The Braves are interested in re-signing left-hander Mike Minor and utility players Pedro Ciriaco and Eury Perez after not tendering them a contract, general manager John Coppolella said.
The three players became non-tendered free agents when the Braves didn’t offer a contract by the Wednesday midnight deadline. They are free to negotiate with the Braves and other teams.
“The collective decisions we made to non-tender all three players were difficult, and we do have an interest in re-signing all three,” Coppolella wrote in a message.
The Braves would have owed Minor at least $4.5 million if they’d offered him arbitration. They weren’t willing to do so with Minor’s health still in question.
Minor, 25, was developing into a front-line starter for the Braves until his career was derailed by shoulder issues. He has yet to throw off a mound after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in May and suffering a setback last month that forced him to shut down his throwing program.
In 2013 Minor was 13-9 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.090 walks and hits allowed per inning pitched and 181 strikeouts over 204 2/3 innings. Shoulder pain contributed to a poor 2014 season for Minor and he experienced pain soon after increasing his throwing during last spring training.
Ciriaco, 30, signed the Braves after last season and he made starts at all of the infield positions while appearing in a total of 84 games. Ciriaco hit .261 with a .275 on-base percentage in 151 plate appearances.
The Braves selected Perez, 25, off of waivers from the Yankees in January. He appeared in 47 games, including 30 starts in the outfield, and hit .269 with a .331 on-base percentage in 133 plate appearances.
Braves extend Bobby Cox
The Braves announced Thursday that they signed former manager Bobby Cox to a two-year extension of his consulting contract. Cox retired from the Braves in 2010 after more than three decades with the franchise and signed a five-year consulting agreement in 2011. The new deal runs through the 2017 season, which will be the club’s first at SunTrust Park.
