The Braves have announced several roster moves in advance of today’s Rule 5 protection deadline. Infielder Braden Shewmake as well as right-handers Roddery Munoz and Darius Vines have been added to the club’s 40-man roster. In corresponding moves, outfielder Guillermo Heredia as well as right-handers William Woods and Silvino Bracho were designated for assignment.
Heredia’s DFA should come as little surprise, given that he was an obvious non-tender candidate on the heels of a .158/.220/.342 showing in 82 plate appearances with the Braves this season. While the 31-year-old can handle all three outfield spots and has at times looked the part of a solid, short-side platoon player in his seven-year Major League career, he’s never shed the part-time player label and owns just a .231/.310/.346 batting line in 1566 career plate appearances.
Woods, 23, tossed a pair of scoreless innings in his big league debut this season but was torched for a 6.04 ERA in 25 1/3 innings across three minor league levels as well. The former 23rd-rounder also gave up a dozen runs in 12 2/3 innings during this year’s Arizona Fall League.
Bracho was acquired from the Red Sox for cash over the summer and surrendered three runs in 4 1/3 innings for the Braves. The longtime D-backs righty posted a strong 2.67 ERA in 57 1/3 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for Boston and Atlanta, including a particularly impressive 70-to-10 K/BB ratio. The Braves would’ve had to pay him slightly north of the big league minimum as an arb-eligible player, however, and Bracho’s status as a journeyman who’s thrown just 5 1/3 Major League innings since 2018 — in part due to Tommy John surgery — always left him as a likely non-tender candidate.
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