Braves Temporarily Move To Six-Man Rotation

With right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver joining the roster in place of reliever Tyler Kinley, the Braves are moving to a six-man rotation for the time being. Smith-Shawver will draw the start on Wednesday against the Twins. He should be fully stretched out after tossing 95 pitches with Triple-A Gwinnett in his most recent outing.

Smith-Shawver is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. He briefly returned to the majors for a spot start at the end of July. The righty then went back down to continue working toward a more permanent gig in the big leagues. Smith-Shawver could’ve potentially bumped one of Atlanta’s other starters to the bullpen. Instead, the club moved on from Kinley. It’s not expected to be the long-term plan.

“This is where we are right now,” manager Walt Weiss told reporters, including Courtney Hollmon of MLB.com. “I do like the fact that it gives guys an extra day to the other starters… but you’ve got to pay the piper in the ‘pen, right? Because you’re a man short there, and that’s just not sustainable for very long. … You’re really shorthanded at that point.”

The 23-year-old Smith-Shawver has done more than enough to earn a look in the big leagues. He’s delivered a 1.66 ERA over five starts with Gwinnett. He posted a 28.7% strikeout rate and held opponents to a .179 batting average.

Smith-Shawver’s velocity has been up this season. After sitting 94-96 mph with his fastball across parts of three big-league seasons, he was at 97.3 mph in his one outing in the majors this year. Smith-Shawver has averaged 96.9 mph on his four-seamer at Triple-A. He’s struggled to stay healthy as a professional, but his arm seems to be feeling good right now.

Atlanta has routinely looked to give Chris Sale extra rest since he joined the club in 2024. This season has been no different. The veteran lefty has pitched on regular rest just twice this season. The last instance came back in early April. Sale was knocked around for six earned runs against the Angels in that game. He hasn’t pitched on five days’ rest since that appearance. Bryce Elder was also given some extra time off heading into July after a rough June.

Martin Perez, Tyler Mahle, and Grant Holmes fill out the current rotation. Holmes seems like the most likely candidate to get bumped to the bullpen when the Braves revert back to a five-man group, assuming Smith-Shawver sticks around. Holmes opened August with two scoreless starts. He was pounded for six earned runs over 3 2/3 innings in his most recent appearance. Holmes has maintained a sub-4.00 ERA, but it’s come with a 4.78 xERA and a 4.70 SIERA. The righty pitched mostly out of the bullpen when he debuted in 2024. He’s made two appearances as a reliever since last season.

The alternative to removing a current piece of the rotation would be sliding Smith-Shawver to a relief role. The increased velocity, combined with a curveball and splitter that miss bats, could make him a weapon out of the bullpen.

“I feel like AJ is a guy that’s going to help us, and if it’s in the starting role, that’s how we anticipated,” Weiss said. “But that can always change to something else. It’s a talented arm, so I feel like he helps us moving forward.”