Peter Moylan became the latest Braves pitcher to land on the 10-day disabled list Monday. The official diagnosis for the struggling 39-year-old sidearmer: right forearm strain, with no timetable for his return.
It’s been a difficult season for Moylan in the affable Aussie’s third stint with the Braves. After tying for the major league lead with 79 appearances for Kansas City last year while posting a 1.096 WHIP and .189 opponents’ average (including .163 by right-handers), Moylan has a 1.846 WHIP and .310 OA in 2018 including a .315 average by righties.
“He’s been battling some elbow stiffness. Forearm, elbow stiffness,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after the team announced the move prior to Monday’s series opener at Yankee Stadium.
Rookie Evan Phillips was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, a week after coming up for one day in his first major-league stint but not getting into a game.
In his last 14 appearances, Moylan had an 8.38 ERA and four homers allowed in 9-2/3 innings. Included was a three-run homer Sunday by slumping Tommy Pham at St. Louis as Atlanta’s bullpen nearly blew all of a six-run lead. They hung on for a 6-5 win to complete a Braves sweep.
“You know, he’s a guy who we’ve pitched a fair amount lately,” Snitker said. “With his age and medicals and everything, he’s still not ever turning the ball down. I mean, the guy’s had two Tommy Johns and umpteen other surgeries. To his credit, when that phone rings he never says no. He’s about as competitive a guy as you’ll ever see.
“Hopefully (the injury is) something we can calm down. As much baseball as we have left, we’re probably going to need him again. It’s just one of those things we hope we can get right.”
