Lake Buena Vista, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Atlanta Braves placed five pitchers on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, including 2013 13-game winner Mike Minor and veteran Gavin Floyd.
Also shelved were starters Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, both of whom underwent Tommy John surgery last week and will miss the entire upcoming season, as well as reliever Jonny Venters.
Minor is still in the process of building arm strength after missing the early portion of spring training recovering from urinary tract surgery and battling a sore shoulder. The left-hander, who went 13-9 with a 3.21 earned run average in 32 outings last season, hopes to be ready sometime in late April.
Both Floyd, signed to a one-year contract by Atlanta over the winter, and Venters are still on the mend from Tommy John procedures performed last year. The Braves expect Floyd to join the rotation at some point in the season's first month, while Venters isn't slated to return until at least June.
Medlen had been tabbed to be Atlanta's Opening Day starter prior to hurting his elbow during a Grapefruit League game on March 9, with manager Fredi Gonzalez giving Julio Teheran the nod in his place.
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