Atlanta Braves officially designate Allan Winans as the 27th man for today's doubleheader in New York
The Atlanta Braves, as expected, have officially announced that RHP Allan Winans is the designated 27th man for today's doubleheader against the New York Mets in Citi Field.
(The "27th Man" designation allows for a 40-man rostered player to come up for one day to play in a doubleheader, receive one day of MLB service time, and be automatically returned to the minors following the conclusion of that day's contests. Additionally, that player is not subject to the usual roster rule that requires players optioned to the minor leagues to spend a minimum 10 (position players) or 15 (pitchers) days in the minors before being recalled, so Winans could be called back up to start a game next week if Atlanta so chose.)
A 17th round pick by the Mets in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Campbell University, New York decided that his work as a reliever in their system wasn't worth of protection ahead of the 2021 Rule 5 draft, meaning they didn't view him as one of their best 78 organizational players. Atlanta selected him in the minor-league phase, converted him into a starter, and he's since thrived in the minors for AAA Gwinnett.
And it's not like Winans was bad! His final year in the organization, he pitched 47 innings in relief between High-A and Double-A with a 1.72 ERA. But New York declined to protect him all the same, and Atlanta swooped in.
"I think the Braves saw something in me that maybe the Mets didn’t or maybe other teams didn’t, and I’m just thankful for the opportunity that the Braves gave me" Winans said before his first start last month.
There's a theory in sports that every player has that one opponent they're able to elevate their performance for, whether it's comfort against the opponent or possibly a personal relationship, good or bad, with the other organization. Former Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson hit two home runs in the three game series against Atlanta earlier this month, while Marcell Ozuna went absolutely nuclear in a three game series in Miami back in early May. As a former Marlins outfielder (who was traded away by the organization) and who still lives in the city, Ozuna hit 3 homers (including a grand slam) with 6 RBIs and it was the catalyst to his absolutely bonkers month of May, where he batted .297/.360/.626 with 9 HRs and 20 RBIs in his 24 games.
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