Atlanta Braves Clippings Monday, June 29, 2020 Braves.com Braves set player pool; 4 spots remain By Mark Bowman ATLANTA -- Less than three weeks after being drafted, Jared Shuster was placed in the 60-man player pool the Braves submitted to Major League Baseball on Sunday afternoon. Shuster is not expected to make his MLB debut this year. But his inclusion on this list creates the opportunity for him to spend the next couple of months working out with some of the top members of the Braves’ development staff. First and foremost, these 60-man player pools were designed for teams to designate which members of their organization will be eligible for the 60-game regular season, which is slated to begin on July 23 or 24. But with a Minor League season this year seeming unlikely, teams also chose to fill some of these spots with their top prospects. The Braves’ pool actually includes each of their top 12 prospects (per MLB Pipeline’s rankings). But only two or three of those prospects has a shot of being added to Atlanta’s active roster at some point this year. The members of this prospect group who could be used by Atlanta this year include outfielders Cristian Pache and Drew Waters, right-handers Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson, Jasseel De La Cruz and Huascar Ynoa, and left-handers Kyle Muller and Tucker Davidson. Shuster, a left-handed pitcher taken in this year's Draft with the 25th overall pick out of Wake Forest, is part of the group of prospects added to this list just to get some experience this year. The others who fit this description are infielder Braden Shewmake and the club’s top two catching prospects, Shea Langeliers and William Contreras. The Braves opted to place just 56 players on this list for now. This will allow president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos some flexibility should he want to add free agents or other internal pieces over the next few weeks and months. When a team’s pool is maxed out at 60 players, to add another player, a player must be removed. Players on a 40-man roster can be removed via trade, waiver claims, return of Rule 5 Draft selection, release, outright assignment, designation for assignment, placement on the 45-day injured list, placement on the COVID-19-related injured list, or placement on the suspended list (by the club) or voluntarily retired, restricted, disqualified or ineligible lists. Non-40-man-roster players may be removed by trade, release, placement on the COVID-19-related injured list, or placement on the suspended list (by the club) or military, voluntarily retired, restricted, disqualified or ineligible lists. Any injured non-40-man-roster players will continue to count against the team’s player pool unless they are removed through one of the aforementioned transactions. Here's a look at the Braves' player pool: Catchers (7): Logan Brown, William Contreras, Travis d’Arnaud, Tyler Flowers, Alex Jackson, Shea Langeliers, Jonathan Morales It would seemingly benefit the Braves to find somebody more dependable than Jackson to be the top backup option should something happen to d’Arnaud or Flowers. But while the club’s MLB-ready catching depth might be thin, Langeliers and Contreras both provide significant hope for the long-term value Atlanta could receive from this position. Right-handed pitchers (18): Ian Anderson, De La Cruz, Mike Foltynewicz, Shane Greene, Felix Hernández, Luke Jackson, Chris Martin, Mark Melancon, Darren O’Day, Chad Sobotka, Mike Soroka, Josh Tomlin, Touki Toussaint, Jacob Webb, Patrick Weigel, Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright, Huascar Ynoa Anthopoulos has indicated most of his starters will work 3-4 innings within their first couple starts. So, with the active roster consisting of 30 players during the season’s first two weeks, expect the Opening Day roster to include a few long relief options like Wright, Toussaint and Wilson. Hernández will likely be competing against Sean Newcomb for the rotation’s last spot. One could start the year in the rotation and the other in the bullpen. Left-handed pitchers (12): Tucker Davidson, Grant Dayton, Max Fried, Cole Hamels, Tyler Matzek, A.J. Minter, Kyle Muller, Sean Newcomb, Philip Pfeifer, Chris Rusin, Jared Shuster, Will Smith Hamels, Fried and possibly Newcomb could all begin the season in the rotation. Pfeifer and Matzek both made strong showings during Spring Training earlier this year. But the plan to carry an extra long reliever or two, combined with the three-batter minimum rule, could lessen the possibility that either of these two relievers begins the season in the bullpen, which was bolstered with the offseason signing of Smith. Infielders (12): Ozzie Albies, Yonder Alonso, Johan Camargo, Charlie Culberson, Freddie Freeman, Adeiny Hechavarría, Pete Kozma, Peter O’Brien, Austin Riley, Braden Shewmake, Yangervis Solarte, Dansby Swanson Now that the National League will have a designated hitter, you could argue there’s more reason to think Alonso could earn a roster spot. But the club has some better options, including Riley and Marcell Ozuna. Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that the Braves' 40-man roster has just one vacancy. Culberson, Solarte and Alonso are all non-roster invitees. The ease of finding room for one of them will be more difficult if a spot also has to open for Hernández and possibly Tomlin. Outfielders (7): Ronald Acuña Jr., Adam Duvall, Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis, Marcell Ozuna, Cristian Pache, Drew Waters Really, the only question is how will manager Brian Snitker use Ozuna. If Ozuna is used as the primary DH, the Braves could platoon Markakis and Duvall in left field. There’s also a chance Camargo could be used as an outfielder. Had the start of this season not been delayed, Pache and Waters might have already made their respective big league debuts. Time will tell if either experiences that thrill this year. According to MLB's Operating Manual, all players on a 40-man roster “that the Club anticipates participating” during the season will be part of the player pool, while the rest will be made up of non-40-man roster players under contract. Any 40-man-roster players who are not included in a player pool (for example, maybe a prospect who isn’t deemed ready for the Majors) will still be paid during the season. No team will be allowed to exceed the limit of 60 players in its player pool at any time during camp or the regular season. Flowers talks safety precautions, prep for '20 By Mark Bowman ATLANTA -- As the Braves’ player representative, Tyler Flowers has spent the past few weeks regularly keeping his teammates updated regarding the negotiations between Major League Baseball and the Players Association. Now that the stage has been set for the 2020 season to unfold, Flowers understands the significant responsibility he and every other big leaguer will have to adhere to the safety protocols implemented to guard against the spread of COVID-19. “The more we take it serious and follow the rules, the more it’s going to benefit everybody within our team, our family, organization, the game and the country,” Flowers said. “I think it’s imperative we all adhere to [the policies] and follow them and take them serious even if we’re not high-risk ourselves. A number of people around us could really struggle if they ended up getting this virus, so we have to be on top of it as much as we can.” When the Braves begin gathering for what we’ll refer to as Summer Camp next week, Flowers expects there will be many more discussions about the steps and sacrifices players and staff members will need to take over the next few months. Braves outfielder Adam Duvall has Type 1 diabetes and thus falls into the high-risk category. There may also be some additional concern for how the virus could impact some of the older members of the organization. Four members of the coaching staff are 60 or older. “With Duvall’s situation, he has to stay on top of things,” Flowers said. “But we all have that same responsibility -- not just for ourselves but for guys like Duvall who are high-risk -- to follow the protocols that have been put in place. That’s going to [help] ourselves and our families, but it’s also going to benefit teammates and guys who have a little different health situation and who are high-risk.” As the past few months have evolved, Flowers has remained close to the suburban Atlanta home he shares with his wife and five children. The 34- year-old catcher has been able to take some swings in the batting cage located on his property, but he has not been able to get away from the house to catch Mike Soroka, Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb and some of the other Braves pitchers who have been working at some high school and college fields around the area. Much of Flowers’ time over the past few weeks was spent participating in calls with union officials. The negotiations might have taken longer and proven more frustrating than he and others would have liked. But with all of this now in the rear-view mirror, he is looking forward to enjoying what will be a unique and potentially extremely exciting season. “I just view [the negotiations] as part of the business,” Flowers said. “There are two sides to it. Both sides had something they were attempting to achieve. I think both sides would potentially have done things different to get things done sooner.