Brett Evert
The Mariners claimed Brett Evert on waivers from the Braves today and optioned him to Tacoma. This is a very nice use of the free 40 man roster spot the Mariners had and a great example of free talent that can be had through the waiver process.
Evert shot up the Braves system with a strong 2001 season, but has faced some struggles in the past three seasons. His mechanics have become inconsistent and he has problems repeating his delivery. This has caused his command to come and go and led to control issues at Triple-A. His performance in Double-A was encouraging and earned him the promotion, but he was unable to build on that success.
When he’s right, Evert is a lot like Rett Johnson, throwing a low-90’s fastball with good sink but lacking a true strikeout pitch. His career is probably in the bullpen, but he has a solid arm. If Rafael Chaves can get his mechanics back on track, Evert could be an interesting name to watch and a potential contributor. Good pickup for the M’s.
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4 Responses to “Brett Evert”
Good. I had never really paid attention to him, and certainly not recently, so I wasn’t sure WHAT we were doing (as a free 40 man spot can go to people like Jeremy Reed!). But this reassures me quite a bit.
Is there any pitcher in the M’s system that could reasonably be brought up to the big club to soak up a few innings here and there? I just watched them wring 122 pitches out of Gil Meche tonight, with a doubleheader tomorrow and certainly more horrific games to come in September. Where’s Rusty Meacham when you really need him?
We used three relievers. If Nageotte can’t go more than 4 innings, I figure a reliever is going to have to be called up for game 2 just for the day(probably Blackley, as he starts today)
Blackley was rocked again at Tacoma last night. He’s not gonna get called up. His psyche was hurt by his too-early appearance in a M’s uniform.