Braves make another pitching move, add Reitsma

By Jim Callis
March 26, 2004

For the second time in two days, the Braves bolstered their pitching staff with a trade. After getting Juan Cruz from the Cubs on Thursday, they acquired Chris Reitsma from the Reds for Jung Bong and minor league righthander Bubba Nelson on Friday.

Reitsma, a 26-year-old righthander, finished 2003 as the Reds' closer after they dealt Scott Williamson to Boston. He went 9-5, 4.29 in 57 games, with 12 saves in 18 opportunities. In 84 innings, he posted a 53-19 strikeout-walk ratio while batters hit .281 with 14 homers against him. Reitsma's stuff is better suited for a setup man, and he'll assume that role in Atlanta. His out pitch is a hard sinker, and he also utilizes a four-seam fastball and a changeup. He'll make $950,000 this year after losing his arbitration case, in which he asked for $1.45 million. His career record is 22-32, 4.52 in 125 games (53 starts).

This offseason, the Braves have traded their two best pitching prospects. They used righthander Adam Wainwright to get J.D. Drew from the Cardinals, and now they've parted with the 22-year-old Nelson, a 2000 second-round pick out of a Maryland high school. He led the minors with a 1.66 ERA in 2002 before following up by going 8-11, 3.04 in 34 games (20 starts) between Double-A Greenville and Triple-A Richmond last year. He had an 84-50 K-BB ratio in 133 innings, while opponents batted .239 with eight homers. Nelson was primarily a starter until late last year, when the Braves shifted him to relief in anticipation of using him in that role for the stretch run. The Reds plan on returning him to the rotation. His hard slider is his best pitch, and he also throws a heavy 89-93 mph fastball. He needs to improve the consistency of his command and of his changeup to succeed in the majors.

Like Nelson, Bong began his pro career as a starter before the Braves turned him into a reliever in the upper minors. Cincinnati also envisions him as a starter in the long run. The 23-year-old Korean lefthander spent almost all of 2003 in the Atlanta bullpen, save for a two-week demotion in August. He went 6-2, 5.05 in 44 games, with a 47-31 K-BB ratio in 57 innings. Opponents hit .267 with eight homers. Bong works primarily with a 91-94 mph fastball and a curveball, but gets in trouble when he doesn't throw enough strikes and quality strikes. That was a problem in the second half of last year, as he had a 9.18 ERA after July 1.