Braves DFA Former Top Prospect Luiz Gohara Amid Injury Woes

The Atlanta Braves made some significant additions to their bullpen prior to Wednesday's trade deadline. They dealt for the Tigers' Shane Greene and Giants' Mark Melancon, both of whom are working on very impressive seasons. While this was great news for Braves fans, it wasn't such good news for former top prospect Luiz Gohara.

With the Braves in need of an open spot on the 40-man roster to welcome their new relievers, the team designated Gohara for assignment.

Gohara was once regarded as the Braves top left-handed pitching prospect after the club acquired him from the Seattle Mariners in 2017, but a series of injuries derailed his path to big league success. He managed just 77.2 major league innings in 2018 as he dealt with ankle issues, and he did not pitch for Atlanta this season due to the same problems. He underwent arthroscopic surgery last month.

In his MLB career, Gohara has appeared in 49 games and pitched to a 5.33 ERA.

The 23-year-old southpaw could still be a low-risk, high-reward addition for a team looking for talented young bullpen talent as he hits waivers. If he recovers well from surgery and manages to control the weight issues that have plagued his development, he could still fulfill the potential he showed as a minor-leaguer.

While the team's decision to DFA the lefty rather than place him on the 60-Day IL came as a bit of a surprise, it was not shocking that the injury-prone Gohara was the odd man out on the 40-man roster.