The Atlanta Braves' offseason pressed forward with the re-signing of infielder Ramiro Pena and the non-tender of three contributors to last season's National League East champions: Paul Janish, Elliot Johnson and Christhian Martinez. All three players are now unrestricted free agents.
Pena played well after signing as a free agent last season before suffering a torn labrum and undergoing season-ending surgery, logging 107 plate appearances in 50 games and hitting .278/.330/.443 with three home runs.
The team picked Johnson up off waivers toward the end of the season to fill a void of infielders left by the injuries to Pena and Tyler Pastornicky, eventually moving him into the starting role at second baseman for the NLDS series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Johnson hit .261/.317/.359 in 102 plate appearances and added eight steals. Janish, serving primarily as a defensive replacement, played in 52 games last season.
After making 100 relief appearances for the Braves in 2011 and 2012, Martinez appeared just two appearances before undergoing shoulder surgery last season. However, his absence, along with that of top relievers Eric O'Flaherty and Jonny Venters, helped leave the door open for potential 2014 relievers David Carpenter, Anthony Varvaro, Alex Wood and others. With the earlier re-signing of Venters, it became clear that there were limited bullpen openings, even for a proven long reliever.
The Braves now have nine arbitration-eligible players on the 40-man roster left unsigned for 2014: Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel, Mike Minor, Kris Medlen, Chris Johnson Brandon Beachy, Jordan Schafer and Jordan Walden.
