Braves DFA Starting Pitcher, Rotation Spot Opens Up

The Atlanta Braves make a major change to their pitching staff ahead of their rubber match against the Cleveland Guardians. Manager Walt Weiss said that left-hander Martín Pérez had been designated for assignment. 

Another left-hander, Dylan Dodd, was called up to the majors to take his place on the active roster. Weiss said the decision to make the move was due to needing more immediately pitching help. He hopes to see Pérez back with the team sometime this season. 

When asked if this decision meant Didier Fuentes could be back in the major leagues this week, Weiss said he wasn’t sure. Any move would depend on how the next few games play out, which has been a consistent stance regarding the fifth spot in the starting rotation. 

Shortly after Weiss' announcement, the Braves made the move official.

Pérez was the starting pitcher in the 6-0 loss on Saturday. He pitched five innings, allowing one run. For now, this means Jose Suarez is sticking around the pitching staff. He has a start this season, but he isn’t guaranteed to get another chance. 

Fuentes began the season on the active roster, but he was optioned to Triple-A immediately after in favor of calling up Pérez. He’s coming up on reaching his 15 minimum days after being optioned before being called up.

A source recently told Atlanta Braves on SI that the expectation was that Fuentes would be back in the majors sometime this week. We’ll see if this remains the case. 

Through two starts in Triple-A, he has a 9 2/3 scoreless innings, a 0.82 WHIP with 15 strikeouts. 

The Braves' starting rotation is set through Tuesday. Chris Sale is on the mound Sunday, Grant Holmes will pitch Monday and Reynaldo López is set to return from his suspension and start on Tuesday. Weiss said that Elder will likely pitch on Wednesday. However, he isn’t officially penciled in yet. 

There’s an off-day on Thursday, so the Braves’ rotation will have an extra day to get rested ahead of their next road trip, which starts in Philadelphia on Friday. 

Spencer Strider is still recovering from his oblique injury. He is set to make his first of multiple rehab starts on Thursday. He is expected to take the rest of the month to get conditioned. 

So, regardless of how the Braves go about the next few times through the rotation, he’s not an option for the time being.