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The Braves announced a series of roster moves Monday, reinstating catcher Sean Murphy from the injured list and recalling outfielder J.P. Martínez. In corresponding moves, outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was placed on the 10-day injured list and infielder Joey Wendle was designated for assignment.
Wendle, 34, was just signed three days ago to serve as a depth infielder for the club. However, Atlanta was delivered a devastating blow yesterday when Acuña tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2024 season.
With Acuña out of the picture, Atlanta was left with just Michael Harris II, Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall for the outfield. They have recalled Martínez today to give them a fourth outfielder, which quickly nudged Wendle off the roster shortly after being added.
Atlanta will now have a week to trade Wendle or pass him through waivers. The Mets are on the hook for the majority of his $2M salary since they released him last week. That means any club that brings him aboard would only have to pay the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Mets pay.
Wendle has had some good years as a solid bat who can competently play multiple positions, but he’s been in a rough skid at the plate for a while now. He hit just .259/.297/.360 in 2022 for a wRC+ of 84 and has been even worse since then. Dating back to the start of 2023, he’s hit .213/.247/.300 for a wRC+ of just 47.
But he’s still capable of bouncing around the diamond, with experience at the three infield positions to the left of first base and the outfield corners. Even without much offensive output, he’s capable of being a glove-first bench piece. He also hit .275/.330/.416 from 2017 to 2021, 106 wRC+, which could lend some hope to a bounceback at the plate.
For the moment, Atlanta’s roster depth is tenuous, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if further moves were coming.
Murphy’s activation gives the club three catchers, alongside Travis d’Arnaud and Chadwick Tromp. The club could have optioned Tromp to the minors but perhaps felt that would have left them thin behind the plate.
Murphy is just returned from missing around two months due to an oblique strain while d’Arnaud missed some time this week after taking a foul ball to the mask and experiencing some dizziness. Perhaps the Braves opted to keep Tromp around while they make sure both Murphy and d’Arnaud are healthy enough to play regularly.
In the meantime, that leaves them with no real backup infielder. Austin Riley hasn’t played in about two weeks due to some side soreness, but the club hasn’t placed him on the injured list. That has forced Zack Short to step in as the regular third baseman.
As of now, Atlanta’s bench consists of Riley, two catchers and one outfielder, at least until Riley is able to return. Perhaps Tromp will be optioned out for another infielder shortly, or Riley will return to the lineup and nudge Short back to the bench.
How the club decides to play the outfield will also be interesting to monitor. Kelenic and Duvall have been in a platoon this year, since Kelenic is a lefty who hits better against righties and Duvall is the opposite. Kelenic has hit .220/.298/.401 against righties in his career but just .189/.254/.309 against lefties, leading to respective wRC+ numbers of 96 and 60. Duvall has hit .235/.307/.474 against southpaws and .230/.285/.468 otherwise, producing respective wRC+ tallies of 104 and 95. With Acuña’s injury, they will likely give regular playing time to those two, with Martínez in the fourth outfielder role.
The 28-year-old Martínez was acquired from the Rangers in January. He has a line of .265/.337/.394 in Triple-A this year, 90 wRC+, stealing 14 bases in 20 tries. Double-digit steal totals have been a regular feature for him for a long time, including 41 in the minors last year. He also hit .298/.418/.543 in Triple-A last year, for a 133 wRC+, but hasn’t maintained that here in 2024.
Like Kelenic, Martínez hits from the left side and has been better against righties this year. He has a .260/.348/.415 line against righties and .277/.306/.340 against southpaws this season.
More must-reads:
- Braves reinstate C Sean Murphy from injured list
- Three hitters Braves should target after losing Ronald Acuna Jr.
- The 'Atlanta Braves retired numbers' quiz
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Chicago Cubs eyeing familiar closer with 107 career saves
The Chicago Cubs are going to be buyers at this year’s trade deadline, which is July 31. While third base is an obvious area of need, they also reportedly are looking at strengthening their bullpen. One player they have had an eye on, both now and in the past, is Kyle Finnegan. Recent reports have re-tied Kyle Finnegan to the Chicago Cubs Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic recently reported that Kyle Finnegan is one player that the Cubs have their eye on. Chicago has been tied to him in the past, as they expressed interest in him over the off-season. Additionally, before the emergence of Daniel Palencia, they were urged to trade for him earlier in the season. How would Kyle Finnegan fit into the Cubs bullpen? Throughout his Nationals career, Finnegan, a right-handed closer, has racked up 107 saves since 2021 and has a career 3.68 ERA. This year, his results have not been as good as previous seasons, evidenced by a 4.62 ERA, however he does have 19 saves and his experience in high-leverage situations would be beneficial in a post season match up. Finnegan is slated to become a free agent at the end of the season, meaning a trade to acquire him likely wouldn’t require a significant prospect haul. His addition wouldn’t necessarily push Daniel Palencia out of the closer role, but instead, he could slot into a setup role alongside Ryan Pressly. For manager Craig Counsell, it would simply add another dependable arm to an already strong bullpen, providing more flexibility in high-leverage situations. As the deadline draws closer, Finnegan could emerge as a realistic and impactful target to bolster the late-inning mix.
WNBA All-Star Game ratings paint a troubling picture
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Tyrann Mathieu retirement highlights compelling Hall of Fame case
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