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Jason Frasor heads to the Atlanta Braves

By Darrell Samuels

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Apr 29, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Jason Frasor (44) delivers a pitch to the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Park. The Oakland Athletics won 9-3. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Although we have passed the halfway mark of the regular season, tonight marks the unofficial ‘second half’ of the Major League Baseball season.

The National League East is a three team dog fight between the Washington Nationals, New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves. The Nationals are currently leading the division with New York and Atlanta closely on their tail.

The Nationals start the second half of the season with 48 wins to their name and start a weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets have 47 wins to their name, sit two games behind the Nats and start a weekend series in St. Louis against the Cardinals. The Atlanta Braves are currently in the middle of the division with only 42 wins to their name and 7 games behind Washington. They head out to Chicago to play the Cubs at Wrigley in an always spirited series.

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The July 31 trade deadline is fast approaching and with each series completing, teams are trying to obtain the missing ingredient to put them into the playoffs. Each game is crucial to win.

The Atlanta Braves are 5 games under .500 and could go either way. They could easily fall under the sellers category. However, they could also fall into the buyers category.

At the beginning of the season, the Atlanta Braves bolstered their bullpen. They signed Jason Grilli, formerly of the Los Angeles Angels and also signed Jim Johnson, formerly of the Detroit Tigers.

They had plans to make both of them battle it out for the duo setup man role. They had their closer Craig Kimbrel as the shutdown guy in the 9th inning, making Grilli and Johnson the 7th and 8th inning men. However, they were presented with an offer to move Craig Kimbrel to the San Diego Padres prior to the start of the campaign. Kimbrel was traded to the Padres. The Braves fixed up their bullpen, after this trade, keeping Johnson as the setup man. Grilli moved into the closer role.

The plans had changed once again, just prior to the All-Star Game in Cincinnati. The Atlanta Braves suffered a significant injury when they lost Jason Grilli. He suffered a left achilles tendon injury. For now, they appear to have moved Jim Johnson into the void left with Grilli out.

This week, the Braves made a small tweak to improve their weakened bullpen. The Braves scooped up reliever Jason Frasor. Frasor recently pitched with the Kansas City Royals this season. However, he was recently cut by the team. Pending the approval of Major League Baseball, Frasor will be signed until the end of the season to pitch out of Turner Field in Atlanta for the Braves organization.

Throughout his career, he has been a reliable option in the bullpen. In addition to two separate stints pitching in Toronto’s bullpen, he has also played for the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers. Last season and parts of this season he pitched with the Kansas City Royals. This year, he has a 1.54 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 26 appearances.

The Atlanta Braves currently occupy the second worst ERA in the Majors.

The Kansas City Royals had a fantastic year, last season. During the magical run, that took the Royals to a game 7 against the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, Jason Frasor turned out to be a valuable commodity. The Royals lost in game 7 against the Giants but the Royals’ bullpen was strong and Frasor was a great addition, part way through last season via the Texas Rangers.

The next four series for the team are against the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals and then the Baltimore Orioles. They are all competitive teams and no easy games to win. One would have to think that these games will dictate the future of how the Braves proceed over the final two months of the regular season.

Many teams are looking for that potent bat or the electrifying pitcher for their rotation. This Frasor move is not a dynamite move. However, it could pay off if Frasor can return to the form he had in Kansas City last year.

As already stated, the Atlanta Braves are 7 games behind the Nationals and 6 games out of the wild-card spot. A lot can still happen but say what you wish, the Braves saw a weakness and were proactive and struck early.

Next: The Braves are in limbo

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