The Braves re-signed infielder Kyle Farmer to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. He would’ve debuted with the Stripers tonight before the game was rained out.
Farmer is back in the organization after being released last week. He’d spent the season on the big league roster around a six-week injured list stint but saw sporadic action. Farmer made 12 total appearances and only got into the starting lineup once. He went 4-16 with a double and four strikeouts. It wasn’t a great use of a roster spot despite Farmer’s strong clubhouse reputation.
The Atlanta native will report to Gwinnett as veteran infield depth. Atlanta doesn’t have much roster flexibility in the position player core, as none of their bench players (Joey Bart, Jorge Mateo, Dominic Smith or Eli White) have minor league options.
Rookie shortstop Jim Jarvis does have options and has only managed seven hits in 39 plate appearances since the All-Star Break. He has also committed four errors in 19 starts. Atlanta should be in the shortstop market, which could push Jarvis back to Triple-A.
There aren’t a ton of obvious trade candidates at the position, as it’s a bad group of rentals and the shortstops on the obvious sellers aren’t likely to move. Francisco Lindor, Willy Adames, Javier Báez, Ezequiel Tovar and Andrés Giménez all have underwater contracts. None of Bobby Witt Jr., Elly De La Cruz or Jacob Wilson are getting dealt. The Angels are expected to listen on Zach Neto but would surely demand a haul for three and a half years of their franchise shortstop.
