On February 5, the Atlanta Braves signed a seasoned right-handed starting pitcher to a minor league contract, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball.
He’s not Dylan Cease or Garrett Crochet. However, this week the Atlanta Braves another gifted player.
On February 5, Aram Leighton of Just Baseball reported that right-hander Chad Kuhl has signed a minor league contract with the Braves.
He formerly pitched for the Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, and Pittsburgh Pirates in addition to the White Sox.
In 2016 and 2017, he was a promising young pitcher for the Pirates. With other starters like Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Tallion developing into aces, Pittsburgh hoped he would be a solution in the middle of their rotation at the time.
In 157.1 innings pitched, Kuhl recorded an 8-11 record in 2017 with a 4.35 ERA, 1.468 WHIP, and 142 strikeouts. However, he never improved on his Pirates campaign, partly due to injuries.
Kuhl hasn’t had an ERA below 5.00 in a season since leaving Pittsburgh. Kuhl made 16 appearances with the Nationals during his one season in the NL East, going 0–4 with an 8.45 ERA and 1.957 WHIP. Five of those 16 appearances were starts.
Last season, Kuhl made one start along with 30 relief appearances. He posted an 0-2 record with a 5.06 ERA, 1.519 WHIP and 54 strikeouts in 53.1 innings.
If Kuhl pitches well during Spring Training, there’s room for him to carve out a role with the Braves at the MLB level. Atlanta could enter the regular season with questions about its depth in the starting rotation and bullpen.
Kuhl could push Ian Anderson, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and others for a bottom spot in the Braves rotation. But more realistically, Atlanta could utilize Kuhl as a long reliever in low leverage situations.
Jesse Chavez held that role with the Braves the past few seasons, but he signed with Texas Rangers on Jan. 27.
Over his eight-year MLB career, Kuhl owns a 4.98 ERA, 1.486 WHIP, 9.1 strikeouts and 4.2 walks per nine innings in 174 appearances.
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