Atlanta Braves Veteran Discusses Why He Wanted To Change Positions.

This summer, the Atlanta Braves added several hard-throwing relievers via trades and free agency, strengthening their bullpen.

However, adding a veteran who is accustomed to facing pitches from the other side of the plate would be another underappreciated move.

Charlie Culberson, a veteran utility player, is getting ready for Spring Training in a different role than what he has played much of his career: reliever. He spoke about the move on MLB Network’s “Hot Stove” lately.

When asked why he changed, Culberson replied that the call-up from the previous season made it official. With just one at-bat throughout his more than month-long stay in the major leagues, Culberson was the 26th guy on the bench.

“I believe it was the first time they contacted, right after I signed back with the Braves last year. “Hey, you’re gonna basically ride the bench,” Alex Anthopoulos stated. You won’t participate. I kind of made the decision after seeing two stints and one at-bat, since the Braves players play every day.”

Culberson is not a rookie to the Major League Baseball (MLB); in his eight career appearances totaling 7.1 innings, he has not given up a run save for the first time, which was with Atlanta in 2018.

He pitched 3.2 innings with Gwinnett late last season, and while the results weren’t great (five runs, two earned, on eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts), there were some valuable lessons learned by the long-time position player.

Working in a bullpen is one thing; facing live hitters is quite another. As soon as you start playing, the adrenaline kind of takes over.” Given that Culberson is known to hit 94 in the bullpen, there is speculation that he may still have some velocity left in him in a game setting.

Even though Atlanta has instructed Culberson to concentrate on pitching during the summer, he is prepared to go above and above to support the team in the major leagues.

“But I also informed them that I could be a possibility for them if they ever needed me, whether it be at AAA or the major leagues. In addition, I’m heading to spring training with all of my gloves, bats, and, just in case, batting gloves.”