Atlanta Braves non-tender Minor, Ciriaco, Perez, extend Cox

The Atlanta Braves made some organizational moves like extending Bobby Cox‘s consultant contract and waiving Mike Minor, Pedro Ciriaco, and Eury Perez.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported a series of interesting moves with the Atlanta Braves. He reported early Thursday morning that the Atlanta Braves non-tender LHP Mike Minor and IF Pedro Ciriaco, making both former Braves free agents.

Bowman also reported that though he wasn’t eligible for arbitration like Minor and Ciriaco, OF Eury Perez was ultimately waived by the Atlanta Braves. This move assumes that former Braves star Michael Bourn would stand as the club’s starting center fielder while top prospect Mallex Smith gets acclimated to the Major Leagues, hopefully early this upcoming season.

Lastly, Mark Bowman reports that the Atlanta Braves front office has agreed to give Hall of Fame Manager Bobby Cox an extension to serve as a consultant to the team through the end of the 2017 MLB Season. Cox joined Team President John Schuerholz, President of Baseball Operations John Hart, and General Manager John Coppolella as the primary front-of-house architects for this rebuilding Braves team before the start of last season.

Of these four recent developments with the Atlanta Braves, the only one that is remotely surprising is the waiving of OF Eury Perez, who was young and still not eligible for arbitration. He seemed at least like a complementary piece that the Braves could include in a trade with someone to even a deal out. It’s also strange given the perceived lack of depth of Major League ready talent in the outfield for the Atlanta Braves.

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Waiving Pedro Ciriaco isn’t surprising since he’s the type of player that jumps from team to team as a utility middle infielder. He was a good defensive replacement for Andrelton Simmons at times at short and did a solid job pinch-hitting last season. Perhaps this move coincides with the Atlanta Braves signing 2B Gordon Beckham Wednesday.

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Mike Minor’s health is a major concern going forward and it wasn’t surprising to see the Braves move on from yet another once-promising starting pitcher. Minor was the 7th overall selection by the Atlanta Braves in the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft out of Vanderbilt. He was a key piece for the club in the 2013 NL East Championship team before injuries derailed his big league career. Atlanta could re-sign him for a bargain price and a spring training invitation if nobody else bites on Minor.

The Bobby Cox contract extension as a team consultant isn’t shocking in the slightest. Cox will have a role with the Atlanta Braves for as long as he likes, even if he is merely a goodwill ambassador for the team going forward. However, it was Bobby Cox’s ringing endorsement of his protegé and Atlanta skipper Fredi Gonzalez that rubbed many in Braves Country the wrong way. Since winning 96 games and the NL East in 2013, Gonzalez’s Braves have had two consecutive sub-.500 seasons. That hasn’t happened since 1989-90, the two years before the 14 straight division titles (1991-2005).

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Expect the Atlanta Braves to stay aggressive this offseason with their never-ending pursuit to get better in the long-term. Rebuilding is tough, but we’ll get through this. With absolutely no expectations of competitiveness in 2016, we might find ourselves pleasant surprised if Atlanta is ahead of schedule and plays .500 ball this upcoming season. Go Braves!