MLB Team Report – Atlanta Braves – INSIDE PITCH
Jonny Venters has avoided elbow surgery at least for the moment, but his extended absence from the Braves bullpen is sure to increase the role of fellow left-hander Luis Avilan.
Off his performance in the Braves’ season-opening 7-5 victory over Philadelphia on Monday night, the native of Venezuela appears capable of handling the extra responsibility.
Avilan, 23, got a big strikeout of Ryan Howard and left the bases loaded in the fifth inning after relieving starter Tim Hudson, then pitched a scoreless sixth. “(He) did a terrific job,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Now Avilan’s appearances will likely come later in games as he and right-hander Jordan Walden try to make up for the absence of Venters.
Venters received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his ailing elbow from Dr. James Andrews in Florida on Tuesday and will be shut down for four weeks before starting a throwing program.
At best, Venters will likely be sidelined until late May or early June. An MRI of his elbow on Monday was inconclusive, according to Braves general manager Frank Wren.
For now, the diagnosis is still a sprain and the Braves hope that the inflammation will be taken care of by the PRP injection and rest. Dr. Andrews performed Tommy John elbow surgery on Venters in 2005 when the pitcher was in the minors.
Venters, 28, had to leave a Grapefruit League game against Detroit on March 26. The good news was that he didn’t hear a pop and that is often the case with a ligament tear.
Since joining the Braves in 2010, Venters has appeared in 230 games. The only pitcher with more appearances is Cincinnati’s Sean Marshall with 231.
Venters posted a 1.59 ERA over 164 appearances in his first two seasons, but struggled early last season before going on the disabled list. He finished with a 5-4 record and 3.33 ERA in 66 games.
Avilan was a pleasant surprise for the Braves last season after being promoted from Class AA Mississippi in early July. He appeared in 31 games and was 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA and had 33 strikeouts to 10 walks in 36 innings.
NEXT GAME: Braves starter Paul Maholm had a good spring and closed it strong. The left-hander was 4-1 with a 1.53 ERA in seven starts and didn’t allow an earned run in his final 24 2/3 innings over five Grapefruit League outings.
The 30-year-old is starting the middle game of the opening three-game series against the Phillies because Gonzalez wanted to alternate right-handers and left-handers in the first four spots of the rotation. Hudson started the opener and Kris Medlen will pitch the series finale against the Phillies.
Maholm was acquired by the Braves from the Chicago Cubs before the July trade deadline last season and finished a combined 13-11 with a 3.67 ERA. He was 4-5 with a 3.54 ERA in 11 starts for the Braves.
Maholm is 4-2 with a 5.16 ERA in nine career starts against the Phillies.
All eyes, meanwhile, will be on Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay. And not just because he’s a win shy of reaching the 200-victory milestone.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner, who will make $20 million this year, struggled last season and again this spring. Is he healthy? Has age caught up with him? Can he return to the pitcher he once was? So far, there are more questions than answers.
Halladay, who turns 36 in May, fell off to 11 victories last season as his ERA jumped to 4.49 and he did nothing to indicate he was ready to bounce back during his Grapefruit League outings, posting a 6.06 ERA.
If the Phillies are to contend in the National League East, they need Halladay to at least come close to the pitcher he was when he went a combined 40-16 with an ERA under 2.50 in 2010-11.
Halladay, who was 0-2 with an 11.21 ERA in four starts against the Braves a year ago, has a career record of 199-100. He is 4-3 with a 4.21 ERA in 11 games versus Atlanta.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Atlanta Braves – NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 1-0
STREAK: Won opener.
–1B Freddie Freeman picked up in the opener just where he had left off in spring training. He was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. He hit .342 with seven homers and 16 RBI in Grapefruit League play. “I think the sky is the limit for him,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
–LHP Jonny Venters (left elbow sprain) will be shut down for four weeks and isn’t expected to pitch again until late May or early June. He had to leave a spring game against the Tigers on March 26 and received a platelet-rich plasma injection from Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday after an MRI was inconclusive. He went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27.
–3B Juan Francisco, a left-handed hitter, will start Wednesday’s game against Phillies RHP Roy Halladay as Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez starts the season with a straight platoon. Chris Johnson started the opener against LHP Cole Hamels. Johnson, who had a double and single, and Francisco both swung hot bats in spring training. Johnson hit .361 with three homers and 12 RBI, while Francisco batted .333 with six homers and 14 RBI.
–C Brian McCann will take batting practice and continue working on his throwing during the series with the Phillies, then return to Florida to continue his rehab from surgery on his right shoulder last October. He won’t be cleared for full game action until at least April 16 and will need a minor league rehab before rejoining the Braves, likely around May 1.
–C Gerald Laird, filling in for ailing Brian McCann, had two hits and a RBI in the opener.
–RF Jason Heyward has inherited the prime locker spot of 3B Chipper Jones, who retired after 19 seasons with the Braves and is a future Hall of Famer. “I was kind of pushed into here a little bit,” Heyward said. “Somebody was going to have to take it.” In a changing of the guard on the Braves, that area of the locker room now houses the new Braves outfield, with B.J. and Justin Upton next to Heyward. Jones had inherited his locker spot from John Smoltz.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’ve got guys one through eight (in the order) who can really swing the bats.” — Manager Fredi Gonzalez, after the Braves hit three home runs in their season-opening 7-5 victory Monday.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Atlanta Braves – ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
–LHP Jonny Venters (left elbow sprain) will be shut down for four weeks and isn’t expected to pitch again until late May or early June. He had to leave a spring game against the Tigers on March 26 and received a platelet-rich plasma injection from Dr. James Andrews on April 2 after an MRI was inconclusive. He went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27.
–C Brian McCann (right shoulder surgery in October 2012) had a frayed labrum repaired and a cyst removed. He went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. McCann won’t be cleared for a minor league rehab until at least April 16 and likely will miss most of the first month. He will take batting practice and continue working on his throwing during the series with the Phillies, then return to Florida to continue his rehab from surgery on his right shoulder last October.
–RHP Brandon Beachy (Tommy John surgery in June 2012) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. He hopes to be ready to return to the rotation by late June. He has had no setbacks, and he likely will begin a minor league rehab in late May.
–SS Paul Janish (left shoulder surgery in October 2012) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. He will begin a minor league rehab around April 8. He didn’t get into any spring game action only because he wasn’t allowed to dive.
ROTATION:
RHP Tim Hudson
LHP Paul Maholm
RHP Kris Medlen
LHP Mike Minor
RHP Julio Teheran
BULLPEN:
RHP Craig Kimbrel (closer)
LHP Eric O’Flaherty
RHP Jordan Walden
LHP Luis Avilan
RHP Cory Gearrin
RHP Cristhian Martinez
RHP Anthony Vavaro
CATCHERS:
Gerald Laird
Paul Gattis
INFIELDERS:
1B Freddie Freeman
2B Dan Uggla
SS Andrelton Simmons
3B Chris Johnson/Juan Francisco
INF Ramiro Pena
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Justin Upton
CF B.J. Upton
RF Jason Heyward
OF Reed Johnson
OF Jordan Schafer
