The Braves expected left-hander Tucker Davidson to start Tuesday’s game versus the Nationals. Instead, he’s headed to Triple-A with catcher William Contreras as part of a roster shuffle to bring up Bryce Elder.
How did the Braves arrive at this point?
Well, there are a couple reasons.
The first: Ian Anderson (2 2/3 innings) and Huascar Ynoa (three innings) registered back-to-back short starts, which taxed Atlanta’s bullpen. Davidson had to pitch on Monday and the Braves needed two more pitchers for Tuesday (more soon).
The second: The Braves couldn’t recall any pitchers on the 40-man roster because they are required to spend at least 10 days in the minors following their option date, which was April 7. Elder, who was not on the 40-man roster, was scheduled to start for Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday. Had the Braves been able to bring up someone else, they might not have gone with Elder.
The Braves on Tuesday called up Elder and brought up right-hander Jackson Stephens. They optioned Davidson and Contreras, and designated both catcher Chadwich Tromp and righty Jacob Webb for assignment.
“When you have two short starts like that and you get in the bullpen, and the guys that all pitched on Sunday probably need another day,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’re getting a lot of guys back, but it gets you for a while and you just got to kind of have to catch up.”
Sean Newcomb, Collin McHugh and Tyler Thornburg all pitched on Sunday following Anderson’s short outing. Newcomb and McHugh both pitched over two innings, and Thornburg pitched 1 1/3 frames.
Ynoa’s struggles on Monday forced the Braves to use Spencer Strider, who could have started on Tuesday, for 3 1/3 innings. Then Atlanta called on Davidson for 2 2/3 frames.
The Braves could have avoided this by starting Max Fried on regular rest, but wanted to utilize a six-man rotation to keep pitchers healthy. After a shortened spring training, the club is going through a stretch of 14 games in 14 days until its first off day on April 21.
The Braves needed not one, but two pitchers for Tuesday’s game. They required the second in case he needed to eat innings in the event of another short start. They’re trying to prevent overuse injuries.
Thus, Contreras became collateral damage. He only took four at-bats through the team’s first five games, and didn’t collect a hit. He’s a catcher but he could see some time in the outfield to increase his versatility in hopes of keeping his bat in the lineup. He had also been working with third base and infield coach Ron Washington on defensive work at third base.
“It’s nice to have the extra position player,” Snitker said of losing Contreras. “It’s easier to do this now in a DH game than it would have been in a National League game. The pitcher’s hitting and you need the extra guys and all that, it’s hard to go short like that for even one game.”
More on Stephens
The Braves in January signed Stephens, who was the Pitcher of the Year in the Venezuelan Winter League.
The Reds drafted Stephens in the 18th round in 2012. He debuted for them in 2017. In parts of two seasons in the bigs, he has a 4.83 ERA over 63 1/3 innings.
He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2018.
Eddie Rosario getting a day off
Outfielder Eddie Rosario was not in Tuesday’s lineup. He said he’s not hurt.
The day off could help Rosario, who is 1-for-17 at the plate to begin the season.
