Braves Call Up Reliever, Option Another Ahead of Mets Series Finale

The Atlanta Braves swaps a lefty for another righty ahead of their series finale with the Mets

Petersen is set to return to big leagues once again | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves shuffled the bullpen Thursday morning ahead of the series finale with the New York Mets. They announced that they're calling up right-hander Michael Petersen and optioning left-hander Austin Cox as a corresponding move.

The #Braves today recalled RHP Michael Petersen to Atlanta after optioning LHP Austin Cox to Triple-A Gwinnett following yesterday’s game.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 26, 2025

For a pitcher that we have heard about from time to time this season, he's only made two appearances for the team so far this season. He's been called up more times than he's pitched. In those two appearances, Peterson has pitched three combined innings, allowing two in his second outing, which was one inning pitched against the Phillies on May 29.

His other appearance saw him pitch two scoreless innings against the Rays down in Tampa April 13. He had a call-up in late April where he didn't pitch before heading back to Triple-A Gwinnett. In 18 appearances with the Stripers, he has a 3.27 ERA across 22 innings pitched.

Cox made two appearances during his second stint with the big league club, both of which were his two appearances this season. He pitched three combined innings, allowing an earned run against the Mets in Wednesday night's 7-3 loss.

In his first call-up, he hung out in the bullpen, got his service time without taking the mound, and was sent down.

The Braves' bullpen has seen significant improvement as of late. Since they snapped their losing skid with a win over the Brewers June 9, the bullpen has pitched to a 2.57 ERA, good for the third-best in MLB.

While they keep moving pieces around to make something work, what matters to them is that this new setup is working as of late.

The Braves took the first two games of their four-game series with the Mets before losing on Wednesday. They look to take another series on Thursday with Grant Holmes on the mound for a 7:10 p.m. first pitch.