Eric

O'Flaherty

The Mariners wanted another arm with Rafael Soriano (neck) sidelined. O’Flaherty, 21, had pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings since moving up to Triple-A. Overall, he had a 2.01 ERA at three levels. He should turn out to be a pretty useful reliever in time, though he may not throw enough strikes to be effective right away.

He has struck out 10, but has handed out six free passes, as well. We suspect O’Flaherty will turn it around, but it’s a reminder as to the volatility of relievers after the southpaw put up a sparkling 0.98 ERA for the Braves last season.

He was arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter. O’Flaherty, who turns 27 next month, earned $895,000 last season while posting a fantastic 0.98 ERA and 67/21 K/BB ratio over 73 2/3 innings. The southpaw will be a trusted set-up man for Fredi Gonzalez again in 2012.

It’s not a major concern at this point, but O’Flaherty won’t pitch for a few more days. He holds a 3.97 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 25 games this season.

If it goes well, O’Flaherty could be available for Friday night’s series-opener against the Orioles. The 27-year-old southpaw has been sidelined since last Friday.

O’Flaherty hadn’t pitched in nine days because of soreness in his throwing elbow. The lefty was able to avoid the disabled list and should be active going forward.

He entered the game with the Braves up 5-3, and then gave way to Eric O’Flaherty to start the eighth inning. While only three of his 22 appearances this year have come in the seventh, this was the first time he entered to protect a lead. After closing out April with a 0.00 ERA, Venters has surrendered nine runs (eight earned) in 10 2/3 this month. A big problem has been leadoff hitters, who are batting .400 against him this season versus .184 in 2011.

O’Flaherty still feels some soreness in his elbow, so he’ll just play catch instead. If all goes well, he’ll throw a bullpen session Saturday and could return to action Sunday.

There’s no high-level concern for the injury, but the Braves will likely go with Jonny Venters as their primary setup man for the rest of the season. O’Flaherty is posting a 1.76 ERA and hasn’t allowed a run in his last 27 appearances.

It was his first appearance since coming down with a bit of back stiffness on September 26. O’Flaherty posted a sparkling 1.73 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 46/19 K/BB ratio in 57 1/3 innings this season and should play a prominent role in the Braves’ bullpen during the playoffs.