The Braves called up left-hander Donnie Veal from Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday to add depth to their beleaguered bullpen.
Veal has 100 previous relief appearances in the big leagues from 2009 to 201 with a 4.87 ERA in 64 2/3 innings and 55 hits allowed, 70 strikeouts and 47 walks. Veal was with the White Sox the last three seasons.
The Braves entered Thursday with a 4.52 bullpen ERA, ranked 13th of 15 NL teams.
“Donnie is pitching well down there,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “Just bring in a guy who can help us out of the bullpen, another lefty. I think it’s going to be one of those situations where—obviously our deficiency is in the bullpen—guys in Triple-A, they are paying attention and they are pitching well. We are paying attention up here.”
To make room for Veal on the roster, the Braves optioned right-hander John Cornely to Gwinnett. Cornely made his major league debut on Wednesday against the Nationals and allowed three hits and four runs in one inning.
In 10 relief appearances at Gwinnett this season Veal hasn’t allowed a run in 8 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts and two walks.
“This guy has a good arm, a resilient arm,” Gonzalez said. “If you look at his workloads, he can bounce back. The biggest issue is he has a history of not throwing strikes. But he has done a good job of that in Triple-A so … we give him an opportunity. Why not?”
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