ATLANTA — The Braves set their 25-man roster for the regular season, keeping left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes for the final spot in the bullpen and Brooks Conrad as a backup infielder.
Manager Bobby Cox announced Friday that Reyes had beaten out left-hander Jonny Venters, while Conrad was kept over fellow infielder Joe Thurston. The Braves’ 12-man pitching staff will also include right-hander Jesse Chavez, who had a terrible spring but a bit of a track record: 73 relief appearances for Pittsburgh last season.
Reyes appeared in six games for Atlanta last season — five of them starts — and went 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA. He spent most of the season starting at Triple-A Gwinnett, but will have to adjust to a new role in long relief if he wants to stay in the big leagues.
“I had no clue what was going to happen,” he said before Friday night’s exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox. “I’m just preparing to go out there and build on what I did all of spring training.”
Reyes had worked 12 innings over eight relief appearances this spring, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA. He allowed 10 hits, walked four and struck out eight. Venters had pitched 10 innings and was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA. He surrendered 12 hits with five walks and seven strikeouts.
Reyes worked on improving his velocity in spring training and looks forward to the challenge of being a reliever after starting most of his career. He made 22 starts for the Braves in 2008, going 3-11 with a 5.81 ERA.
“This is something new,” Reyes said. “I have to learn it. I’m having a lot of fun with it.
Conrad hit .204 with two homers and eight RBIs in 54 at-bats with the Braves last season, but this is the first time the 30-year-old has broken camp with a big league team.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “This is something I’ll never forget. Now, it’s up to me. I’ve got to go out there and do a great job every day.”
Conrad was hitting .229 with two homers and nine RBIs this spring. Thurston, a non-roster invitee who has made brief big-league appearances with three other teams, made a strong bid to get on the team by hitting .319 with two homers and 10 RBIs.
“I feel bad for the other guy,” Conrad said. “But I’ve been on the other side of this. That’s just part of it.”
Chavez had given up 14 runs in nine innings during the spring, allowing 21 hits and a .457 average by opposing hitters. But he also had a rough camp a year ago for the Pirates before bouncing back to go 1-4 with 4.01 ERA during the regular season.
Chavez was traded twice during the winter, first to Tampa Bay, then on to Atlanta for former Braves closer Rafael Soriano.
“Bobby told me to forget what happened and just build on what we worked on this spring,” Chavez said. “I was in the same position last year. I want them to feel good about this decision.”
The Braves also have right-hander Scott Proctor, who missed all of last season recovering from elbow surgery. He pitched five games in Florida but the team wants to make sure he’s fully recovered by putting him on the big-league roster.
Another right-hander, Craig Kimbrell, was one of the most impressive pitchers in camp and has the look of a future closer. But the 21-year-old has only 14 appearances above Class A and will start the season at Gwinnett.
Atlanta plays the White Sox twice this weekend before opening the regular season Monday against the Chicago Cubs.