It was not unexpected when long-standing clubhouse favorite Charlie Culberson returned to the Braves on a minor league contract last month. However, there was some surprise when it was revealed that Culberson was attempting to become a pitcher after spending 11 seasons in the MLB as a utility player. In an interview with Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Culberson explained that he started seriously pursuing pitching last August while playing for the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate. This was not entirely new to Culberson, as he had already pitched 7 1/3 innings in his career at the major league level. Culberson expressed his excitement about the opportunity, stating, “I loved pitching when I was younger, all the way through high school, and now I have a chance to try it out at this point in my career.”
Culberson will turn 35 in April, and due to Atlanta’s strong lineup, he only appeared in one MLB game in 2023 despite being on the active roster for several months. It remains to be seen if transitioning to pitching will open up more playing time for Culberson. However, he does possess a fastball that can reach 94mph, as well as a split changeup and a cutter in his repertoire. Over the past six months, he has been working closely with coaches and pitching instructors, fully embracing the challenges that come with learning a new skill at this stage of his career.
“This position change has definitely been a challenge for me, but I’m still able to play baseball. I understand how difficult it is to transition, and I imagine it would be even tougher to transition out of baseball altogether,” Culberson acknowledged. “Life doesn’t always come easy, and at some point, we have to be prepared to do something different, something outside of our comfort zone.”
Moving on to other news within the NL East…
According to the Source mlbtraderumors.com