The Atlanta Braves have outrighted two pitchers to Triple-A Gwinnett: Right-hander Davis Daniel and right-hander Carlos Carrasco.
Instead of accepting his assignment, Carrasco has opted for free agency.
The veteran starter’s short stint with the Braves organization officially comes to an end. The Braves picked him up in a trade ahead of the deadline from the Yankees to bolster the rotation as options ran thin due to injuries.
He made three starts for the Braves. The first was respectable, with three earned runs allowed over six innings pitched. That’s, by the literal definition, a quality start. Unfortunately for him, that was the peak of his tenure. He allowed six earned runs in each of the following two starts.
In the third and final start, when the Braves played the Mets back on Wednesday, he was run out of the game after just two innings. While the Braves were able to mount a comeback and win 11-6, they had seen enough.
The following day, he was designated for assignment, and reliever Hunter Stratton was brought in to bolster the bullpen.
With the recent emergence of Hurston Waldrep, his emergency services simply weren’t needed anymore. The Braves now have five starters, and Chris Sale is expected to be back soon, which will require another rotation arm to be moved out to make room.
The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner is set to make his second rehab start on Sunday. He’ll be back before the end of the month, even if he were to require a third rehab outing to get things back in order.
Daniel has been back in the minors for some time. The Braves optioned him back to Gwinnett on July 23. He had one solid start for the team, followed by one that couldn’t get much worse.
In his first start, he pitched for innings and allowed an earned run. It was an outing adequate enough to earn him another go around. Next, he allowed five earned runs over five innings of work.
It’s an outing that gets you sent back to Triple-A and has a team seek other options.
With these moves, the status of the rotation for the remainder of the season is becoming clearer. By the end of the month, the rotation should consist of Sale, Waldrep, Joey Wentz, Spencer Strider and either Elder or Fedde.
The need to consistently plug holes to get to the end of the season should be less of an issue, but as we’ve learned with this team, you never know what can happen.
