Braves Claim Michael Grove

The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed righty Michael Grove off waivers from the Rays. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta already had a 40-man spot open, so no additional moves are needed.

Grove, 30 in December, was a second-round pick by the Dodgers back in 2018. He long ranked as one of the better prospects in L.A.’s system but hasn’t found much success in parts of four big league seasons — thanks in no small part due to injury. The 6’3″, 200-pound righty has spent time on the major league injured list due to knee, groin, lat and shoulder troubles. The shoulder problems have been the most severe; Grove was diagnosed with a torn labrum during spring training of 2025 and missed that entire season due to surgery.

Following that surgery, Grove was removed from the Dodgers’ 40-man roster and became a free agent at the start of last offseason. He signed a big league deal with Tampa Bay back in April, after Ryan Pepiot was lost for the season, but has spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A.

When he’s been healthy enough to take the mound, Grove has pitched to a 5.47 ERA in 156 1/3 big league innings. It’s obviously an unsightly number, but Grove’s rate stats are far more encouraging. He’s punched out a solid 23.1% of his major league opponents and recorded a tidy 6.6% walk rate. A quality 11.8% swinging-strike rate suggests there might even be a few more whiffs in the tank.

Grove’s ground-ball rate, opponents’ exit velocity, opponents’ hard-hit rate and opponents’ chase rate are all pretty close to league average. He’s been done in by a susceptibility to home runs (1.55 HR/9, 15% homer-to-flyball ratio) that has contributed to a 64% strand rate that’s well shy of average. He’s sitting 94 mph on his four-seamer this year and 93.7 mph on his sinker, coupling that pair of heaters primarily with a mid-80s slider and a 90 mph cutter.

Grove allowed five runs in seven major league innings as a Ray but has a 3.34 ERA in 35 innings with the team’s top affiliate in Durham. He’s set down 29.1% of his opponents on strikes there and logged a 9.5% walk rate.

In the past, Grove has been a starter. That may be how Atlanta views him beyond the current season, but he’s bullpen depth for the time being. It’s hardly a guarantee that he’d stick on the Braves’ 40-man roster all winter, but if he does, he’d head to camp next year out of minor league options and would thus need to make the team or else be designated for assignment.