Braves Make Expected Change To Pitching Staff Ahead of Series Finale

The Atlanta Braves have officially recalled Bryce Elder to the Majors and optioned lefty Dylan Dodd to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Elder has already been expected to start Sunday's game against the Boston Red Sox, so this roster move is more of a formality than anything.

He returns to the rotation to, at least for now, take the spot in the rotation for AJ Smith-Shawver and also give the rest of the rotation extra rest. The starters for the upcoming Diamondbacks series is still officially TBD.

It's been a nice return to form for himself. After his All-Star campaign in 2023, Elder hit a rut, finishing the 2024 season with a 6.52 ERA in 10 starts and a few shuttles back and forth to Triple-A Gwinnett. That cold spell continued into his first three starts of the season with a 7.20 ERA.

He was sent back to Triple-A a couple weeks ago, despite his performance, to make room in the starting rotation for Spencer Strider. The Braves opted not to have a six-man rotation, Elder was the odd man out in favor of keeping Grant Holmes around.

We can expect Elder to stick around with Smith-Shawver expected to miss the rest of the regular season (he has a torn ACL). However, the Braves could shake things up to try something new at any time.

Dodd's most recent call up to the Braves comes to an end. He was brought up for the expanded roster for the doubleheader and the team opted to keep him around for a few extra days. He made two appearances, pitching 1 1/3 scoress innings, allowing a hit and no walks while picking up a strikeout.

He saw more action than in his previous call up, as in he saw action at all. When he was called up in mid-May, he came up for a few days, did nothing and went back to Triple-A.

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