Eight years after Atlanta native Blaine Boyer last pitched for the Braves, the veteran reliever will be back with the team this spring.
Boyer, 35, signed a minor-league contract with the Braves that includes an invitation to spring training, where the right-hander figures to have a good chance of making the opening-day roster in a bullpen that team officials believe will be stronger and deeper than last season.
Boyer was out of baseball in 2012 and pitched in Japan for part of 2013, but he’s since revived his career and put together his best three-year run in the big leagues. He had a 3.95 ERA in 61 appearances for Milwaukee last season, after posting a career-best 2.49 ERA in 68 appearances for Minnesota in 2015 and a 3.57 ERA in 32 games with San Diego in 2014 after making it back to the big leagues at midseason.
A third-round draft pick by the Braves out of Marietta’s Walton High School in 2000, Boyer pitched parts of six seasons in the minors before making his major league debut in 2005 and producing a 3.11 ERA in 43 appearances with 33 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings. He was expected to have a big role in 2006, but after two appearances he was forced to the disabled list and had season-ending shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff.
He had setbacks and pitched in only five big-league games in 2007, then Boyer posted a 5.88 ERA in 2008 when he set career-highs in appearances (76), innings (72) and strikeouts (67). He was traded to the Cardinals in April 2009 and claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks two months later.
Boyer has a 4.17 ERA in 394 relief appearances over parts of 10 major league seasons with seven organizations. He doesn’t throw as hard as he once did — he had only 26 strikeouts in 66 innings for the Brewers in 2016 — but he’s effective with good command, evident by only 36 walks and nine homers allowed in 131 innings during 2015-2016.
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