In the grand scheme of the 2013 season — with all the home runs and strikeouts, the rise of Evan Gattis and loss of relievers Eric O’Flaherty and Jonny Venters — the Braves will remember a line drive off Kris Medlen’s left calf as a turning point.
When Medlen left Wednesday night’s loss to Toronto after two innings, the Braves’ best-laid plans, two weeks of roster maneuvering and some finger-crossing gave way. The Braves had to add another arm to their bullpen and called up dynamic left-handed prospect Alex Wood late Wednesday night, setting off a chain reaction of decisions.
On Thursday afternoon, they made the roster move they delayed for almost a month since Brian McCann returned from shoulder surgery and designated third baseman Juan Francisco for assignment, effectively giving Chris Johnson the everyday third base job. While they were at it, manager Fredi Gonzalez shook up his lineup Thursday afternoon, too. He benched struggling B.J. Upton, Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward for the first time in the same game this season.
The typical early-June roster reassessing came early, and Thursday had the feel of a crossroads.
“It’s a good workable roster,” Gonzalez said. “Now we need to get all nine guys, or 12 guys, hitting .300.”
He knows that’s not likely to happen, especially with three star players batting under .200 in Upton (.146), Heyward (.152), and Uggla (.186). Gonzalez doesn’t have to look far down the stat sheet to justify his changes though, going with Gattis, Jordan Schafer and Ramiro Pena instead.
“I suspect those guys are upset,” Gonzalez said of the usual starters. “And that’s good to see also. You don’t want a guy who’s happy about not playing, but we’ve got to look at ourselves and say you know what? The other guys are doing pretty good, too. I think in the long run the guys that are not playing today will be there. We’ll win a championship with those guys.”
Gonzalez didn’t specify how long he’ll keep those bats on the bench, and when asked of Upton in particular, said “I haven’t put a timetable on it. I think our No. 1 goal is to get him straightened out.”
One thing that is clear now though is that Johnson’s role just expanded at third base. And he has the numbers to justify that as well. Johnson entered Thursday’s game with a .346 batting average, tops on the team, as well as with 15 multi-hit games.
Johnson said he’ll keep the same mindset he’s had all along — to play within himself.
“That’s what I’ve done since Day 1, even with the platoon,” Johnson said. “Not trying to outshine anybody, not trying to do more than I can do. I’m going out there and trying to help the team win and get on base and let some of these big boys drive me in and play the best defense that I can.”
Francisco continued to struggle despite mechanical adjustments the Braves have tried to implement since last season. After hitting a grand slam May 8 in Cincinnati, Francisco was 5-for-33 (.152) with 15 strikeouts.
Francisco has enticing power — and showed it with five tape-measure home runs this season — which gives the Braves reason to believe they’ll be able to trade him. They have 10 days to try to trade him, ask outright waivers or release him.
By the time general manager Frank Wren went to meet with Francisco in Gonzalez’s office Thursday afternoon, he’d received text messages from several other clubs continuing conversations Wren said began within the past week.
Shortly after that meeting, Francisco was greeted by hugs and well-wishes from teammates in the Braves’ clubhouse. There was probably also a sense of relief for players such as Gerald Laird and Reed Johnson, who don’t have to wonder if they’ll be traded instead.
The Braves have been holding off on such a decision, knowing they wanted to keep Gattis despite having two other catchers. By also keeping Laird, Gonzalez is that much more secure to use Gattis to pinch-hit.
“The other manager is going ‘Oh man, when is Gattis coming up?” Gonzalez said. “When are you going to pop him?”
The Braves have been roster shuffling since McCann and Heyward came off the disabled list. They managed going short in the bullpen for two weeks without much issue, despite losing O’Flaherty and Venters to season-ending operations in a six-day span and enduring three extra-inning games, one suspended game, and four rain delays.
But after the bullpen had to cover seven innings Wednesday, Gonzalez got his wish to call up Wood, a pitcher he’s coveted since spring training.
This time last year, the Braves were about to draft Wood in the second round out of Georgia. He’s done nothing but impress since, using his unorthodox delivery and mid-90s fastball to rise through the minor league ranks.
“He’s the guy that’s pitching the best for us down in the minor leagues really,” Gonzalez said. “And it’s always good to pitch real good when the general manager is watching down there.”
Wren saw Wood pitch six strong innings for Double-A Mississippi and called Gonzalez afterward to tell him how much he liked what he saw. Wood was 4-2 with a 1.26 ERA in his 10 starts, allowing two or fewer earned runs in nine starts and three earned runs in the other.
Wren had said two weeks ago the Braves didn’t want to disrupt Wood’s development. But like other young Braves before him, the 22-year-old Wood changed some minds.
“This organization has done that with a lot of guys,” Gonzalez said. “(Freddie) Freeman, (Andrelton) Simmons, Heyward, coming out of spring training. (Luis) Avilan last year. Woody this year. We go on and on. If they can help you win in the big leagues, bring them up.”
