TAMPA, Fla. -- It remains to be seen whether
Kimbrel spent last season with the Orioles, posting a stellar first half (2.10 ERA, 23/27 save opportunities in his first 38 appearances through July 7) before a pair of blown saves caused him to lose his grip on the closer’s job. He posted an 11.50 ERA over 19 outings after July 7 before being designated for assignment on Sept. 18.\n\n“Hopefully he can replicate what he did in the first half of last year,” Snitker said. “Talking to some of the Baltimore guys, they thought he would make the All-Star team. Three weeks ago, I said somebody might have a big influence on our team that's not even in camp yet. It would be great if he was that guy.”
Another candidate to be “that guy” is
“At some point in time in Spring Training, guys are going to start opting out and guys are going to be narrowing their teams down, so there are going to be guys available,” Snitker said. “We're still a few days away, so you never know what might happen between now and a week from Thursday.”\n\n**Ready to go** \n
In five spring outings (four starts), Schwellenbach has a 2.41 ERA with 26 strikeouts and two walks in 18 2/3 innings. He will probably start one of the two exhibition games against the Cubs in Arizona on Monday or Tuesday, but Wednesday’s outing was enough to show the Braves that the 24-year-old is ready for the season.\n\nSchwellenbach threw 168 2/3 innings last season between the Majors and Minors, with 123 2/3 of them coming with the Braves. Even after going 8-7 with a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts during his rookie campaign, Schwellenbach still has plenty to learn.\n\n“He had never been to a big league camp until this year, so there are going to be a lot of firsts for him again, even this year,” Snitker said. “It’s really cool to see where he's at. A year ago right now, I didn’t know what he looked like.”\n\n**Welcome return** \n