WASHINGTON -- The Braves have released left-hander Brett DeVall, the 40th overall pick of the 2008 draft. He has had elbow issues, and the Braves believed he was moving in reverse in his development.
DeVall, 21, was 7-9 with a 4.39 ERA in 19 starts at Class-A Rome last season, his second year at that level. He has a career record of 11-13 with a 3.92 ERA in 33 games (32 starts) in three seasons, including a short season in the Gulf Coast rookie league.
He has 119 strikeouts with 44 walks and 188 hits allowed in 170 career innings.
Braves acquire Lemon
The Braves acquired Texas Rangers minor league utility player Marcus Lemon, 22, in a trade for a player to be named later. The son of former All-Star center fielder Chet Lemon, he hasn't played above Double-A and won't be on the 40-man roster.
A fourth-round pick in 2006, Lemon was strictly a shortstop until he began playing some outfield and second base in 2009.
He has played four-plus seasons of minor-league ball and spent the past two at Double-A Frisco, where he hit .271 with a .355 on-base percentage in 111 games last season and had 22 doubles, four triples, three homers, 40 RBIs and seven steals in 14 attempts.
Kimbrel a strikeout machine
Braves rookie closer Craig Kimbrel struck out two of three Washington Nationals batters in the ninth inning Thursday, giving him 42 strikeouts with 16 walks in 21 1/3 innings over two major-league seasons. He has a 0.42 career ERA and nine hits allowed.
That does not include his seven strikeouts with no walks and one hit allowed in 4 1/3 innings during last year's division series, when he pitched in all four games against San Francisco.
Kimbrel's 17.4 strikeouts per nine innings during the 2010 regular season was the highest in major league history for any pitcher with a minimum of 20 innings.
