Choosing the Brave Michael Tonkin, Seth Elleg

The Braves announced some roster moves today, picking right-handed contracts Michael Tonkin And the Seth Illeg. They also brought back the catcher manny peña and right Huascar intends to from the list of injured. The list of 40 men is now full.

Tonkin and Eledge both signed minor league deals with the club in the latest season and could have opted for a free agency from the minor league today. However, Atlanta appears to have been impressed enough by the two minor league seasons that they wanted to prevent them from running away and give them spots on the 40-player roster.

Tonkin, who turns 33 next week, got some MLB excitement with the Twins from 2013 to 2017 but hasn’t returned to the big leagues since. He has a career 4.43 ERA in 146 1/3 runs from that time. In the years that followed, he bounced back quite a bit, including stints in Japan and with the Indy Bowl teams. In 2022, he spent the entire season with Triple-A Gwinnett, throwing 48 1/3 runs over 47 games. It has posted 3.17 ERA with excellent rate stats, such as 36.5% strike rate, 7.5% walk rate, and 50% globe rate. We have run out of options but the club clearly believes there is an opportunity to help the big league team next year.

Elledge, May 27, had short MLB spells with the Cardinals in 2020 and 2021, throwing exactly 11 2/3 innings and posting a 4.63 ERA in each of those campaigns. He was set for the job and fired in October of last year before joining the Braves on a minor league deal. He has appeared in 43 games with Gwinnett, throwing 46 1/3 innings with a 3.88 ERA. This came with an excellent strike rate of 33.7%. Unlike Tonkin, he has options left and could serve as depth in the minor leagues next season.

For Piña and Ynoa, these moves are a formality as there is no off-season injury list, which means the club has either had to bring back these players or cut them off the roster altogether. It was around this time last year when Atlanta Peña signed a two-year deal. Unfortunately, he requested a wrist surgery at the end of the season in May after playing just five games. As for Ynoa, he underwent Tommy John’s surgery in September and is likely to miss the entire 2023 campaign. If he sticks to his roster spot during the winter, he can spend the whole next year in IL for 60 days.