NL EAST NEWS AND NOTES

ATLANTA BRAVES

In need of bullpen help, the Braves reached into their past and acquired left-hander Jonny Venters from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Venters pitched for Atlanta from 2010 to 2012, and then didn’t pitch in the major leagues again until this season because of four major elbow surgeries. He had a 3.86 ERA in 22 appearances for the Rays.

The Braves especially wanted to find a left-hander because A.J. Minter has taken over the closer role with Arodys Vizcaino on the disabled list and Sam Freeman sporting a 5.03 ERA.

❚ Not long after he came within one out of a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 29, left-hander Sean Newcomb apologized for offensive tweets he sent when he was a senior in high school. Newcomb discovered mentions of the posts when he picked up his phone after the game.

MIAMI MARLINS

The Marlins called up 22year-old outfielder Magneuris Sierra, the top prospect they acquired in last winter’s Marcell Ozuna trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. Sierra became the starter in center field, where veteran Cameron Maybin had been playing since Lewis Brinson went on the disabled list in early July.

Sierra had a .260 batting average at Class AAA New Orleans. He hit .317 in 22 major league games for the Cardinals last season.

❚ Sierra took the roster spot that had belonged to first baseman- outfielder Garrett Cooper, who went on the DL for the second time this season after reinjuring his right wrist.

NEW YORK METS

The Mets have long known Yoenis Cespedes had an issue with his heels. The 32-year-old outfielder has long known he would need surgery to deal with it, but he also hoped to put it off until he retired from baseball.

After two months on the disabled list, however, it took only one game for Cespedes and the Mets to decide the pain was too much to tolerate. He will have surgery on both heels and will miss at least eight to 10 months.

The Mets will recoup some of Cespedes’ $29 million salary through insurance, but his injury could hurt their plans to try to contend next season.

❚ By trading Jeurys Familia to the Oakland Athletics and Asdrubal Cabrera to the Phillies, the team saved about $6 million. It wasn’t clear how much of that money or the insurance money they get back because of Cespedes’ injury will be available to the front office to spend on 2019 payroll. They signed 31year-old outfielder Austin Jackson ,whom the Texas Rangers acquired from the San Francisco Giants on July 8 and released six days later.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Second base wasn’t a position of need for the Phillies, but they were happy to trade for Asdrubal Cabrera, who had played exclusively at second for the Mets this season.

One reason is Cabrera also has played third base and shortstop in his 12-year major league career. Another is the Phillies simply needed another infielder who could hit.

Cabrera made his debut with the Phillies as a shortstop, with Cesar Hernandez still at second base, Maikel Franco at third and Scott Kingery , who has been playing short, on the bench.

Cabrera has played more games at short than at any other position, but he last was a regular there in 2016.

❚ The Phillies called up outfielder Roman Quinn, who runs well, is a switch-hitter and had.706 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) in 69 plate appearances for the 2016 Phillies, his only previous big-league experience. “I think it’s fair to say that nobody has a weapon like this off the bench,” Kapler said.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

Max Scherzer is the only active pitcher with 200 or more strikeouts in seven consecutive seasons, and this year he got there in his 22nd start. Scherzer had 41 more strikeouts than anyone else in the National League, though Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox was leading the majors with 207.

The only pitcher with more consecutive 200-strikeout seasons was Tom Seaver, who had nine in a row with the Mets.

Stephen Strasburg has exceeded 30 starts once in his career, and the Nationals hope a pain-killing injection is enough to deal with the cervical neck impingement that forced his latest trip to the disabled list. Lefthander Tommy Milone replaced him in the rotation.

❚ The Nationals issued a statement July 29 on behalf of shortstop Trea Turner in which he apologized for the offensive tweets he sent while he played for North Carolina State in 2011 and 2012.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

YOENIS CESPEDES, METS: The Mets got the outfielder back after two months on the disabled list, but it was a one-game tease. On top of that, after Cespedes went back on the DL, the team announced he’ll have surgery to correct calcification on both heels, a procedure expected to sideline him 8-10 months. Cespedes has played in just 119 games in two years since getting a four-year, $110 million contract.