Braves Place Robert Suarez On Injured List

The Braves placed setup man Robert Suarez on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 23, before tonight’s series opener in San Francisco. He’s dealing with forearm tightness. Hurston Waldrep is up from Triple-A Gwinnett to take his place on the active roster. Additionally, the Braves announced that Carlos Carrasco again cleared waivers and elected free agency.

Suarez has been unavailable for the last few days with what was previously an undisclosed issue. They waited to see if he needed a stint on the injured list. That suggests they’re not overly concern, and skipper Walt Weiss indeed downplayed the extent of the injury (relayed by Mark Bowman of MLB.com). Suarez will be out through the All-Star Break but is expected back early in the second half.

Signed to a three-year, $45MM free agent deal, Suarez has been among the best relievers in MLB. The former San Diego closer has moved seamlessly back into a setup role in front of Raisel Iglesias. He has a pristine 0.56 earned run average with four saves and 12 holds through 32 innings. Suarez has only surrendered the lead once all season and has the lowest ERA in the game among pitchers with 30+ frames.

Tyler Kinley should join Dylan Lee as Atlanta’s top setup options for the next couple weeks. Weiss said that the 24-year-old Waldrep will also be available out of the bullpen (via Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal Constitution). The former first-rounder pitched well as a starter late last season. He would’ve opened this season in the rotation if not for Spring Training surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. Waldrep spent the first couple months on the injured list and has been building up on optional assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett. He got up to 4 2/3 innings in his most recent Triple-A appearance.

Reynaldo López starts tonight but will be limited to roughly three innings after spending two months in a relief role. Waldrep will probably make his season debut as a multi-inning reliever. Didier Fuentes and Dylan Dodd are also available for long relief, but the Braves used every reliever aside from Iglesias and Lee on Wednesday. Waldrep hasn’t pitched in five days and should be fresh.

Carrasco will probably be back on a new deal in a day or two. He has been on and off the roster all season and has provided the club 14 2/3 innings of six-run ball in scattered MLB appearances.