The Braves are still optimistic reliever A.J. Minter will be ready for opening day, despite the left-hander not having pitched since March 1.
Minter, 25, has been shelved during spring training because of shoulder soreness he attributed to a car accident. He’s set to resume throwing around Saturday, according to general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
“Because he’s a reliever and we’re building him up to throw an inning, we have time,” Anthopoulos said. “So he’s scheduled to throw on the 16th or so. Assuming he feels good, we can progress and move fast after that. The fact these guys were already up and throwing in games, as long as there’s not too much downtime, they can get back up and going. Right now we’re optimistic. It’s a day-to-day thing.”
The Tyler, Texas, native will be needed at the backend of the Braves’ bullpen. The team plans to use Minter and Arodys Vizcaino as matchup-based closers again. Minter, in his first full season, saved 15 games and produced a 3.23 ERA across 65 games.
