The Braves got Mike Yastrzemski back on Monday, but the move came with a cost: Kyle Farmer is out of a job.
Atlanta reinstated Yastrzemski from the injured list and released Farmer to clear space on the roster. Yastrzemski had landed on the IL right before the All-Star break with elbow inflammation, and the stay ended up being a short one. He missed six games and spent the minimum time sidelined.
Yastrzemski’s season has been all over the map. He opened with a rough first month, posting a .555 OPS that made his offseason multi-year deal with Atlanta look shaky.
Then he caught fire in May, when he hit his first three homers in a Braves uniform and put up a .953 OPS. June brought another dip, with a .468 OPS, but July had been his best stretch yet before the injury.
Through his first 10 games of July, he was carrying a .971 OPS.
Farmer became the odd man out in the roster squeeze. The Georgia native made the Opening Day roster, but he never carved out much of a role.
He appeared in only 12 games for Atlanta and made just one start. A forearm injury then sent him to the injured list for nearly two months.
After he came back on July 4, he played in only two more games and logged one plate appearance.
The Braves liked what Farmer brought to the clubhouse, but there just wasn’t enough playing time to keep him around. In 16 plate appearances, he hit .267/.250/.333 with a 60 OPS+.
And this may not be the last roster shakeup. Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ha-Seong Kim are both on rehab assignments, and with the trade deadline closing in, Atlanta’s roster could look very different within the next two weeks.
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