Braves ink RP Sherrill

[A.E]

Braves Sign George Sherrill​

This one came completely out of right field. Looking to fill the final slot in his bullpen, Frank Wren opted to go with a veteran arm as opposed to one of the many rookies in Gwinnett that are ready for the majors. Specifically, that veteran he went with was lefty George Sherrill, most recently of the Dodgers. This is going to be a move who's dividends will be paid based on how Fredi Gonzalez uses Sherrill. Sherrill has some very pronouced lefty/righty splits, and should probably used in the role Eric O'Flaherty was used in last year (despite his CLOSING EXPERIENCE! RAWRRRRRRRRR!). Against lefties, Sherrill has an 11.45 K/9, 2.73 BB/9, and 2.40 FIP. Against righties, his numbers are much worse, most notably, his K/9 falls to 6.42, his BB/9 jumps to 5.99, and his FIP spikes to 5.08. So yeah, George Sherrill should be the Braves LOOGY in 2011, and I'm hoping and praying that Fredi doesn't use him as an every day reliever this season. It could end ugly.

Sherrill's deal isn't exactly a huge hit to the Braves' wallet, with $1.2 million guaranteed with an extra $200 grand in incentives. The $2 millionish that him and Scott Proctor are guaranteed could have probably been spent a little better, but there's nothing that the team can do about it at this point. It really sucks that guys like Cory Gearrin and Stephen Marek are going to waste away in AAA for another season, because both are pretty much ready for the majors at this point in time. The bullpen appears to be completed for 2011 right now, with Craig Kimbrel as the Braves closer, Jonny Venters as his main set up man, Eric O'Flaherty being the LOOGY plus (a LOOGy who can effectively get out a couple of righties if he needs to), Sherrill as the LOOGY, Peter Moylan as your groundball specialist, and Scott Linebrink being the righty who you bring in whenever, and Proctor as the mopup man. I hate Proctor in the pen at all, and I'm really hoping he decides to retire this spring and that his slot goes to either Gearrin or Marek. Both of them actually have some upside and really deserve a shot in Atlanta. Time will tell.

Other news from today...Fredi said that Nate McLouth will be given every opportunity to be the starting center fielder. This is a good thing. McLouth really started hitting a ton in September, and has earned the right to be the favorite in spring camp. There's no reason not to give him the chance. He's guaranteed buckets of money, and if he can continue to hit like he did at the end of the season...why not? There's no one to hold him back this year (cough Rick Ankiel cough). The time for Nate to put his stamp on Atlanta is now. If he puts it all together, he could be one of the best hitters in the 8-hole in the National League. This could be one hell of a lineup.

And another note. Dan Uggla is apparently really happy to be with the Braves (Dan, this is what we call an organization that actually gives a damn about its players, I know you're not used to it) and is very amenable to agreeing to an extension with the team. Something like 5 years, $60 million or 4 years, $50 million would work for me, but I have no idea if that would be good enough for Uggla. Who knows how much of his negotiations with the Marlins was posturing and being bitter about being treated like dirt by the team? We'll see if he comes into camp with a new deal in his pocket. I'd love for that to happen.

-Chop-n-Change