The fifth spot in the Braves rotation has been a revolving door all season. It’s almost a miracle the Braves have been as good as they have been with so little production from the backend of their rotation.
Dylan Dodd and Jared Shuster received the first crack to begin the season, but both proved they were far from major-league ready. Michael Soroka and AJ Smith-Shawver flashed some of their high-end talents, but they were far too inconsistent to stay up as well. Yonny Chirinos… well, do I really have to say anything? After five piss-poor starts since he was picked up, he was placed on the IL yesterday in favor of Allan Winans.
Winans flashed some promise in his first two starts with the Braves, posting a 1.59 ERA, but last night painted the picture of why the Braves haven’t been eager to thrust him into a full-time role. The Mets got the better of him this time around, tagging him for seven earned runs over 4.1 innings. I still thought the Braves might give Winans another shot in five days, but after the game, he was optioned to Gwinnett. In a corresponding move, Jared Shuster has been added to the active roster.
The #Braves today recalled LHP Jared Shuster to Atlanta after optioning RHP Allan Winans to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night’s game.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 22, 2023
I have a feeling this is more of a procedural move than anything. Shuster hasn’t been great on the farm this season, posting a 5.77 ERA in Gwinnett over 13 starts. Last time out, he surrendered five earned runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. Shuster certainly hasn’t done anything to deserve to be next in line for a start, so he may just be a placeholder until another starter is needed.
Or perhaps the plan is to give Shuster another opportunity. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but I would be lying if I said I felt extremely confident in any of the Braves’ options.
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Photographer: Charles Brock/Icon Sportswire
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