PHILADELPHIA – The roster churn by the Braves has reached dizzying proportions.
When Braves rookie starting pitcher Williams Perez was reinstated from the disabled list before Friday’s game, it was the 20th individual roster move made between the team’s 25- and 40-man rosters since the current 10-game trip began July 24. The Braves’ 160 roster moves this season ranked second in the National League behind the Dodgers’ 215.
As of Saturday, only 11 members of the current 25-man Braves roster were on the opening-day roster, only four of whom were with the team in 2014.
Left-hander Matt Marksberry allowed two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings of his debut Friday against the Phillies, the 13th Brave to make his major league debut this season.
Marksberry also was the 52nd player used by the Braves this season, extending the franchise record already set this season. The record prior to this season was 50 players used by the 2007 Braves. They’ve already used 13 more players than they did in the entire 2014 season.
A day later, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez smiled when he related his thought as Marksberry came jogging in from the bullpen with two runners on base and one out in the fifth inning. Gonzalez had not seen Marksberry in the thick, black sports glasses that he wears while pitching, and the manager’s first thought was the resemblance to Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn from the movie Major League.
“I said, ‘Oh, here we go, boys,’” Gonzalez said, laughing.
