Five additional players were sent to minor league camp as part of the roster changes that the Atlanta Braves revealed yesterday night.
There are now 45 players on the roster after two pitchers and three utility infielders were transferred from major league training to minor league camp, where games have already begun.
Alejo López, Phillip Evans, Leury García, and right-handed pitchers Grant Holmes and Jake Walsh were all reassigned.
With almost 700 MLB games under his belt and a background playing all three outfield positions, shortstop, second base, and other positions, García was perhaps the most influential of the five. García, a longtime player with the Chicago White Sox, had a lifetime batting average of.253 in the major leagues.
As a member of the Gwinnett bullpen in 2023, Holmes was the second most probable MLB candidate. He might be used in Atlanta this season for low-leverage relief work. The 27-year-old, who only threw in relief in 50 games for Gwinnett, recorded seven victories and 13 saves in 62 innings. With only 26 walks and 5 home runs, he struck out 74 batters.
Both players, however, were unable to overcome the current roster options that were ahead of them. García was positioned below Andrew Velazquez and David Fletcher in the infield hierarchy, and Holmes always faced a difficult assignment in a Braves bullpen that already had five locks among its eight places.
And it will only get harder to get into the lineup because major leaguers will start playing later in games than they typically leave in the fifth inning following Wednesday’s off day.
