Life, however, is full of second opportunities.
The Atlanta Braves are willing to give him an MLB roster spot and have him as part of their team, according to an official announcement on Friday.
“The #Braves today recalled LHP Ray Kerr to Atlanta to start tonight’s game vs. Pittsburgh and placed RHP AJ Smith-Shawver on the 15-day injured list with a strained left oblique muscle. Additionally, the club signed INF Joey Wendle to a major league contract and optioned INF Luke Williams to Triple-A Gwinnett,” the team tweeted.
That’s a lot of roster moves, but the main takeaway here is that they have signed Wendle to an MLB contract.
The Mets got rid of Wendle earlier this week after he hit .222 with no home runs in 36 at-bats.
Then again, Wendle hasn’t been good at the plate in quite a while: in fact, he was equally bad last year with the Miami Marlins, hitting .212 with two home runs in 297 at-bats.
He is 34 and getting closer to the end of the line, but his defensive versatility makes him a potentially good backup in the right situation.
That’s the role he is expected to serve in Atlanta: backup infielder.
The thing with Wendle is that he has the upside to be at least close to an average MLB hitter, but hasn’t played at that level since 2021 when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays.
He is a career .262/.311/.384 hitter with a .695 OPS.
If there is a team able to get the best of him at this point, it’s the Braves.
