Braves claim Andrew Velazquez off waivers; transfer Yonny Chirinos to the 60-day IL

The Atlanta Braves have announced that have claimed infielder Andrew Velazquez off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett. In a corresponding move, the team transferred pitcher Yonny Chirinos to the 60-day injured list.

Velazquez debuted as a 23-year-old with Tampa in 2018 and has seen action in each season since his initial promotion. This season, he appeared in 54 games - but only received 94 plate appearances - with the Angels. Although he has experience as multiple infield positions and all three outfield spots, he’s only exceeded 100 plate appearances once in his career - last season when he played in 125 games as the Angels primary shortstop. He is a well below average hitter, sporting a career OPS+ of 49 and triple-slash for his career of .189/.244/.293. This season he hit .173/.264/.284.

As for Chirinos, his time with Atlanta will conclude - at least for this season - with an undesirable 9.27 ERA posted across five starts and a total of 22.1 innings pitched. Claimed on waivers earlier this season from Tampa, the 29-year-old did strikeout 8.9 batters per nine innings with the Braves prior to being placed on the injured list.