The Braves added some pitching depth Wednesday by trading for right-handed starter Joe Wieland from the Mariners organization in exchange for cash or a player to be named later.
Wieland, 26, has a 1-6 record and 6.32 ERA in 12 major league games (10 starts) over parts of four seasons with the Padres, Dodgers and Mariners, who twice dropped him from their 40-man roster this season.
He could provide the Braves with emergency starting depth at the major league level, where they’ve had a string of injuries including losing Mike Foltynewicz for at least one start with calf contusion and Williams Perez possibly for the rest of the season with an elbow impingement.
The Braves have three minor league affiliates still in postseason play, so they haven’t yet brought up a few pitchers who might otherwise be available for fill-in duty at the big-league level.
Wieland gave up nine hits and six runs in five innings in his only major league start this season for the Mariners, and was 14-6 with a 5.43 ERA in 26 games (24 starts) at Triple-A Tacoma in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He had 118 strikeouts with 39 walks in 124 1/3 innings at Tacoma.
Because he was recently outrighted off the Mariners’ 40-man roster, the Braves won’t have to create a spot right away on their 40-man roster. He last pitched on Sept. 5 and could be ready if the Braves need to plug him into their rotation.
A fourth-round draft pick by the Rangers more than a decade ago (2004), Wieland has a connection to current Braves left fielder Matt Kemp. Wieland was part of the package the Padres sent to the Dodgers in the December 2014 trade for Matt Kemp.
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