AJ Smith-Shawver Shines in New Role, but Braves Have Choice to Make

CHICAGO -- Monday night's Atlanta Braves' loss to the Chicago Cubs featured a new-ish role for AJ Smith-Shawver. Instead of going through the pregame motions and taking the mound to start, he warmed up in the bullpen and took the reins in the top of the fourth inning.

It marked the first time since his major league debut on June 4, 2023, that he had been in this role. He never pitched out of the bullpen in the minors, making this as unfamiliar waters for him as it gets as professional ballplayer.

'I think it's just a different look," Smith-Shawver said after the game. "And I don't know. The way some of my starts have been going, I think it's a good, a different feel, a little different look at it, and I was happy with it."

Going into the outing, the mindset was to go out there an pitch until they took the ball out of his hands.

Apart from one pitch that he would likely prefer to have back, he was effective across five innings of two-run ball in relief for what proved to be an injured Reynaldo López. In any other instance of trouble, including jams in the seventh and eighth innings, he was able to work around it.

Between the two of them, they covered the full game. The ball never needed to come out of Smith-Shawver's hands.

"Yeah, it's nice," he said. "I mean, at the end of the day, in that game, it's nice to be able to kind of help out the bullpen and make sure those guys are ready to go in the rest of the series and just try to get it one game at a time."

In a night that was quickly a foregone conclusion and a starter went down with another injury, they needed what they could to protect the bullpen. Even with the off day on Thursday to give everyone a breather after the trip to Chicago, when you can limit the damage, you make it happen.

"Yeah, AJ did great," Weiss said after the game. "Gave up the one homer, the two runs, but you know, did exactly what we needed him to do. He covered the rest of the game and did it competitively. "

Weiss added that he wasn't sure if Smith-Shawver was going to cover the full game. Sure enough, each inning gave him a reason to keep sending him back out there, and he got them to the finish line.

JR Ritchie is expected to be called up to pitch on Wednesday, but the rotation is still going to have question marks going forward. While the plan was for Smith-Shawver to take time in the bullpen, he's stretched out for a normal workload.

"We haven't had any of those conversations yet, but I think it's more important that he's still an option to start," Weiss said."

When asked, Smith-Shawver simply expressed his desire to help the team in the way they deem fit for him.

"I don't think anything in this game is easy," Smith-Shawver said about how easy it would be to jump back into the starter role," But it's definitely something that I'm positioned to do, and I have the pitch count. So it's not a matter of getting the pitch count, which is typically the harder part of that. So, I'm here for whatever."

Young pitchers have been embracing roles out of the bullpen throughout the season for the Braves. Didier Fuentes has been a staple for nearly the full season. JR Ritchie and Owen Murphy have had their opportunities.

It's a chance to make an impact as you get a feel for major league hitting. It's not quite the same for Smith-Shawver. He's got the most experience out of the bunch. But he also has to get reaclimated after missing so much time due to Tommy John surgery.

If he's needed as a starter, so be it. That's his main trade. But if is given a similar chance to ease back in, it could prove to be fruitful.

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