Notes: Ynoa's strong spring; roster moves

While increasing the confidence the Braves have in their pitching depth, Huascar Ynoa has extended the value Atlanta managed to gain from Jaime García.

Ynoa furthered his roster bid with the three-plus-inning effort he provided in an 8-5 win over the Twins on Friday afternoon at CenturyLink Sports Park. The Braves right-hander pitched around a couple of jams before showing signs of fatigue during Minnesota’s five-run fourth.

After the Twins loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth, Ynoa was lifted in favor of Phil Pfeifer, who retired just three of the six batters he faced.

“I don’t think it was fatigue,” Ynoa said through an interpreter. “I just missed with a couple pitches. I have a feeling the next outing will be better.”

Ynoa allowed six earned runs over the 5 1/3 innings completed in his previous two outings. But it should be noted that each of those runs has been tallied as he has increased his endurance within the final scheduled inning of both outings.

“The first three innings were outstanding,” manager Brian Snitker said. “I kind of dwell more on that than the next inning.”

This most recent outing against the Twins pitted Ynoa against his former organization. He was with Minnesota before the Braves acquired him in the trade that sent García to Minnesota before the 2017 Trade Deadline.

With Ynoa, Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson, the Braves have three candidates to fill the rotation spot reserved for Mike Soroka, who will likely miss at least a couple weeks while recovering from right Achilles surgery.

Because of a couple early off-days, there is a chance the Braves will open the season with a four-man rotation. In that case, there’s a chance Ynoa, Wilson or Wright could be placed on the roster to serve as a long reliever until a fifth starter is needed.

Time will tell which role fits best for Ynoa. He posted a 8.53 ERA in five starts (12 2/3 innings) and produced a 2.00 ERA over four relief appearances (nine innings) last year.

“I don’t know where he’s going to fit,” Snitker said. “We’re continuing to get him stretched out. He’s absolutely right in the mix with everybody.”

Roster moves
The Braves removed 24 players from big league camp on Friday morning. Right-handed reliever Vìctor Arano appeared to be the only member of this group who may have been considered by some to be a potential Opening Day roster candidate.

Arano arrived in camp late because of visa issues and has allowed four runs over two innings in Grapefruit League games. The veteran pitcher posted a 2.63 ERA in 60 appearances for the Phillies in 2018. But he made just three appearances in 2019 before undergoing right elbow surgery.

Arano, left-hander Tucker Davidson, right-hander Jasseel De La Cruz, left-hander Kyle Muller, right-hander Chad Sobotka and right-hander Patrick Weigel were the 40-man roster members optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

The non-roster members reassigned to Minor League camp were infielder CJ Alexander, infielder Bryce Ball, catcher Logan Brown, left-hander Thomas Burrows, outfielder Justin Dean, outfielder Travis Demeritte, outfielder Michael Harris II, outfielder Trey Harris, right-hander Daysbel Hernández, right-hander Kurt Hoekstra, right-hander Connor Johnstone, right-hander Nolan Kingham, left-hander Pfeifer, infielder Braden Shewmake, right-hander Freddy Tarnok, right-hander Victor Vodnik, outfielder Drew Waters and right-hander William Woods.

Waters remains one of the game’s top prospects, and Harris could soon earn that same distinction. Both could continue to see playing time in big league Spring Training games when needed.

Determined participant
Sean Kazmar Jr. will likely soon begin what could be a successful career as a coach or executive in the baseball world. But the 36-year-old is first planning to spend at least one more season in the Braves organization.

Including his decisive three-run homer in Friday’s win, Kazmar is 5-for-8 with a double and two homers this spring. His most recent appearance in a big league game occurred on Sept. 23, 2008. The first basemen in that Padres-Dodgers contest were Adrian Gonzalez and Nomar Garciaparra. This was obviously long before Gonzalez played the first of six seasons for Los Angeles.

Kazmar’s passion to play has endeared him to Snitker, who managed the infielder at Triple-A Gwinnett from 2014-16.

“Kaz is the MVP of camp every year,” Snitker said. “He’s a great guy to have in your organization.”