The Atlanta Braves have made their first round of cuts to their spring training roster on Wednesday. Pitchers Erik Cordier, Jason Rice, and Zeke Spruill were sent to minor league camp along with positional players in catcher Matt Kennelly and outfielders Todd Cunningham and Stefan Gartrell.
The folks over at SB Nation Atlanta Braves blog Talking Chop have some interesting takes on a few of the prospects that were cut. Here is gondeee on pitcher Jason Rice:
The only real surprise for me here is Jason Rice. I thought he had a really good chance before spring started, but then games started and he got knocked around hard in his first outing. He did have a couple of good outings, but was pretty wild in yesterday's appearance, hitting two batters. He's got a good arm, so if he can being to control the walks we might see him back in Atlanta this year.
Gondeee doesn't seem to optimistic on Erik Cordier either:
Erik Cordier has been a bit of a disappointment, and I still don't know what to make of him; whether he can be a strong one-inning reliever, or if he's simply a four-A starting pitcher.
The Braves are 21 days away from opening day, and it will be interesting to see how Fredi Gonzalez whittles down this roster as Atlanta looks to contend for an NL East crown.
For all news and information regarding the Atlanta Braves, please visit Talking Chop or stay tuned to SB Nation Atlanta.