Braves Activate JR Ritchie, Make Flurry of Moves Official

The Atlanta Braves called in the reinforcements after Martín Pérez had to be used in relief, and another key arm went down with an injury

JR Ritchie is heading to the major leagues to start for the Braves | Maddie LoRae

The Atlanta Braves finalized a series of moves on the pitching staff ahead of Thursday’s series finale against the Washington Nationals. They officially announced the selection of JR Ritchie, who will start Thursday’s game, as well as Carlos Carrasco.

Dylan Dodd is heading to the 15-day injured list with thoracic spine inflammation retroactive to Wednesday. Didier Fuentes has been optioned to Triple-A.

Atlanta Braves on SI received word Wednesday night that Ritchie was heading to Washington shortly after the final out of the 8-6 win over the Nationals. Walt Weiss confirmed it, along with announcing the corresponding moves.

Ritchie owns a 0.99 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and 28 strikeouts across 27 1/3 innings pitched. He brings a full arsenal of pitches to the table, including a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a cutter, a curveball, a changeup, a sweeper and a slider. The changeup is lethal at the knees and the curveball has made for a solid put-away pitch.

Carrasco is set to make his return to the Braves after filling in in the rotation for a few starts last season. This time around, he’ll provide a long-relief option in the bullpen. He has a 1.71 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in four starts for Triple-A Gwinnett this season.

Dodd had made a couple of relief outings for the Braves before his injury. He allowed an earned run on an inning pitched on Tuesday. On April 12,  he delivered three scoreless innings in relief.

It’s the second game in a row that the Braves will lean on a prospect for a start. Fuentes got his first start of the season with the big-league team on Wednesday night. The goal was for him to give some of the rotation arms an extra day of rest, but he only made it through three innings. Martín Pérez ultimately had to come in for a long-relief outing, changing the rotation plans.

Fuentes allowed four runs in the first inning, requiring nearly 40 pitches. He adjusted and was able to overcome other jams to keep the Nationals scoreless in the second and third innings. Of the nine outs he recorded, seven were strikeouts.

First pitch for Thursday’s getaway day is set for 1:05 p.m. EDT

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