Andrew

Velazquez

The move brings the Braves’ roster down to 28 players in spring camp. Two of those players are Penn Murfee and Angel Perdomo, who are expected to go on the 60-day IL so it appears Atlanta has it’s Opening Day roster ready to go. This also means that Forrest Wall will earn the 26th and final roster spot, if the team decides not to bring anyone else in. Wall made the postseason roster last season and after putting together a solid camp with a .971 OPS and 10 RBI across 33 plate appearances, he will be rewarded to start the 2024 season.

The Braves claimed Velazquez off of waivers in September, but he was a roster casualty when they trimmed their 40-man in November. The slick-fielding 29-year-old infielder hit just .173/.264/.284 with a pair of homers, three RBI and 13 stolen bases in 94 plate appearances with the Angels during the 2023 campaign. He’ll add infield depth for the Braves.

The Braves claimed Velazquez off waivers from the Angels in September, but they never brought him to the majors. Best known for his glove, the 29-year-old is a lifetime .189/.244/.293 hitter in 624 plate appearances as a major leaguer.

Velazquez, who is ineligible for Atlanta’s postseason roster, will head to Triple-A Gwinnett as extra organizational infield depth. The 29-year-old middle infielder wound up getting into just 54 games this season for the Angels, posting a .548 OPS with two homers and 13 stolen bases across 94 plate appearances.

With Matt Thaiss returning from the injured list, Velazquez will head back to the minors. The 28-year-old hit just .173/.264/.284 across 94 plate appearances for the Angels this season.

This is now the fourth straight game that Neto has missed due to his back injury. However, there was some speculation last night that the Angels would opt to let Neto rest for the first game of the doubleheader and have him start game two, so we’ll keep an eye out for that. For game one, Andrew Velazquez will start in his place at shortstop.

With Brandon Drury landing on the injured list, the Angels recalled Andrew Velazquez from Triple-A Salt Lake. The 28-year-old is a decent defender but has never swung a league-average stick in the majors.

With Anthony Rendon set to return from the injured list on Friday night, there simply wasn’t room on the bench for Velazquez to hang around any longer. The 28-year-old will return to an everyday role at Triple-A until he’s called upon once more.

The 28-year-old shortstop led off the seventh inning with a double, then came around to score on a bases-loaded walk by Matt Thaiss. He also drew a two-out walk in the eighth inning and swiped second base, but wound up stranded there. So far in his limited action he’s hitting .143/.250/.286 with one stolen base in eight plate appearances.

Velazquez is a solid defensive shortstop and figures to pick up the majority of the starts at the position while rookie Zach Neto (oblique) is sidelined for the next few weeks. The 28-year-old middle infielder has yet to appear in the majors this season after getting into a career-high 125 contests last year for Los Angeles.