Braves Put Suarez on IL, Recall Starting Pitcher From Triple-A

The Atlanta Braves made it clear one of their top relievers needed more time to recover, and another is ready to bolster the staff

Suarez had been nursing some soreness for some time already | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves opt to put one pitcher on the injured list and take the opportunity to recall another who recently finished his injury recovery.

The team announced Friday evening, ahead of their series opener with the San Francisco Giants, that they had placed Robert Suarez on the 15-day injured list, backdated to June 23, with right elbow inflammation.

Hurston Waldrep was recalled from Triple-A as part of the announcement, and Carlos Carrasco elected free agency after he was outrighted to Triple-A.

Suarez had already been dealing with what was described as soreness and fatigue. He had been day-to-day, waiting to see if he could jump in. That just didn't happen, and the Braves decided to put him on the injured list.

It's a tough arm to lose for any stretch. He's been able to come into high-leverage situations as early as the sixth inning, and come in as late as the ninth inning to pick up the save. He has a 0.54 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP across 32 innings pitched.

The Braves recently swapped out some arms in the bullpen that should help ease the issue. Tyler Kinley is back from the injured list. He has been used in high-leverage spots plenty of times this season. Ian Hamilton is also up with the big league team now.

Waldrep was expected to come up and be part of the Braves rotation once he got healthy. However, this is a little sooner than expected. He was scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday. He likley would have stretched out further to 85 to 90 pitches.

At the time of this article's publication, the rotation is still set to feature Reynaldo López, Bryce Elder and Chris Sale this weekend. This, of course, could change, but we'll have to see.

Waldrep could also potentially come in after López, who is set to throw around 60 pitches in his start on Friday. That would take some pressure off the bullpen while getting needed innings from a fresh arm.

If not, he's ready and waiting to pitch on Tuesday when the Braves open their homestand with a game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

López will be on the mound Friday night to start the series out west against the Giants. First pitch is set for 10:15 p.m. EDT.

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