Sometimes, one appearance can change the course of a career.
Former Arizona Diamondbacks 15th-round pick Austin Pope spent the better part of six years toiling away in the minor leagues, but he finally got his shot in late September for an Arizona team that was fresh out of bullpen arms. He made his debut on Sept. 25, pitched two scoreless innings in an 8-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, then was optioned to Triple-A the next day.
The Diamondbacks decided Pope wasn’t worth a 40-man roster spot, so they waived him at the end of the World Series and attempted to outright him to Triple-A Reno on Nov. 6. But the 27-year-old instead elected free agency, and now, he has a new team that might give him a second major league outing at some point in the near future.
According to the transactions log on his official MLB.com roster page, Pope signed a minor-league deal with the Atlanta Braves for the upcoming season. The deal was officially signed on Sunday, but was not reflected on the website until Wednesday.
Pope hasn’t had the best statistics throughout his minor-league career, but in fairness, the Diamondbacks’ affiliates are notorious for playing in leagues with inflated offensive totals.
This season, he pitched to a reasonable 4.38 ERA in 31 appearances, all but six of which came in Triple-A, and struck out 43 batters in 37 innings. He cut his walk rate in half from a season ago, which the Braves may have taken into consideration as well.
Atlanta had so many pitching injuries that it ended up using 46 different hurlers this year, a new franchise record. That certainly taught them that they need depth, and that’s what Pope will represent, even if he starts the year with Triple-A Gwinnett.
More MLB: Blue Jays Insider Hints at ‘Tiebreaker’ in Bo Bichette Sweepstakes