Astros Acquire Patrick Halligan As PTBNL In Rafael Montero Trade
The Astros traded right-hander Rafael Montero and $7.7MM to the Braves earlier this week for a player to be named later or cash. The Astros announced today that the PTBNL in that deal is minor league righty Patrick Halligan.
Halligan, 25, was selected by the Royals in the 13th round of the draft back in 2021. He made the occasional start but mostly worked in relief. Over 2021 and 2022, he tossed 85 2/3 innings in the minors with a 5.36 earned run average and was released prior to the 2023 season.
Atlanta signed him to a minor league deal and the change of scenery seemed to helped him. He has since logged 123 1/3 innings with a 3.72 ERA. His 10.6% walk rate is a bit high but he has also struck out 27.6% of batters faced. Last year, he logged 50 2/3 innings, mostly at Double-A but also with some Triple-A work. For the whole year, he had a 3.02 ERA, 31.6% strikeout rate and 11.8% walk rate. Last month, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs listed the top prospects in Atlanta’s system and gave Halligan an honorable mention, highlighting his splitter as his key to success.
With the Montero deal, the Astros were probably happy just to shed a few million bucks. His contract had quickly gone underwater and they had been trying to trade him for quite a while. On top of saving roughly $3MM, they will take a flier on Halligan and see if he can work his way into their big league bullpen.
Meet the Opponent: Perennial Contender Braves Off to Brutal Start to Season
TAMPA, Fla. — The Atlanta Braves have been to the postseason seven years in a row and won the World Series in 2021. So it seems very weird that they have the worst record in the National League right now, tied with the Colorado Rockies at 3-9.
The Braves are in Tampa this weekend, taking on the Tampa Bay Rays for three games at Steinbrenner Field. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash, whose team is just 5-7 themselves and have lost five of six, isn’t the least bit fooled by the Braves’ slow start. He knows they’re a good team, despite the record.
“Look, they are a good team, top to bottom,” Cash said before Friday’s game. “They’re off to a little bit of a slow start, but it’s very early. I am assuming they are approaching (this series) like to what we are, that they have to play better baseball. So it’s two teams that what to have a good showing and find some ways to win games.”
Here are the projected starting pitchers for the series, with game times:
- Friday night, 7:05 p.m. ET: Atlanta’s Bryce Elder (0-0., 6.75 ERA) vs. Tampa Bay’s Taj Bradley (1-0, 4.91 ERA).
- Saturday afternoon, 4:10 p.m. ET: Atlanta’s AJ Smith-Shawver (0-2, 5.19 ERA) vs. Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 0.90 ERA).
- Sunday afternoon, 1:10 p.m. ET: Atlanta’s Chris Sale (0-1, 6.75 ERA) vs. Tampa Bay’s Shane Baz ( 1-0, 1.38 ERA).
Here are three things to know about the Atlanta Braves
1. Tough schedule factors in to slow start
It’s professional sports, so excuses aren’t allowed. We’re not doling them out either, but the fact that the Braves have had the toughest schedule in baseball the first two weeks has to be a factor in their 3-9 record.
The Braves were swept by both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres on the road to start the season. The Dodgers won their first eight games, the Padres their first seven. They were, unquestionably, the two hottest teams in baseball out of the gate. They are also the only two teams in all of MLB to already have 10 wins heading into Friday night’s action.
Again, not an excuse, just reality. Since then, the Braves split two games with Miami and won two of three at home against Philadelphia.
“I’m not concerned with their record. You know what this lineup is and they are only three or four years removed from winning the World Series,” said Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen, who will make his third start of the season on Saturday.
“It’s one of those things where they know how to win, they’re in it every year. We’re in April, right? They’ve played a pretty good schedule up to this point. I’ll let the record be what the record is. It’s not telling me anything.”
2. Pitching has been a mess …
Outside of second-year right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta’s starting pitching has not been good. Schwellenbach has three quality starts — and that’s it. No one else has even one.
Schwellenbach is 1-0 with an 0.45 ERA. That’s one earned run in 20 innings. Chris Sale has started three games, Grant Holmes and AJ Smith-Shawver two, and Reynoldo Lopez and Bryce Elder one each. They have pitched 41.1 innings in those nine starts and have combined to allow 26 earned runs. That’s a whopping 5.66 ERA.
