Braves release former top prospect Luiz Gohara

A few days after he was designated for assignment to make room for the trio of relievers the Braves acquired at the trade deadline, Luiz Gohara was officially released by the club on Friday afternoon.

Gohara, still just 23, has had a turbulent last few years. He made his big league debut towards the end of 2017 and impressed many in the organization, but a tumultuous offseason really stunted his growth. While home in Brazil, his father passed away and his mother fell ill. If that wasn’t enough to deal with, Gohara’s conditioning suffered and showed up to spring training in poor shape. He would later suffer an ankle injury that put him behind the eight ball as the season began.

Gohara experienced a lost 2018 campaign but showed up to spring training the following year in better shape, but a nagging shoulder injury prevented him from getting much work in. He would eventually undergo shoulder surgery in July to end any chance he had at pitching this year. Given his 40-man roster status and lengthy history of injury, he was the most likely candidate to be removed from the roster.

It’s a shame things didn’t work out. When healthy and on the mound, it wasn’t hard to see why Gohara was once regarded as one of the game’s better pitching prospects. Here’s hoping Luiz gets healthy and catches on with another organization soon.