NORTH PORT, Fla. – Throughout camp, left-hander Angel Perdomo was competing for a spot in the Braves’ opening-day bullpen.
That ended Monday, when the Braves traded Perdomo to the Angels – one of their common trade partners – for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Perdomo wasn’t going to make the team. And when that happened, the Braves would’ve needed to put him through waivers. Instead of doing that and losing him for nothing, they traded him to get at least something for him.
This leaves 35 players in camp – and the Braves must trim the roster to 26. It makes the bullpen picture clearer.
Perdomo is gone. On Sunday, the Braves reassigned left-hander Jake Diekman and right-hander Buck Farmer to minor-league camp.
Thus, nonroster invitees Enyel De Los Santos and Hector Neris are still in the mix, as is Daysbel Hernández. And Anderson Pilar, a Rule 5 pick, is still in major-league camp – though his recent performance might leave him behind the others.
The 6-foot-8 Perdomo is coming off Tommy John surgery. His velocity hadn’t been there consistently quite yet, but it’s possible that comes with more reps.
The Braves still have a competition for the starting rotation as camp winds down. Grant Holmes, Ian Anderson and AJ Smith-Shawver are the names to know. Holmes and Anderson are out of minor-league options, so the Braves would need to put them through waivers if they didn’t make the team. Smith-Shawver has options, but pitched really well in his last outing.
Anderson has a 2.65 ERA over 17 innings, but has 18 walks to only 18 strikeouts. He walked five over five innings on Monday.
Smith-Shawver has a 3.75 ERA through 12 innings. He allowed two runs over four innings in his last start, but struck out eight and walked none. He had electric stuff.
Holmes has a 1.76 ERA over 15 1/3 innings. He seems likely to make the rotation, especially because he began spring with a leg up after pitching well for the Braves last season.
This is also worth noting: The Braves could carry six starting pitchers to begin the season. Atlanta has seven straight games before its first off day, so having an extra starter on the roster gives the team extra length and the bullpen arms some protection.
At this moment, the Braves’ bullpen is as follows:
Raisel Iglesias, Pierce Johnson, Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer are locks. Hernández and De Los Santos seem likely to make it. If he continues throwing well, Neris could, too.
That’s seven of eight.
The eighth could be the sixth starting pitcher, whether that’s Anderson or Smith-Shawver. Or it could be someone else.
But it won’t be Perdomo.
He found a home with the Angels, who are led by general manager Perry Minasian – Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos’ former lieutenant.
