Tim Hudson is gone as the bell cow of the Braves’ starting rotation, and catcher Brian McCann no longer is around as a steadying force behind home plate. Both left as free agents.
But if some observers wonder about a potential leadership void, players weren’t concerned when asked Thursday on reporting day for Braves pitchers and catchers. Much as they weren’t worried a year ago when outsiders asked if anyone could fill the leadership gap after Chipper Jones retired.
“It’s kind of the same thing we were being asked about last spring,” said Kris Medlen, who has less than five years of major league service, but has been a Brave longer than anyone on the roster. “Mike Trout is a leader for the Angels, and he’s played a year-and-a-half or two years.
“Baseball is the sport where you don’t really need that vocal leadership. It’s just like, who shows up to the field and works (hard), who performs on the field and leaves it all out there. Those are the leaders that I follow and want to mold myself after,” he said. “Obviously there are times to be vocal. In a bad stretch or whatever, Chipper would say something. But for the most part, it’s self-explanatory.”
At 28, Medlen also is the oldest of four starting-rotation incumbents. The others are Brandon Beachy (27), Mike Minor (26) and Julio Teheran, who turned 23 last month. Beachy missed much of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but arguably was the Braves’ best starter in 2012 before he blew out his elbow.
Hudson has 426 starts and 205 wins, or 200 more starts and 120 more wins than the above four combined.
Free-agent signee Gavin Floyd, the biggest of the Braves’ modest offseason moves, is penciled in for a rotation spot when he returns from Tommy John surgery as soon as May. He has a 70-70 career record and a 4.48 ERA, including 17-8 with a 3.84 ERA for the White Sox in a career-best 2008 season.
The Braves also return left-hander Alex Wood, who impressed in starting and relief roles as a rookie, and re-signed Freddy Garcia, 37, who was 1-1 with a 1.83 ERA in three September starts and pitched well in Game 4 of the division series.
“Obviously losing Huddy is a huge deal,” Medlen said, “but I think losing Huddy last year in the last couple of months was kind of the lead-in to what we’re going to experience this year, and I thought we pitched well.”
Hudson was 8-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 21 starts last season, but had a 2.73 ERA and eight quality starts in his last 10 games before a season-ending broken ankle July 24. After his injury, the Braves lost their next game, then reeled off a 14-game winning streak that included a 2.08 ERA.
Medlen was particularly effective after Hudson’s injury, going 9-2 with a 2.08 ERA in 12 starts after July 24.
“Guys stepped in and picked up the slack,” Medlen said. “I think him going down with the ankle injury definitely helped us for this year. Knowing that we could do it without Huddy. … I think we’ve got a great rotation setting up and a good pitching staff overall again. It should be the backbone of this team.”
Floyd, Venters updates: Floyd and reliever Jonny Venters each had Tommy John surgery in May, and they're optimistic about their recoveries.
“So far, so good,” said Venters, who has been long-tossing from 120 feet the past two weeks. “I couldn’t ask to feel any better. Ball’s coming out good, my arm feels ‘lifey.’”
Venters hasn’t thrown from the mound. Since it was the lefty’s second such surgery, he knows it could require a little longer than the usual rehab.
“I think the goal is a year,” he said. “But I think that they’re planning for a little more time just because it’s my second one. There’s no telling how it’ll respond. But as of right now, I’m on pace, and I think the program was a 12-month program.”
Floyd has thrown from the mound since early January, and his past four bullpen sessions have been 70-75 pitches. He threw 75 on Thursday that included change-ups, and he will mix in curveballs in his next session Sunday.
“I feel real positive about how things are coming along,” said Floyd, who went 0-4 with a 5.18 ERA in four starts for the White Sox last season before Tommy John and flexor-tendon surgery. “To be with a very competitive team, a new chapter, and excited to spend time with these guys and get to know them, and hopefully be a key to the success of this team.”
Fregosi in critical condition: Braves official Jim Fregosi, who suffered multiple strokes Sunday while on a Cayman Islands cruise, was reportedly in critical condition Thursday night after being taken off life support at a Miami hospital.
Fregosi was flown to Miami on Wednesday, after being kept in Grand Cayman for a few days as doctors tried to stabilize his condition. The Braves did not have an update on his condition Thursday, and MLB.com reported that a family spokesman said Fregosi was placed under sedation after being taken off life support.
Fregosi, 71, is a former All-Star shortstop and major league manager who has spent the past 13 years as a special assistant and top scout for the Braves. He was on a major league baseball alumni cruise when he became ill.
Etc.: To get to spring training, Braves catcher Gerald Laird drove 31 hours in three days from his home in Arizona. He had a new truck and said he wanted to drive it. … Closer Craig Kimbrel had a Derek Jeter jersey in his locker Thursday, which he plans to have signed this spring by the retiring Yankees shortstop. "I came prepared," Kimbrel said, smiling.
