Second Round of Cuts, Javy Retires

Written by Colin on March 22, 2008 – 7:11 pm

The Braves cut Javy Lopez and six other players today from their Spring Training roster, prompting Javy to announce his retirement and end his comeback bid.  Bobby Cox revealed that Javy lost the battle for the backup catcher position because his arm wasn’t strong enough.  Cox spoke with the catcher about starting the season in the minors, but Javy decided against it and announced his retirement.

Fans will be disappointed to see Javy go – his seasons in the late 90s with Atlanta will be remembered as his prime, when he consistently made the All Star team and put together a reputation based on his offensive firepower.  He’ll retire with a .287 average, 260 home runs, and 864 RBIs.  Javy, thanks for the great seasons from 1992 through 2003.

Also cut from the roster today were outfield prospect Jordan Schafer, Brandon Jones, Ryan Drese, Jorge Campillo, Francisley Bueno, and of course the woeful Jo-Jo Reyes.  None of these are very surprising – they all need more work before they can compete at the big league level.  We’ll hope the bad spring won’t discourage Jo-Jo Reyes, who has potential but cannot for the life of him put together a decent string of outings.  We’ll see Schafer here next year (or towards the end of the year) for sure.  Brandon Jones is talented but needs more patience at the plate before he’s ready.

On we move through spring training – we’ll have more on cuts as they come.


Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Roster Moves | 4 Comments »


4 Responses to “Second Round of Cuts, Javy Retires”

  1. By Smitty on Mar 24, 2008 | Reply

    Wow! It feels a little like when you are in elementary school and they start picking teams on the playground. Are you going to be the last kid picked again?

    Not that *I* ever had that problem, mind you.

    But, here we go, athletes giving it their 100% best and, at the end of the day, their best just wasn’t good enough. Fortunately, for all of these guys except Javy, these cuts represent more of a “Not Right Now” rather than a “Not Now, Not Ever.”

    But, Javy, we love you.

    We love the 11 years you gave us.
    We love your 15 postseason series appearances.
    We love your three all-star appearances in a Braves uniform.
    We love your 1996 NLCS MVP award.
    My wife loves you for reasons I don’t want to admit.

    But mostly, we love you for focusing and dedicating your life most recently to making a comeback to your Braves.

    Yes, you failed.

    But, Javy, at least you failed standing up at home plate. Many men in your station of life wouldn’t have even gotten out of the proverbial dugout.

    God’s blessings to you in your retirement.

    Smitty

  2. By Jonathan on Mar 24, 2008 | Reply

    Well said, Smitty. It’s a sad day to see Javy go, but I can’t blame him for hanging it up instead of playing in the minors.

    Javy was one of my Braves favorites as a little kid (as I’m sure he was to many) and it’s sad to see him go, but I definitely am grateful for all he did in Atlanta.

    As for the other cuts, I’m sure we’ll see Schafer and Jones in Atlanta soon enough. And I’m not so sad to see Drese and Reyes go.

  3. By Smitty on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply

    Wow! It feels a little like when you are in elementary school and they start picking teams on the playground. Are you going to be the last kid picked again?

    Not that *I* ever had that problem, mind you.

    But, here we go, athletes giving it their 100% best and, at the end of the day, their best just wasn't good enough. Fortunately, for all of these guys except Javy, these cuts represent more of a "Not Right Now" rather than a "Not Now, Not Ever."

    But, Javy, we love you.

    We love the 11 years you gave us.
    We love your 15 postseason series appearances.
    We love your three all-star appearances in a Braves uniform.
    We love your 1996 NLCS MVP award.
    My wife loves you for reasons I don't want to admit.

    But mostly, we love you for focusing and dedicating your life most recently to making a comeback to your Braves.

    Yes, you failed.

    But, Javy, at least you failed standing up at home plate. Many men in your station of life wouldn't have even gotten out of the proverbial dugout.

    God's blessings to you in your retirement.

    Smitty

  4. By Jonathan on Feb 2, 2009 | Reply

    Well said, Smitty. It's a sad day to see Javy go, but I can't blame him for hanging it up instead of playing in the minors.

    Javy was one of my Braves favorites as a little kid (as I'm sure he was to many) and it's sad to see him go, but I definitely am grateful for all he did in Atlanta.

    As for the other cuts, I'm sure we'll see Schafer and Jones in Atlanta soon enough. And I'm not so sad to see Drese and Reyes go.

Post a Comment


BravesBlast.com is not affiliated with or sponsored by the Atlanta Braves organization. Views expressed on this site do not reflect the views of the Atlanta Braves organization.