Wright, No. 2 prospect, among Braves' callups
ATLANTA -- Reinforcements have arrived at SunTrust Park, as the Braves added seven players to their active roster Saturday, including three of their top pitching prospects.
Right-handers Touki Toussaint and Bryse Wilson rejoined the big league club after making their debuts in August, and perhaps most notably, the Braves selected the contract of their No. 2 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, right-hander Kyle Wright from Triple-A Gwinnett. MLB Pipeline ranks Wright as the No. 24 overall prospect.
The Braves also recalled outfielder Michael Reed, activated right-hander Shane Carle from the 10-day disabled list (right shoulder inflammation), selected outfielder Lane Adams and activated recently acquired catcher René Rivera.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Braves transitioned closer Arodys Vizcaíno to the 60-day DL as he continues to recover from right shoulder inflammation. The move was mainly procedural, as his rehab schedule is the same, and he'll be eligible to return on Sept. 12.
Wright, a first-round Draft pick in 2017, has been a starter throughout his pro career but recently transitioned to the bullpen in advance of a potential callup, making three scoreless, one-inning appearances with Gwinnett. The last time he consistently pitched in relief was in '15 when he and Vanderbilt teammate Dansby Swanson played in the College World Series.
"One, it was to keep an eye on my innings because I was starting to getting up there," Wright said. "First full year, you want to play it safe. They said there was a chance [of getting called up]. You try to take that with a grain of salt and try to do what you [can] to get better. Getting to do [pitch in relief] my freshman year of college kind of brought me back, it brought up some good memories, so I was able to adjust easily."
Braves manager Brian Snitker expects Wright, Toussaint and Wilson to mainly pitch out of the bullpen, but all three pitchers are stretched out in case they need to make a spot start or pitch in long relief. However, Snitker said with 17 pitchers on the active roster, he won't be able to give everyone consistent innings.
"We're going to use them however we can use them to try to win a game," Snitker said. "I'm not going to worry. They've all got plenty of innings, and we'll pitch them as they see fit. But there's not going to be a push or anything to make sure guys get innings."
The expanded rosters in September will also allow Snitker to be more creative with substitutions, given that he gained a third catcher -- Rivera was claimed off waivers on Wednesday -- and a pinch-run option in Adams.