Elder was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.
Elder will open the regular season at Triple-A after posting a 4.97 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with 12 strikeouts over 12.2 innings in five appearances, including one start, with Atlanta during the spring. Elder has combined to pitch in 224.1 innings over the last two seasons with Atlanta, and he'll likely make his return to the major-league roster in the not-too-distant future.
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Braves' Jose Suarez: Traded to Atlanta
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Suarez was acquired by Atlanta from the Angels on Sunday in exchange for right-hander Ian Anderson, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Suarez made 99 appearances for the Angels since making his MLB debut in 2019, but he'll now continue his career in Atlanta. The left-hander started in three of his 22 outings last year and had a 6.02 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 56:27 K:BB over 52.1 innings. He'll likely fill a long-relief role with his new team, assuming he even sticks on the big-league roster.
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Braves' Jesse Chavez: Back with Atlanta
Rotowire
Chavez agreed to a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Sunday, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
The 41-year-old was released by Texas on Friday, and it didn't take long for him to rejoin Atlanta. Chavez has now signed four one-year contracts with the club since 2021 and posted a 2.91 ERA in 172 appearances during that span. He could be included on the Opening Day roster if he showcases himself well in the next couple days, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
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Braves' Chris Sale: Wraps up spring in style
Rotowire
Sale gave up three hits and a walk over four scoreless innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out five.
The veteran southpaw finishes his spring with a 2.79 ERA and 20:5 K:BB through 19.1 innings. Sale's checkered injury history wasn't erased by last year's National League Cy Young Award -- he hasn't worked 25-plus starts in back-to-back seasons since 2018-19 -- but he's shown no hint of a health concern in camp and looks ready to take the bump for Atlanta on Opening Day, just three days before his 36th birthday.
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Braves' Nathan Wiles: Traded to Atlanta
Rotowire
Atlanta acquired Wiles from the Rays on Friday in exchange for cash considerations, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
Wiles, 26, spent last season at Triple-A Durham, posting a 5.54 ERA and 72:26 K:BB over 87.2 frames. He's struck out 11 and walked two over 6.1 innings this spring. Wiles will likely be assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett.
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Braves' Hector Neris: Makes Atlanta's roster
Rotowire
Atlanta selected Neris' contract from Triple-A Gwinnet on Friday.
Neris has made just two Grapefruit League appearances after signing a minor-league contract earlier this month, but they were scoreless outings and he's now officially part of the Opening Day bullpen. The veteran reliever could eventually work his way into a setup role ahead of closer Raisel Iglesias.
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Braves' Spencer Strider: Second spring start set
Rotowire
Strider (elbow) will start Sunday's spring game against the Orioles and is scheduled to throw about 45-50 pitches, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
It'll be the second Grapefruit League appearance for Strider, who is nearing the end of his rehab from an internal brace procedure. The right-hander threw 27 pitches across 2.2 innings during his spring debut Monday, and he'll require at least a couple more outings after Sunday to ramp up his workload. Strider could be ready to join Atlanta's rotation in mid-April.
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Braves' Enyel De Los Santos: Added to roster
Rotowire
Atlanta selected De Los Santos' contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.
De Los Santos earned a spot in Atlanta's Opening Day bullpen by permitting only two runs with a 7:1 K:BB over 6.2 Grapefruit League innings. The 29-year-old right-hander is likely to operation in low-leverage situations initially.
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Braves' Drake Baldwin: Cracks Opening Day roster
Rotowire
Atlanta selected Baldwin's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.
The news does not come as a surprise, as it's been pretty clear Atlanta was planning for Baldwin to be its primary catcher while Sean Murphy (rib) is sidelined. Murphy is expected to miss at least the first couple weeks of the season, although there's no clear target date for his return yet. Baldwin has batted .313 (10-for-32) with a 2:7 K:BB this spring after posting a .276/.370/.423 slash line with 18 home runs between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett in 2024. He could be optioned to Gwinnett once Murphy is ready but will have an opportunity to show he deserves to stick around.
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Braves' Bryan De La Cruz: Looks ready for Opening Day
Rotowire
De La Cruz is batting .297 (11-for-37) through 15 Grapefruit League appearances with a 3:6 BB:K.
While the 28-year-old outfielder hasn't left the yard yet this spring, three of De La Cruz's hits have been doubles. The former Marlin is in line to handle the short side of a platoon in right field alongside Jarred Kelenic while Ronald Acuna completes his recovery from knee surgery, a role that should suit De La Cruz -- he slashed .285/.309/.425 in 188 plate appearances against left-handed pitching last year, versus a .210/.254/.365 line off righties in 433 PAs.
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Braves' Hector Neris: Making case for bullpen spot
Rotowire
Neris gave up a hit and a walk over a scoreless inning in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.
The veteran right-hander got the start on a bullpen day for Atlanta, and Neris was able to work around a Johan Rojas leadoff double. He's made only two spring appearances since signing an NRI deal in early March, but Neris has gotten up to speed fairly quickly and seems in line to begin the season with a spot on the 26-man roster, although he may work in middle relief rather than getting handed a setup role in front of closer Raisel Iglesias.
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Braves' Daysbel Hernandez: Rounding into form
Rotowire
Hernandez gave up a hit and a walk over 1.1 scoreless innings while striking out four in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.
While Alec Bohm was the only likely Opening Day starter in the Philadelphia lineup, Hernandez carved up the bench players and minor leaguers he did get to face. The right-hander was still a little erratic, however -- he plunked one batter and also uncorked a wild pitch. Atlanta is hoping Hernandez can emerge as a high-leverage option this season, but he'll need to sharpen his control to take that next step after posting a 32:13 K:BB through his first 21.2 big-league innings.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Belts third homer of spring
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Ozuna went 1-for-2 with a walk, a two-run home run and a second run scored in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.
The veteran slugger took Kyle Tyler deep in the fifth inning, giving Ozuna his third long ball of the spring. While his .229 batting average (8-for-35) in Grapefruit League play isn't impressive, Ozuna seems to have his timing down at the plate -- five of those hits have gone for extra bases, and he sports a sharp 4:4 BB:K.
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Braves' Jurickson Profar: Looks healthy in leadoff spot
Rotowire
Profar went 2-for-4 with a double in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.
Seeing his first Grapefruit League action since March 8 after recovering from a wrist injury, Profar slotted immediately back into the leadoff spot and wasted no time showing he was healthy by rapping a first-inning two-bagger off Nabil Crismatt. After a breakout 2024 campaign with the Padres, the switch-hitting Profar signed a three-year contract with Atlanta over the winter and should slot in atop a potent batting order for at least the early part of the season, until Ronald Acuna (knee) is ready to rejoin the lineup.
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Braves' AJ Smith-Shawver: Could be part of initial rotation
Rotowire
Smith-Shawver was bumped from his Grapefruit League start Thursday and will pitch instead against the Rays on Friday, a move that suggests he's being put on schedule to start March 31 against the Dodgers, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Atlanta begins the regular season with seven straight games before getting a day off, and with the workloads for Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez both under scrutiny, it seems likely the team will use a six-man rotation during that stretch. Smith-Shawver has been battling Ian Anderson for the fifth starter job, so the fact that he might work game No. 5 could be a sign he's in the lead for that assignment, although the battle looks like it will extend into the regular season. The 22-year-old top prospect has also been more effective than Anderson this spring -- Smith-Shawver has a dazzling 18:3 K:BB through 12 innings without allowing a homer, while Anderson has issued a ghastly 18 walks against only eight strikeouts in 17 Grapefruit League frames. Whoever winds up filling the last spot in the rotation once it's trimmed down to five may only be keeping it warm for Spencer Strider (elbow), who is targeting an April debut in 2025.
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Braves' Luke Williams: Outrighted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Williams cleared waivers Thursday and was sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Williams was battling for a spot on Atlanta's Opening Day bench, but he ultimately missed the cut after going 5-for-32 with three RBI and five runs scored in 16 spring games. He doesn't have any minor-league options remaining, so his demotion to Triple-A will cost him his spot on the 40-man roster.
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Braves' Alex Verdugo: Inks $1.5 million deal with Atlanta
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Atlanta signed Verdugo to a one-year, $1.5 million contract and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Verdugo's free-agent market has been quiet all winter, but he's finally managed to land a major-league deal a week before Opening Day. It's not clear when Verdugo might be able to play, and by the time he's ready Ronald Acuna (knee) may have already rejoined the Atlanta lineup, so the 28-year-old could be viewed purely as corner outfield insurance by Atlanta. Verdugo slashed only .233/.291/.356 across 149 regular-season games for the Yankees in 2024.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Slugs second spring homer
Rotowire
Riley went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.
The third baseman took Fernando Cruz deep in the sixth inning for the first runs of the game after Spencer Schwellenbach and Carlos Carrasco engaged in a pitcher's duel through the first part of the contest. It was Riley's second homer of the spring, and a good sign that the pitch he took off his right hand over the weekend won't be a lingering issue. Through 14 Grapefruit League appearances, Riley is batting .294 (10-for-34) with a 3:9 BB:K and three doubles in addition to his long balls.
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Braves' Spencer Schwellenbach: Blanks Yanks in dominant start
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Schwellenbach gave up two hits and a walk over six scoreless innings while striking out 10 in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.
The right-hander built up to 78 pitches (57 strikes) in a dominant outing against a Yankees lineup that featured Aaron Judge, Austin Wells and a bunch of bench players and minor leaguers. The level of competition doesn't take away from Schwellenbach's performance though, as he didn't even allow a runner to reach second base. With Opening Day on the horizon, Schwellenbach seems more than ready, having posted a 2.41 ERA and eye-popping 26:2 K:BB through 18.2 Grapefruit League innings.
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Braves' Jurickson Profar: Slated to return to action Thursday
Rotowire
Profar (wrist) is scheduled to return to Atlanta's Grapefruit League lineup Thursday versus the Phillies, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Profar hasn't played since March 8 due to a bone bruise in his left wrist, but he resumed taking batting practice this week and will return to game action Thursday. The 32-year-old is slated to play in the rest of Atlanta's Grapefruit League contests as he gears up for Opening Day.
