Braves reliever Josh Ravin was designated for assignment Saturday and replaced by right-hander Miguel Socolovich, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Gwinnett.
The impetus for the move was not performance but circumstances – the Braves wanted a fresh reliever capable of going multiple innings if needed Saturday night, and Ravin wouldn’t have been available after working the final two innings of Friday’s 12-inning, 5-3 loss to the Mets.
“It wasn’t performance, it was needs -- that’s all that (move) was right there,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Ravin was activated from the disabled list earlier Friday after missing 2-1/2 weeks with a viral infection.
“We were going to use Josh as the so-called ‘long guy,’” Snitker said. “He’s a guy who’d been stretched out a little bit, then we use him up (Friday). You hate to do that (designate him), but it’s just something that if anything happens tonight we need to have someone here to cover (innings). Now it gives us Soco, and Jesse (Biddle) is gassed up pretty good, too, I think he can go multiples also, if need be.”
Socolovich was with the Braves on March 30-April 2 and pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts against the Phillies on March 31 in his only appearance.
If Ravin passes through waivers unclaimed by another team, the Braves could send him back to Triple-A.
The big right-hander got out of a two-runners-on, no-outs jam in the 11th inning Friday, after the leadoff hitter drew a walk and Todd Frazier reached on an error. Ravin retired the next three batters on a pop-up, fly-out and strikeout.
But he couldn’t escape another jam in the 12th inning after hitting Mets reliever Robert Gsellman with a pitch to start the inning, the ball grazing his jersey rather than body but an HBP nonetheless.
One sacrifice bunt and one pop-up later, Yoenis Cespedes singled home Gsellman with the go-ahead run, and the Mets added an insurance run when Asdrubel Cabrera doubled off the right-field wall against Ravin.
“I thought Josh did a good job,” Snitker said. “Got out of the one inning, got us in (the dugout), gave us another chance to win. We just couldn’t take advantage of the situation.”
The Braves went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position Friday, including Preston Tucker’s strikeout with two runners on base to end the 11th inning.
