Reitsma disabled, Stockman up to Atlanta

Chris Reitsma is off the Atlanta Braves roster. He has numbness in his fingers, and will spend at least the next fifteen days on the disabled list. The Braves Show's Bill Shanks has the scoop on who will replace Reitsma on the Atlanta roster.

The Atlanta Braves have placed reliever Chris Reitsma on the 15-day disabled list and purchased the contract of right-hander Phil Stockman from Triple-A Richmond.

Reitsma has had numbness in his fingers the past few days, and doctors have diagnosed it as ulnar neuritis.

Stockman has been amazing since putting on a Braves’ uniform. The team signed him last winter as a six-year minor league free agent from the Diamondbacks. Stockman had become a reliever last year after spending the first six years of his minor league career as a starting pitcher, but he has found a home in the bullpen.

The six-foot-eight hard-thrower started the season in Double-A Mississippi, where he did not allow an earned run in three games. He was then sent up to Triple-A and his solid pitching continued. Stockman pitched 16 games for Manager Brian Snitker and allowed only three runs in 29.2 innings. Overall, in nineteen games, Stockman had an ERA of 0.73, allowed 10 hits in 37 innings, walked 12, and struck out 51.

Stockman throws in the mid-90s, along with a solid curve and hard slider. The Braves signed him upon the recommendation of Phil Dale, their scout in Australia who was familiar with the tall kid from down under. He’ll join the Braves in Florida on Wednesday.


Bill Shanks is the author of Scout's Honor: The Bravest Way To Build A Winning Team, a look inside the Braves‘ traditional scouting and player development philosophies. He can also be heard regularly on the Braves Radio Network. Email Bill at .