Veteran right-hander Jhoulys Chacin is set to join the Braves’ rotation after he pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.
Chacin is scheduled to start at the Nationals on Tuesday. He began the season at Gwinnett in spite of a strong spring performance because the Braves had two off days within the first four and thus didn’t need more than three starters until Saturday.
The Braves signed Chacin to a minor-league contract in January with the hope he could return to form after shoulder problems hampered him over the past two seasons. In 21 innings pitched in the Grapefruit League Chacin had a 3.00 ERA with 28 hits allowed, 16 strikeouts and eight walks.
“I thought he dealt,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He was good. For us he had the club made, we just had to work out that fourth, fifth starter situation. You always worry about those guys when you say, ‘Hey, you are the fifth starter and you are going to pitch on the 12th.’ At least he went down there (in the minors) and pitched like a major league starter.”
Chacin, 28, has a 3.76 ERA in 129 career games (113 starts) and 698 2/3 innings. He appeared in five games (four starts) with the Diamondbacks last season and was 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA over 26 2/3 innings.
The Braves will have to make a move when they add Chacin to the roster, most likely reducing the bullpen by one pitcher after carrying an extra (eighth) reliever during the first week.
