Done deal: Atlanta Braves have just concluded the signing of …

Done deal: Atlanta Braves have just concluded the signing of a …

RHP Taylor Widener has agreed to a minor league contract with the Atlanta

Braves. Widener, 29, was traded to the Diamondbacks in February 2018 after

being selected by the Yankees in the 2016 MLB Draft. Throughout his career, he has been both a starter and a reliever.

Widener made 13 starts for the Diamondbacks in 2021 before serving only as a reliever in 2022.

Widener crushed the opposition in Double-A to finish off his rookie campaign with the Diamondbacks organization. He was recognized as the

Minor League Pitcher of the Year by the Diamondbacks organization. With 25 starts, Widener finished the 2018 season

with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.035 WHIP. He struck out 176 batters in 137.1 innings, yielding an 11.6 K/9IP. During that

season, he only walked 2.8 batters in nine innings pitched for Double-A Jackson.

Widener’s stellar 2018 campaign did not carry over to Triple-A Reno in 2019. He

pitched 100.0 innings without giving up a run in 23 starts. He had a depressing 8.10 ERA in the end. His walk rate went from

2.8 to 3.7 in nine games, but Triple-A hitters were hitting him with lightening fast balls. In his first Triple-A season,

Widener gave up 12.0 hits per nine, up from roughly 6.5 in the previous two seasons.

The Diamondbacks were impressed enough by Widener to give him a call in

2020. That year, he pitched 20.0 innings as a reliever. He appeared in 23 games the next season, starting 13 of them and

serving as both a reliever and a starter for the Diamondbacks. He returned to relief work in 2022.

With a 4.26 ERA in 107.1 innings pitched in the major leagues, Widener has experience. Over his big league career,

he has struck out 9.1 batters per nine innings pitched. With 13 starts and 23 appearances in 2021, he pitched 70.1

innings, the most in a single season sample size. He had a 4.35 ERA and a 9.3 K/9IP in that season. Given that his

career FIP is 1.28 higher than his earned run average, it appears that he may have had some good fortune.