The Atlanta Braves have made changes to the bullpen following a crushing loss 11-10 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. One perplexing move was the decision to designate Scott Blewett for assignment.
He quite literally lived up to his name on Sunday. He allowed five earned runs in 1 1/3 innings pitched en route to the Braves blowing a 10-4 lead. It was bad, but he had a 2.25 ERA heading into the day. His last six outings had been scoreless. Yet, he’s off a Major League roster for the third time this season and not for lack of overall performance.
Shuffling the bullpen and addressing the issue is a great starting point. Calling up Craig Kimbrel and Dylan Dodd is a good first step. However, the decision to move on from Blewett wasn’t the best.
If Blewett shouldn’t have been the odd man out, then somebody else would have to go to make room for Kimbrel on the 40-man. Rafael Montero should have been who the Braves moved on from. His start to his Braves tenure was great with three scoreless appearances. Since then, he’s had a 6.43 ERA in 16 appearances. In his most recent outing on Friday, he allowed three runs putting what was a close game out of reach.
Between the two pitchers, even if both pitchers have had rough outings, Blewett has been the better pitcher overall.
The only justification for keeping him around is money. The Braves are paying him $2,996,237 this season, and they might not want to pay him to sit on the couch. Meanwhile, Blewett is making league minimum and is still pre-arbitration.
It’s an understandable argument went the contract is steep, but at this cost, it’s worth biting the bullet. It’s a relatively small price to pay in order to have the team in the best position to win ballgames.
Credit where it’s due for changes. However, the Braves are in a position right now where each move needs to be as calculated as possible.
