ATLANTA -- Tyrell Jenkins, Williams Perez, John Gant and Rob Whalen stood as four of the 12 pitchers who made at least five starts for Atlanta this past season. But each of them has recently been affected by what is essentially a weeding-out process that has enabled the Braves to use some of their starting-pitching surplus to address other areas of need.
Over the past two weeks, the Braves have either traded or released those four hurlers to create space on the 40-man roster or to enrich the club's pipeline with a bat or an arm that possesses greater upside.