The Braves announced that they have claimed right-hander Ricky Vanasco off waivers from the Tigers and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. Detroit designated him for assignment earlier this week when they signed Tyler Kinley, who had been released by Atlanta. Kinley’s release gave Atlanta an open 40-man spot, which Vanasco now fills.
Vanasco, 27, started the season with Detroit on a minor league deal. He was selected to the major league roster in May but mostly kept on optional assignment. He made five appearances in the big leagues, which were not especially successful, to put it mildly. He allowed 11 earned runs across 6 1/3 innings. When combined with his four innings pitched in the 2024 season, he has a 12.19 earned run average in 10 1/3 innings for his career.
Atlanta is surely more interested in his larger sample of work in the minors. This season, he has thrown 46 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 2.53 ERA. His 12.5% walk rate is a few ticks north of average but he has struck out opponents at a strong 30.7% clip and also induced grounders at a healthy 48.6% rate. His four-seamer, which he throws about half the time, is averaging 94.7 miles per hour in Triple-A. He throws a curveball and a changeup about a quarter of the time each, with a little-used slider in there as well.
The sequence of moves effectively add up to equal an accidental trade of sorts. Atlanta recalled AJ Smith-Shawver from the minors last week, which led to Kinley being designated for assignment and released. Detroit quickly scooped up Kinley and added him to their major league roster, which led to Vanasco hitting the waiver wire. Since Vanasco is still optionable, Atlanta grabbed him and will send him to the minors for some extra bullpen depth.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
