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Atlanta Braves Clippings Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Braves.com Braves tab Perez to start Grapefruit opener Righty -- followed by Blair, Newcomb, Sims -- first to audition for rotation spot By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | February 29th, 2016 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Grapefruit League season will give the Braves a chance to determine how close some of their top starting-pitching prospects are to being ready to rise to the Major League level. But it will also determine who will fill the two opening spots in Atlanta's rotation. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez and pitching coach Roger McDowell will keep an open mind as they spend the next month watching games and determining whether it would be better to fill those spots with youth or experienced veterans who are attempting to rebound. "There's a lot of good competition," said Gonzalez, who will send Williams Perez to the mound to start Tuesday afternoon's Grapefruit League season opener against the Orioles at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex. The Braves know that Julio Teheran will likely make his third consecutive Opening Day start and that he will likely be followed by Bud Norris and Matt Wisler. But they could go a few different routes while filling the final two spots. Perez and Manny Banuelos are candidates for those vacancies who tasted some success pitching for Atlanta last year. The Braves will also keep an open mind as they watch Aaron Blair, who appears to be the one prospect who has at least an outside chance of making the leap to the Majors to begin the season. As the Braves attempt to enrich their future and gain a better feel for what they'll have in the future, they may give starts to Blair, Sean Newcomb, Tyrell Jenkins and Lucas Sims at some point during the regular season. They also want to maintain some flexibility for Mike Foltynewicz, who is a couple of weeks behind with his preseason preparations because of the blood clot that sidelined him in September. But as the Braves come off a 67-win season that was significantly influenced by the growing pains of their young pitchers, they might be tempted to go with the experience offered by Kyle Kendrick or Jhoulys Chacin, veterans who signed Minor League contracts this offseason. "There's still a lot of Spring Training to go and a lot of innings these guys need to complete to be ready," Gonzalez said. After Perez starts Tuesday's opener, the Braves will get a look at some of their top prospects. Blair will start Wednesday's game against the Orioles in Sarasota. Newcomb is slated to throw the first two innings of Thursday's home game against the Tigers. Sims will get the start during Friday's game against the Phillies in Clearwater. While Blair will get another start when the Braves travel to Dunedin, Fla., on Monday to face the Blue Jays, Sims and Newcomb might be used as relievers during the second turn through the rotation. Teheran will face a group of Braves Minor Leaguers on Friday and then make his first Grapefruit League start on March 9 against the Astros in Kissimmee, Fla. Norris will make his first start on Saturday, and Wisler's first start against big leaguers will come on March 8 against the Mets. Banuelos, who had a bone chip removed from his left elbow in September, will not make a start until the latter part of the Grapefruit season's second week. But because the Braves will not need a fifth starter until April 12, the young southpaw still could begin the season as one of Atlanta's five starting pitchers. Kendrick confident battling for starter spot for 1st time Righty joined Braves on Minors deal after uneven season with Rockies By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | February 29th, 2016 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Kyle Kendrick spent the early portion of his career as the oft-forgotten member of those great Phillies rotations that were headlined by Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. Now the 31-year-old right-hander finds himself forced to fight for a spot within the Braves' rotation. Coming off a disappointing season with the Rockies, Kendrick has come to Braves camp as a non-roster invitee. His hope in gaining one of those two rotation spots hinges on how he pitches over the next few weeks and whether Atlanta chooses to fill one of the vacancies with a veteran. "This is the first time in my career that I have been in this position," Kendrick said. "But I understand that as long as I am healthy and I'm able to do what I've done in the past, I have no worries. If I'm healthy and throwing like I can, I feel like I can help this team win." Julio Teheran, Bud Norris and Matt Wisler are projected to fill the first three spots in Atlanta's rotation. The top candidates for the final two spots are Williams Perez, Manny Banuelos, Jhoulys Chacin and Kendrick. Kendrick has struggled to live up to the expectations that were set when he posted a 3.87 ERA while making his first 20 career starts for the 2007 Phillies. He signed a free-agent deal with the Rockies last year and then paid the Coors Field consequences, as he posted a 6.32 ERA over 27 starts. When Kendrick signed his Minor League deal with the Braves, he knew that he has had some previous success in Atlanta. He posted a 2.93 ERA in the nine starts he made at Turner Field while pitching for the Phillies from 2007-14. "Part of the reason I didn't get a Major League deal was because of the year that I had, and I understand that," Kendrick said. "I'm not going to make any excuses, but it definitely didn't help my cause pitching in Colorado. But that's over with. I learned a lot, and I'm happy to be here. I've wanted to be a Brave for a while." Braves hire Andruw as special assistant to baseball ops Former All-Star to work with outfielders, aid in internal initiatives By Mark Bowman / MLB.com | @mlbbowman | February 29th, 2016 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- As Andruw Jones spent the past week coaching and evaluating young outfielders, the Braves quickly gained the sense that they would like him to fill this role on a regular basis. Adding yet another legend to their revamped front office, the Braves announced Jones will serve as a special assistant to the baseball operations department. This is the same title that the Braves gave to the All-Star outfielder's longtime Atlanta teammate, Chipper Jones, in December. "It's going to be fun," Andruw Jones said. "We're just trying to be a part of the organization that we were with for a long time and where we started. We're trying to help and rebuild it back to where it used to be as a competitive organization for a long time." It is fitting that the Braves have welcomed the Joneses back into their organization just before they bid adieu to their current home. This duo significantly influenced the long stretch of success the Braves carried into this century, and in the process, they established themselves as the most productive players in Turner Field's history. "We're happy to have [Andruw] back," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He's been terrific. He's been an asset to Spring Training." When the regular season begins, Andruw Jones will assist the Braves with some international initiatives, but his primary focus will be to provide assistance to some of the clubs young outfielders. The 10-time Gold Glove Award winner has gotten a taste of this responsibility, as he has spent the past week working with Mallex Smith, a talented young center fielder who could reach the Majors at some point this season. "We didn't [define] how many times I'm going to be on the field and how many times I'm going to go down to the Minor Leagues to see the guys down there," Jones said. "It's up in the air. Right now, we're just in Spring Training trying to help put the team together, so that when they go back north, we've got a solid defensive outfield and a solid team." While playing for the Braves from 1996-2007, Jones never shied away from the chance to speak his mind. This trait has proved valuable as he has had the chance to evaluate all of the outfielders in camp. He recently told Gonzalez that he believes Hector Olivera is more than capable of making a smooth transition from third base to left field. Jones earned five All-Star selections and captured 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards while playing for the Braves. He won the National League's Hank Aaron Award and finished second in National League Most Valuable Player Award balloting after he hit a franchise record 51 home runs in 2005 -- the same year the Braves won the last of their 14 consecutive division titles. "I'm trying to teach the kids the right things," Jones said. "That makes me happy. So I think that is why this decision was made." Atlanta Journal-Constitution Why Braves bring some prospects to camp with no chance to make team By David O'Brien - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Braves’ spring-training clubhouse is jam-packed with 70 players, some of whom have zero chance of making the opening-day roster.

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