Grilli, now 39 years old and in his 14th major league season, has opened the year with a 5.29 ERA over 17.0 innings with the Braves.
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Grilli did a fine job closing games out for the Braves in 2015, almost making the 2015 National League All-Star Team, before rupturing his Achilles’ Tendon trying to cover the first base bag in early July at Denver versus the Colorado Rockies. He has a 4.12 ERA during that time with 76 saves.
What Toronto would be getting in Grilli is a reliable right-hander that loves to pitch in high-intensity moments late in ball games. He said Grilli is “someone that we’ve liked for a while”. The Braves’ scouting report said that he has the potential to help rebuild the team, Coppolella added. “Those are good attributes for someone in the bullpen”.
Hard-throwing Arodys Vizcaino has six saves and a 1.66 ERA in his emergence as the Braves’ new closer. Grilli may be getting older, but he’ll provide plenty of experience for a young pitching staff. “What we’ve tried to do in a year like this is to try to find out what we have with the arms we have here”. Grilli has a base salary of $3.5MM, meaning Atlanta will still pay him $2.37MM, while the Jays are now on the hook for $344K plus a $250K buyout on his $3MM club option for the 2017 season. He is expected to earn $3.5 million this season.
Atlanta obtained right-hander Sean Ratclilffe, an 18th-round pick in 2013 who was 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA in 22 games with Class A Vancouver previous year. The team also recalled right-handed pitcher Ryan Weber from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Grilli’s spot on the active roster.
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Going to Atlanta in the trade would be pitcher Sean Ratcliffe, an 18th-round pick by the Jays in the 2013 draft.
