs. All five came within a stretch of three outings: He gave up three runs, then put up a zero, then permitted two runs.
Pitchers can be on a rehab assignment for a maximum of only 30 days. The Braves almost took Lee the full 30 days because they wanted to build him up to be able to go multiple innings, pitch back-to-back days and even throw three consecutive days if needed.
And they wanted to ensure he’d be fully healthy when they brought him back, which is why they recently gave him a week-plus without a rehab game to recover from a hefty workload in the first couple of weeks of his rehab assignment. He’d experienced normal soreness. At the end of that week, he threw live batting practice. He then pitched for Gwinnett on Tuesday.
His next appearance will come for the Braves. This should be a nice lift, as adding Lee means they can use Brad Hand or A.J. Minter – the other lefties in the bullpen – to match up with opposing hitters if necessary. It gives manager Brian Snitker more flexibility in how he manages the group.
“He’ll probably get thrust right back into now, when he gets (into the game),” Snitker said. “You always try to give guys a bit of a soft landing, but most times it doesn’t work that way. It’s right back into the fire.”
Plus, the Braves planned it well. By adding Lee on Friday, they didn’t have to make what would’ve been a difficult roster move. But then again, they might soon need to add Nick Anderson and Kyle Wright, if all goes well with them.
Anderson has been throwing off the mound. If he stays on schedule, he should be able to make his first rehab appearance during the week of Sept. 11.
Lee joins a bullpen that entered Friday’s game with a 3.43 ERA, which was the third-best mark in baseball.
“The ‘pen’s nasty,” Lee said. “The additions that we have (made) have just helped an already nasty bullpen.”
And Lee should make it even better.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
