The Braves on Tuesday placed left-handed reliever Tyler Matzek on the 15-day injured list, backdated to May 5, with left elbow inflammation. They recalled left-hander Ray Kerr from Triple-A to fill the roster spot.
Matzek is the second Braves reliever to hit the injured list since Saturday, when the team put Pierce Johnson (right elbow inflammation) on there.
Matzek, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery this season, has really struggled. In 10 innings, he’s allowed 11 earned runs – a 9.90 ERA. He’s given up 16 hits in that span. His WHIP is 1.900.
And he’s getting hit hard and often. Matzek has a 51.4% hard-hit rate, which is not good. A hard-hit ball is defined as one hit at 95 mph or harder. And he’s not getting much swing and miss.
“I think that’s the biggest thing, just get (the injury) calmed down and get him back right,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “But I guess it’s something that’s not uncommon with guys that are coming back from Tommy John.”
Snitker said Matzek reported the injury to head athletic trainer George Poulis during Monday’s off day.
Matzek is coming back from the surgery he underwent in 2022. He missed all of last season and returned in spring training this year. He gave up two runs in 7-2/3 innings in big-league spring games.
But in his rough start to the regular season, he’s allowed a run in five of 11 appearances. Four times, he’s given up multiple runs. Twice, he’s been charged with three earned runs.
This time on the injured list should provide him with a nice reset.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
For Triple-A Gwinnett, Kerr has a 4.50 ERA over 14 innings. In that time, he’s struck out 22 batters. With Kerr, Atlanta will still have four lefties in its bullpen.
The Braves desired length out of the reliever they brought up, which made Kerr the best option. Ken Giles and Daysbel Hernandez have thrown well for Gwinnett, but they’re one-inning relievers.
On May 1, Kerr threw three innings in a spot start, which was his last appearance before the Braves recalled him. He’s pitched more than an inning six times in nine appearances for Gwinnett.
The Braves acquired Kerr in an offseason trade with the Padres.
“I don’t know that you can ever have too much depth, that’s for sure,” Snitker said. “Because we always end up tapping into the majority of them. And Ray’s been throwing good. We saw he was a stuff guy in spring training and he’s done multiple innings. It’s good to have a guy like that in the fold.”
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