The Atlanta Braves added Josh Tomlin and Yonder Alonso to the 40-man roster today, by David O’Brien of The Athletic.
Tomlin, 35, spent last season in the Braves’ bullpen. It was his first year outside the Cleveland Indians, where he spent the first nine years of his career as a part of the sometimes regular rotation. Pulling out the Braves ballpoint pen in 2019, Tomlin appeared 50 times (with 1 start too), going 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA / 4.49 ERA in 79 1/3 innings. He will continue to be a long man for the Braves in 2020.
Alonso has recovered in recent seasons from his days as a regular first baseman with the Padres and Atlético. After finding the Reds, he also appeared in the majors with the Mariners, Indians, White Sox, and Rockies.
Building the Braves roster has gone through several potential iterations since the restart was announced. Freddie FreemanThe debut was at risk after he tested positive for coronavirus, but his first baseman in the franchise is back and plans to settle in the middle of the lineup on opening day.
Still, Alonso provides the Braves with a safety net. He struggled powerfully to start the year in 2019 while in Chicago (.178 / .275 / .301 in 251 plate appearances), but after joining the Rockies, Alonso increased his production to .260 / .357 / .479 , although more than a small sample of only 84 plaque appearances. Alonso has experience in the role of DH, and will compete with Adam Duvall, Austin Rileyand Charlie Culberson to hook the additional ABs offered by the universal DH. The 33-year-old is a .259 / .332 / .404 career batting line with 100 home runs during his 10 years with the majors.
