LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez plans to announce his 25-man roster Saturday before the Braves leave Florida. He wants players to know their status before the team’s charter flight to Atlanta following a Grapefruit League finale against the Tigers.
“We’ll have a meeting this afternoon,” Gonzalez said before Friday’s game against the Rays, “and everything being a normal day (no injuries), I think we’ll have it by tomorrow morning.”
The only remaining suspense surrounds two positions, the last spot on the pitching staff and the fifth outfielder job.
Barring a late trade, the Braves are expected to choose between John Gant and Williams Perez for the final spot on the pitching staff — though left-hander Kyle Kinman also remains a candidate — and pick one from Michael Bourn, Emilio Bonifacio or Drew Stubbs for the final outfield spot. Jeff Francoeur already has one of the two backup outfield jobs.
Stubbs was signed to a minor-league contract Wednesday, got two plate appearances Thursday and made his first start Friday, batting leadoff and playing center field against the Rays. He’s 0-for-5 with a walk, including 0-for-4 Friday when he reached base twice on shortstop errors.
The Braves signed Stubbs because they’d prefer to have a right-handed hitter who can back up center fielder Ender Inciarte.
But if Stubbs doesn’t impress enough right away, the Braves might opt to keep left-handed hitter Bourn and his $14 million salary, which they’ll owe him whether they keep him or release him. So far there have been no suitors willing to trade for the veteran and pick up part of his salary.
The Braves could also instead keep switch-hitting Bonifacio and his $1.25 million salary, though there have been indications that is the less-likely scenario.
For the final spot on the pitching staff, unless the Braves make a late trade they are likely to go with Gant, a right-handed prospect with the funky delivery, or Perez, who was impressive as a rookie starter in 2015 before going on the disabled list after taking a line drive off his foot.
If the Braves go with Gant, they likely would use him as a long reliever in an eight-man bullpen until they need a fifth starter April 12 in the seventh game of the season. At that point, they would move Gant or another reliever — Gant could go to Triple-A to pitch as a starter or reliever — to add a fifth starter.
In that scenario, Perez would be the leading candidate to come up from Triple-A Gwinnett and move into the rotation, since Mike Foltynewicz is expected to make a few minor league starts as he builds arm strength and stamina.
The other option would be to have Perez on the opening-day roster as a reliever, then move him from the bullpen to the rotation April 12, when the Braves should need a fifth starter. If they do that, Perez could pitch out of the bullpen until perhaps April 9.
With Perez scheduled to start Saturday’s Grapefruit League finale against the Tigers, that would indicate he’s unlikely to be in the Braves bullpen when the season begins Monday, and Gant would be the long reliever to begin the season.
The Braves’ first three starters have been set for some time: opening-day starter Julio Teheran, followed by Bud Norris and Matt Wisler. Jhoulys Chacin, who started Friday against the Rays, is the presumed favorite for the No. 4 starter job, though the Braves have yet to make an announcement about that spot.
The seven spots that appear set in the bullpen: Jason Grilli and Arodys Vizcaino, the duo that’ll handle closer duties; Jim Johnson, Alexi Ogando, left-hander Eric O’Flaherty, former Rule 5 pick Dan Winkler, who must be kept on the 25-man roster at least until June or be offered back to the Rockies; and Jose Ramirez, who is out of minor league options and can’t be sent to the minors without clearing waivers.
The rest of the roster appears to be set: infielders Freddie Freeman, Jace Peterson, Erick Aybar, Adonis Garcia, Gordon Beckham and Kelly Johnson; outfielders Nick Markakis, Ender Inciarte, Hector Olivera and Francoeur, and catchers A.J. Pierzynski and Tyler Flowers.
About the Author
