Huascar

Ynoa

Ynoa represents a fascinating low-risk gamble for Minnesota as extra organizational depth after being non-tendered last month by the Braves. The 26-year-old righty hasn’t appeared in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery back in 2022 and the strikeouts simply weren’t there in the minors last year upon returning to the mound. He’s the definition of a reclamation project for the Twins heading into 2025.

Ynoa served as valuable rotation depth for the Braves during the 2023 season, but he was knocked around in each of his two starts at the big-league level in 2024. He was only projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $825,000 via arbitration, so the Braves must think that they have better depth options already and considered Ynoa to be expendable.

Ynoa hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since undergoing Tommy John surgery back in 2022, so it’s highly unlikely the Braves see him as a starter this season. However, he has worked out of the bullpen before and could provide some length out of the pen for the Braves in September if his Triple-A starts go well.

Ynoa didn’t record a strikeout and also didn’t walk anyone. It was his first rehab outing since April 14 as he continues to work his way back from a stress reaction in his right elbow. He hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since undergoing Tommy John surgery back in 2022. It seems unlikely that he’ll return to Atlanta’s starting rotation mix, but he could factor into their late-season plans as a multi-inning relief weapon, if healthy.

Ynoa is on the 60-day injured list with a right elbow stress reaction. The right-hander is currently on the 60-day injured list and can’t come off that list until the middle of August, but it’s possible he could help Atlanta’s bullpen over the final month-plus.

It’s a procedural move that takes Ynoa off the 40-man roster and gives Atlanta space to select the contract of Grant Holmes. Ynoa’s injury will keep him out through the All-Star break, and there’s a chance he won’t be able to help the staff until 2025.

Elder came into spring training as the presumed favorite for the fifth starter role but was beaten out by Reynaldo Lopez. With 21-year-old top prospect AJ Smith-Shawver also looking great this spring, it’s possible that Elder is now the Braves’ seventh or eighth starter. The 24-year-old Elder had great surface-level stats last year, going 12-4 with a 3.81 ERA, but he also posted a 4.81 SIERA, 4.61 xERA and had a sub-10 percent swinging strike rate. All of which indicate that he was perhaps a little lucky in 2023. He will now operate as organizational rotation depth for the 2024 season while Ynoa will try to crack the bullpen as he works his way back from missing the entire 2023 season.

It remains to be seen what type of role Ynoa will potentially fill for a contending Braves’ pitching staff, but the hard-throwing 25-year-old righty is fully healthy at the start of camp after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in September, 2022.

MLBTradeRumors.com had projected Ynoa to earn $1.1 million in arbitration, so it actually looks like the team got a bit of a discount here. The 25-year-old hurler missed the entire 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery but is expected to be ready to go for the start of spring training. He’s expected to function in a swingman role for the Braves in 2024.

Ynoa underwent Tommy John surgery last September and wound up spending the entire 2023 campaign recovering from the procedure. The 25-year-old righty doesn’t exactly have a clear future in Atlanta, but if his stuff bounces back to pre-surgery levels, he should make an impact as either a fifth starter or versatile swingman-type reliever.