Three Cuts: Braves' Freeman offers relief after scare, but questions about wrist remain
Freddie Freeman's wrist, a veteran rotation option is cast off and Dian Toscano makes an appearance as we take three cuts following another week of Grapefruit League action.
"It's not my wrist." That was the message two-time All-Star first baseman gave reporters Saturday, one day after he created a scare with an early exit against the Phillies.
A checked swing caused discomfort on his right hand between his thumb and index finger, and as a precautionary measure, Freeman left the game. The initial thought was that he may have re-aggravated the injury that plagued him from mid-June on last season, but he alleviated some concerns as the latest issue proved to be short-lived.
"I knew right away that it was the top of my hand and everything was good," Freeman told reporters. "The wrist is fine. It's stable and it's still there. I feel great. I was just a little scared, and I apologize for that."
Still, it underscores just how fragile this situation is.
He would go on to say that he believed it was likely created by some scar tissue, which led to discomfort last season after he returned from a disabled-list stint and resulted in his receiving a cortisone injection. But Freeman has actually been dealing with this issue since 2009, when he was shut down for the end of the Double-A season. As he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's David O'Brien in a February Q&A, "Every year I usually get a cortisone shot at the end of the year and I'm good."
While he admits he was dealing with two different injuries this time -- one on the top of the list and another on the left side -- he again opted not to have surgery despite the injury limiting him to a career-low 118 games.
A cautious approach is understandable for the franchise's cornerstone this spring, but until Freeman strings together games -- something he has said he may do beginning this week against the Cardinals -- this is going to be worth monitoring.
He's stressed a desire to play 162 games again, which he did in 2014 and, at the time of his injury last June held MLB's active games played streak. What remains to be seen, even with Freeman alleviating fears, is whether the wrist will allow him to.
... and the first man out of the running is Kyle Kendrick (followed by Tyrell Jenkins), who was given his unconditional release among Saturday's roster moves.
It's a bit of a surprise from the vibe surrounding the nine-year veteran entering spring training, but the 31-year-old right-hander was disastrous. He gave up 14 hits and 10 runs (nine earned) in 3 2/3 innings, with a final outing that saw him burned for four doubles among the nine hits he yielded to his former team, the Phillies.
Fredi Gonzalez loves his veterans in the rotation -- hence the inclusion of down-on-their-luck options like Freddy Garcia, Aaron Harang, Trevor Cahill and Eric Stults in the past three seasons -- and there was a level of comfort with Kendrick, who made 26 appearances against the Braves, 14 of which came in Turner Field. But any belief that pitching coach Roger McDowell could get Kendrick back on track after a horrendous season in Colorado that included an MLB-high 33 home runs and an National League-high 100 earned runs faded.
The Braves are certain to have Julio Teheran, Bud Norris and Matt Wisler in the initial rotation, and with no use of a fifth starter until April 12, due to two off days in the first full week of the season, really only need one other starter since that is left hander Manny Banuelos' targeted return date. Williams Perez (7-6 with a 4.78 ERA in 23 games in '15) remains a contender, but with Kendrick out the top choice of veteran is Jhoulys Chacin.
The 28-year-old righty has been sharp in allowing zero runs on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk in five innings, and in subscribing to Gonzalez's penchant for veterans, it would be no surprise to see Chacin get a shot. He could, at the very least, help to lower the workload on young arms, but with so much young talent -- including Jenkins, the organization's 12th-ranked prospect and who was sent to Triple-A Gwinnett for more seasoning, but should make his MLB debut this year -- would the Braves be delaying the inevitable by not getting their prized prospects crucial chances?
That's the No. 1 question facing Atlanta's brain trust in the development of its young arms, and it's one that will linger well beyond the Grapefruit League season.
The intrigue surrounding Dian Toscano has largely been about his visa issues, as the Cuban defector had to sit out the 2015 season waiting on clearance to even get into United States. But he and the Braves provided real, concrete evidence of him in Friday's split-squad game against the Phillies -- and did so with a move that reeked of coincidence.
The 27-year-old outfielder -- who signed a four-year, $6 million free-agent contract in 2014 -- was removed from Atlanta's 40-man roster this past December to free up room for catcher Tyler Flowers. When he was moved into the lineup against Philadelphia, he was doing so to fill the spot left by ... Tyler Flowers.
The catcher was scratched with a sore hamstring and in stepped Toscano, going1-for-4 with a base hit and a pair of strikeouts. It was little more than giving him an opportunity, especially with his Triple-A manager Brian Snitker on the bench while Gonzalez managed the Braves' other split-squad team against the Cardinals.
Toscano has never been projected as more than a back up or platoon outfielder, and last played in Cuba's highest league, Serie Nacional in 2012 (hitting .300 over five seasons), but at least we're finally getting a glimpse of a player who -- for reasons out of his control -- hadn't been able to show his worth to the organization more than a year after signing.
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His book, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' comes out April 12, 2016.
