Braves Outright Reliever to Triple-A, Lose Another to Rays

The Atlanta Braves' efforts to open up 40-man roster spaces have more pitchers on the move. The team announced on Friday that they have outrighted right-hander Anthony Molina to Triple-A Gwinnett. Meanwhile, Osvaldo Bido has been picked up off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Bido had been designated for assignment by the Braves earlier this week to make room for Ha-Seong Kim. He signed a one-year, $20 million deal to stay in Atlanta.

Molina and Bido came to the Braves organization earlier this month off the waiver wire. The former came over from the Rockies, while the latter came from the Athletics. With other bigger moves taking precedent, they were in and out rather quickly.

The fate of Molina has yet to be decided in totality. It wasn't mentioned if he has accepted his assignment yet. However, this move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster. Whether it means something else is pending is unclear. Even if nothing is imminent, it gets a step out of the way if they do acquire someone else this offseason.

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Molina pitched to a 7.27 ERA in 17 outings last season. He was mainly a long-relief arm for the Rockies last season. Bido finished last season with a 5.87 ERA. They were on the 40-man, so they were viewed entirely as system depth. However, at best, Molina looks to be an arm who seems some action in Spring Training and then heads to the minor leagues.

In the end, the Braves having to clear these spaces bodes well for what they've been building. Along with Kim, they had to make room for an all-star reliever in Robert Suarez and a big league bat in Mike Yastrzemski. If they still aim to acquire a starting pitcher, they'll have to make room on the 40-man for him, too.

One of the team's starting pitcher options went off the board earlier on Friday. Michael King, who was a free-agent target, opted to re-sign with the San Diego Padres. Another reported target, Framber Valdez, is still available. How close the Braves are or were to either has yet to become clear.

The only missed signing that we've learned about so far is the five-year deal offered to Edwin Diaz, and even then, not all the details are known. There is still plenty of offseason ahead. There will be more transactions afoot, even small ones such as these.

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