Braves Release Maverick Handley
The Braves announced they’ve released catcher Maverick Handley, who’d been on optional assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett. That opens a 40-man roster spot for Hurston Waldrep, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A. Atlanta also outrighted Carlos Carrasco yet again after designating him for assignment on Wednesday.
Waldrep has been out all season after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow at the beginning of Spring Training. The 2023 first-round pick had entered camp as a lock for the rotation after turning in a 2.88 earned run average through 56 1/3 innings. Waldrep’s injury was one of a number of Spring Training hits for the Atlanta pitching staff. Spencer Schwellenbach has yet to return from his own elbow procedure. Spencer Strider began the year on the injured list, while Joey Wentz tore his ACL.
The Braves have more than weathered those injuries. Chris Sale, as expected, has been fantastic. Bryce Elder has had an excellent season to stabilize the middle of the rotation. Strider returned in early May. Grant Holmes and Martín Pérez have gotten decent results despite middling strikeout and walk marks.
Atlanta has a reasonably stable five-man group for the time being. They’ve already bumped Reynaldo López to the bullpen. Rookie righties JR Ritchie and Didier Fuentes are also in relief for the time being, the former after being recalled on Wednesday.
Waldrep figures to crack that group within the next few weeks. He just began a rehab assignment at the Florida complex before moving to Double-A Columbus yesterday. He went 3 2/3 innings and tossed 53 pitches. Waldrep was only two weeks into what could have been a 30-day rehab assignment. It’s not clear why the Braves elected instead to activate him to the 40-man roster just to have him continuing building up with Gwinnett.
The righty was being paid an MLB salary and accruing service time while on the 60-day injured list, even on the rehab stint. That’ll no longer be the case while he’s in Gwinnett. The salary savings for the team are marginal, however, and there’s no particular reason for service time to be a factor. Waldrep had 103 days of MLB service entering the season. He has already topped the 69 days he needed to surpass the one-year threshold.
Whatever the rationale, Waldrep will probably be back up before long. He clearly has a higher upside than Holmes or Pérez if he’s at full strength. Waldrep will burn his third minor league option year if he spends at least 20 days in Gwinnett, but the Braves would likely be granted a fourth option next offseason because of his limited professional experience.
The procedural move pushed Handley off the roster. Atlanta claimed him off waivers a few weeks back after losing Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin to injury. They immediately optioned him to Triple-A as a third catcher behind Sandy León and Chadwick Tromp. The Braves subsequently swapped in Austin Wynns for Tromp.
They’re still light on catching depth for the next few days, but Baldwin is set to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow. Handley wasn’t providing any short-term insurance regardless, as he landed on the Triple-A injured list last week. If he clears release waivers, he’ll be a free agent. The 28-year-old has otherwise spent his entire career in the Baltimore organization, appearing in 17 MLB games over the past two seasons.
Nationals Claim Jhancarlos Lara, Designate Julian Fernandez
The Nationals announced that they have claimed right-hander Jhancarlos Lara from the Braves and optioned him to Double-A Harrisburg. In a corresponding move, the Nats designated righty Julian Fernandez for assignment.
When the Braves selected Lara’s contract last September, Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs each ranked him among the team’s 25 best prospects. There were questions about his command then, however, and he hasn’t done anything to ease those concerns at the Double-A level this year. The 23-year-old posted an 8.22 ERA with a whopping 29 walks (against 21 strikeouts) in 15 1/3 innings before the Braves cut the cord. Lara endured similar struggles in 2025, during which he combined for a 7.73 ERA with 13.6 K/9 and 8.5 BB/9 in 68 2/3 innings divided between Double-A and Triple-A. Nevertheless, the Nationals will take a flier on a hard thrower who has three minor league options remaining.
The Nationals are less than a year removed from claiming Fernandez from the Dodgers last August. Now 30 years old, Fernandez joined the Rockies in 2012 as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic. He later had stints with the Giants and Marlins, but he didn’t make it to the majors with either team. Fernandez finally debuted in the bigs during a return to Colorado in 2021, but he struggled to a 10.80 ERA over 6 2/3 innings that year. He didn’t pitch in the majors from 2022-24, which included a stint in the Mexican League, but combined for four appearances with the Dodgers and Nationals last season. He made three more appearances with the Nats this year before they designated him. In all, Fernandez carries a 6.98 ERA with 12 walks and eight strikeouts in 15 2/3 frames at the game’s highest level. He owns a 5.14 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 145 1/3 Triple-A frames.
Fernandez will have an answer on his future within a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, giving Washington up to five days to find a trade partner. As someone who has been outrighted in the past, Fernandez has the ability to reject an assignment and opt for free agency.
Braves Place Ronald Acuña Jr. On Injured List
The Braves announced that outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring. First baseman Rowdy Tellez has been selected to take his place on the active roster. Right-hander Jhancarlos Lara has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Tellez.
It’s already the second time this year that Acuña’s left hamstring has sent him to the IL. He spent a little over two weeks there from early- to mid-May. He has been back for a few weeks but the injury has flared up again and sent him to the IL once more.
Around the injuries, Acuña has been performing well but not up to his own standards, currently sporting a .251/.373/.421 line. That translates to a 125 wRC+, indicating Acuña has been 25% better than league average on the year, but he has a career wRC+ of 142 and was at 161 last year.
It doesn’t appear the injury is serious but Atlanta can afford to be cautious. They have the best record in baseball at 45-22. They have a nine-game lead over the Phillies in the National League East. Given their strong short-term position, they should be thinking about the long term and making sure Acuña is healthy for October.
They will still have Mike Yastrzemski and Michael Harris II in two spots. With Acuña on the shelf, Mauricio Dubón and Eli White will probably step in for more outfield work. If Dubón is spending more time on the grass, that could open up more shortstop playing time for Jorge Mateo or Ha-Seong Kim.
Tellez, 31, will probably just be serving as a bench bat. He has only been a first baseman throughout his career and won’t help in the outfield. Matt Olson is the club’s first baseman and hasn’t taken a day off in years. Dominic Smith is the regular in the designated hitter spot. He has a strong .292/.331/.458 line and 118 wRC+ on the year.
Dubón, White, Mateo and Kim are all right-handed hitters and Tellez is a lefty, so perhaps he will be called upon to pinch-hit for those guys in some key spots against tough righty arms. Tellez doesn’t have a strong walk rate against righties in his career but has done most of his damage with the platoon advantage, leading to a .236/.299/.452 career line against righties. He signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason and has been hitting well in Triple-A this year, with a .259/.367/.483 line, including a 308/.406/.608 slash against righties.
Lara, 23, was added to Atlanta’s roster in September of last year but never got into a game. He was optioned a few days later and has been on optional assignment for all of this season as well. He has elite stuff, with his fastballs averaging in the upper-90s, but atrocious control. He has walked 17.5% of batters faced in his minor league career, which is about double a normal rate. That includes an ugly 33.3% walk rate in 15 Double-A appearances this year, helping him produce an 8.22 earned run average.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Atlanta could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. If Lara garners any interest, it would be as a project, since the results certainly aren’t there right now. But since he has natural talents and still has options, perhaps some club with roster space will look to stash him. If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he would stick in Atlanta’s system without using up a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Hanewinckel, Imagn Images
Braves Designate Carlos Carrasco For Assignment
The Braves have once again designated righty Carlos Carrasco for assignment. This time, his roster spot goes to right-hander James Karinchak, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta also placed right-handed reliever Tyler Kinley on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation and recalled righty JR Ritchie from Gwinnett in his place.
Readers should be plenty familiar with the cycle at this point. Carrasco, 39, can’t be optioned and thus must be designated for assignment any time the Braves want to send him down to the minors. At this stage of his career, the former Cleveland ace is amenable to functioning as an effective 41st man on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. The team regularly selects his contract to the majors, designates him for assignment, passes him through waivers and re-signs him on a new minor league deal once he elects free agency. He’s then summoned the next time Atlanta’s bullpen needs some length.
The cycle will very likely repeat itself again several more times this season. Atlanta has now designated Carrasco for assignment five times dating back to last August. He’s re-signed a new minor league deal after each prior DFA and also signed a minor league contract with the Braves as a free agent over the winter. The setup clearly works for both parties.
Carrasco has pitched well overall with the Braves this year, though he’s been tagged for runs in each of his past two appearances. He’s still held opponents to a total of three runs on 10 hits and a walk with four strikeouts in nine big league innings. His work in Gwinnett has been even sharper. In 30 frames with the Stripers, he has the exact same 3.00 ERA but a much stronger 21% strikeout rate against a tidy 5.6% walk rate.
The 30-year-old Karinchak, a former Cleveland teammate of Carrasco, will be returning to the majors for the first time since 2023. Karinchak looked like a potential bullpen monster for the Guardians at one point, pitching to a 2.51 ERA with a preposterous 46.6% strikeout rate through his first 32 1/3 MLB frames from 2019-20. Injuries and poor command have since derailed him. He still posted a 3.24 ERA in 133 1/3 innings from 2021-23, but Karinchak did so while walking more than 14% of his opponents and with a lesser (albeit still excellent) 33.9% strikeout rate.
Karinchak spent nearly the entire 2024 season on the minor league injured list due to a shoulder issue, pitching only 6 2/3 innings that year. A fastball that averaged 97 mph during his MLB debut was sitting at 92.1 mph during that injury-ruined season. Cleveland outrighted him off the 40-man roster that offseason, and he signed a minor league deal with the White Sox. He pitched 29 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA for the South Siders’ Triple-A club in Charlotte, but Karinchak also walked nearly 17% of his opponents there and sat 92.7 mph on his heater. He was released in June and didn’t latch on with another club until the Braves signed him this past December.
Thus far in 2026, Karinchak has pitched 25 2/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA that matches his mark from Charlotte last season. He’s toned his walks down, relatively speaking, issuing a free pass to exactly 10% of his opponents. He’s punched out a gaudy 38% of the batters he’s faced. His fastball velocity still isn’t nearly back to its peak levels, but this year’s 93.8 mph average is up noticeably from his 2024-25 levels.
Karinchak still has a minor league option remaining, and if he can carve out a role in the Atlanta bullpen, he’d be controllable through the 2027 season via arbitration. That’ll depend on whether he can continue to show improved command/velocity and whether he can stave off further injuries.
Chadwick Tromp Elects Free Agency
Catcher Chadwick Tromp elected free agency over the weekend, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He was designated for assignment by the Braves on Thursday when they acquired Austin Wynns in a minor trade with the Angels.
Tromp spent a couple weeks on Atlanta’s active roster. He was called up in mid-May when Drake Baldwin went on the injured list. Atlanta lost Sean Murphy and Baldwin in quick succession almost immediately after they’d squeezed Jonah Heim off the roster. Murphy had returned from hip surgery but quickly broke his finger. Baldwin then strained his oblique, leaving the Braves with a light-hitting catching duo of Tromp and Sandy León.
It’s now León and Wynns. Tromp started six of his 12 appearances during his brief MLB stint. He went 5-25 with a double. Tromp didn’t walk and struck out seven times. He was charged with a couple errors and a passed ball while throwing out one of six attempted base stealers. Tromp has now played at the highest level in each of the last seven seasons. He has yet to top the 64 plate appearances he logged as a rookie with the 2020 Giants.
The Braves like the out-of-options Tromp enough as a third or fourth catcher that they’ve given him some MLB time every year since 2022. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they look to bring him back on a minor league deal despite his .169/.253/.325 showing over 24 games with Triple-A Gwinnett.
Atlanta is light on healthy organizational catching depth. Jair Camargo and 25-year-old Adam Zebrowski are the current catching tandem for the Stripers, who placed Maverick Handley on the injured list last week. Handley is on the 40-man roster. Camargo and Zebrowski, who have a combined five games of MLB experience, are not. Baldwin could be back within the next two weeks but Murphy will likely be down beyond the All-Star Break.
Braves Acquire Austin Wynns, Designate Chadwick Tromp
The Braves announced a slate of roster moves today, most notably shaking up their catching corps a bit. Atlanta acquired veteran catcher Austin Wynns from the Angels in exchange for cash (as first noted on the MLB.com transaction log) and selected him to the major league roster. Fellow backstop Chadwick Tromp was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Atlanta also selected the contract of outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. to the 40-man roster and immediately optioned him back to Triple-A Gwinnett. They created a 40-man spot by transferring catcher Sean Murphy from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes that Keirsey had an opt-out in his minor league contract, and it seems the Braves didn’t want to let him hit the open market.
Wynns, 35, signed a minor league deal with the Halos just a couple weeks ago. He didn’t appear in the majors with them prior to this trade to Atlanta. Wynns has suited up for the Reds, A’s, Orioles, Giants, Dodgers and Rockies, compiling a lifetime .231/.276/.347 slash line in 826 big league plate appearances (293 games). That’s obviously below average but far better than the typical levels of offensive output from Tromp and fellow catcher Sandy Leon, who’ll split time with Wynns behind the plate following today’s shakeup.
On the defensive side of things, Wynns doesn’t draw premium framing grades, but Statcast thinks he’s solid when it comes to blocking balls in the dirt. More impressively, he’s shut down 30.2% of attempted base thieves in the majors — right in line with his career 31% mark in the minors.
Tromp appeared in a dozen games with the Braves and went 5-for-25 with a double, no walks, a sacrifice fly and a sacrifice bunt, leading to an oddball batting line of .200/.192/.240 in 27 trips to the plate. He’s a career .218/.225/.371 hitter in the majors. He’s spent most of the past five seasons in the Braves organization, so if he clears waivers following today’s DFA, there’s a good chance he’ll stick around, whether via accepting an outright assignment or briefly electing free agency and then returning on a new minor league deal.
Keirsey, 29, has appeared in parts of two seasons with the Twins (2024-25). He’s a speed-and-defense outfielder with a woeful .113/.149/.206 batting line in 102 major league plate appearances. His .260/.298/.384 slash so far in Triple-A doesn’t create much optimism, but he’s 16-for-17 in stolen bases and Atlanta apparently likes his wheels and defensive acumen enough to dedicate a 40-man roster spot to keeping him in the organization.
Braves Select Carlos Carrasco
The Braves announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Carlos Carrasco. The righty takes the 40-man spot that was opened when he himself was designated for assignment a few days ago. He cleared waivers, elected free agency, re-signed and is now back with the big league club again. In terms of the active roster, fellow right-hander Anthony Molina was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett yesterday.
Carrasco and the club have done these dance steps many times. He was acquired from the Yankees in a cash deal in July of 2025. Since then, they have repeatedly gone through this cycle where he is added to the roster, helps absorb some innings and gets designated for assignment. After clearing waivers, he either accepts an outright assignment or elects free agency and then signs a new deal.
The appeal for Atlanta is clear, as they effectively get a 41st man on their 40-man roster. Whenever they want a fresh arm, they can call on Carrasco, who has generally done well when called upon this year. He has a 2.45 earned run average in four appearances. For Carrasco, he gets some sporadic big league pay and service time. Perhaps he would prefer a more steady gig but the fact that he keeps clearing waivers suggests no other club is willing to give him that.
Carrasco went four innings on May 27th and wasn’t going to be available for a few days. Atlanta swapped him out for Molina but then didn’t need Molina in the interim. With yesterday’s off-day, the staff isn’t taxed but they decided to bring Carrasco back as a long relief option.
Atlanta kicks off a six-game homestand tonight with three games against Toronto followed by three versus Pittsburgh. They are scheduled to go with Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes and Chris Sale against the Blue Jays. That should set them up to start with Martín Pérez and Spencer Strider against the Pirates, with Elder’s spot coming up again for the final game against the Bucs. If any of those games turns lopsided, Carrasco could be called upon to spare the rest of the relief corps.
Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke, Imagn Images
Carlos Carrasco Elects Free Agency
6:28pm: Carrasco has elected free agency, according to Jesús Cano of The Athletic. It’s likely he’ll re-sign on an MLB or minor league deal within the coming days.
10:53am: The Braves announced this morning that righty Carlos Carrasco went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. Carrasco has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.
One way or another, Carrasco will likely be back with Atlanta. He’s been designated for assignment by the Braves three other times dating back to last August and has returned on new minor league deals each time. Carrasco also re-signed a minor league deal with the Braves in free agency this past winter. It’s always possible he’ll just accept the outright assignment, but electing free agency and quickly negotiating a new minor league pact gives his camp the opportunity to secure some perks (new opt-out dates, upward mobility clause, slight salary increase, etc.) that aren’t in the current deal.
The 39-year-old Carrasco has pitched well when the Braves have summoned him to the majors this season. He’s tossed 7 1/3 innings and held opponents to a pair of runs on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts. He’s been sharp in Gwinnett, too, logging a flat 3.00 ERA (21 K%, 5.6 BB%) in 30 innings of work there.
Both Carrasco and the Braves front office have been very comfortable with the setup that sees him act as an unofficial 41st man on the roster. He can’t be optioned, so Carrasco is frequently selected to the roster, used as needed, passed through waivers and then returns on a new minor league deal. He’s already picked up 24 days of big league service and salary in 2026 this way, and there’s a good chance he’ll have several similar stint through season’s end.
Braves Designate Carlos Carrasco For Assignment
The Braves announced Friday that veteran righty Carlos Carrasco has been designated for assignment yet again. His spot on the roster goes to righty Anthony Molina, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.
It’s the fourth time since last August that Atlanta has designated Carrasco for assignment. The 39-year-old has passed through waivers on each of the three prior instances, elected free agency, and re-signed with the Braves on a minor league deal. He also inked a minors pact with Atlanta over the winter after becoming a free agent at season’s end.
This type of setup for veteran arms who can’t be optioned has become increasingly commonplace around the league. In recent years, the Mariners (Casey Lawrence), Yankees (Ryan Weber, David Hale), Orioles (Albert Suarez) and Braves themselves (Carrasco, Jesse Chavez) are among the clubs that have carried something of a “41st man” on the 40-man roster — a veteran who’ll repeatedly clear waivers and is comfortable returning on a series of minor league deals, knowing he’ll be back in the major league fold before long.
Carrasco has pitched well when the Braves have summoned him to the majors. He’s tossed 7 1/3 innings and held opponents to a pair of runs on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts. He’s been sharp in Gwinnett, too, logging a flat 3.00 ERA (21 K%, 5.6 BB%) in 30 innings of work there.
Once a high-end starter in Cleveland, Carrasco was traded to the Mets as part of the Francisco Lindor blockbuster several years ago. He had a strong 2022 season in Queens but has largely seen his effectiveness wane since. From 2023-25, he tossed 239 1/3 big league innings with a 6.36 ERA.
Atlanta will have five days to trade Carrasco, place him on waivers or release him. The former doesn’t seem likely, based on how they’ve handled him to this point. It’s quite probable that Carrasco will hit waivers, and if he goes unclaimed, he’ll briefly become a free agent and re-sign with the Braves.
The two parties are clearly comfortable with this arrangement, which works for all parties. The team gets a flexible long relief option who can make a spot start if needed and serve as a veteran mentor for some younger arms (both in the majors and in Gwinnett). Carrasco gets big league service/pay for any time spent on the big league roster or in DFA limbo. He’s already picked up 22 days of service this year; even at the prorated minimum he’d be approaching $100K in big league earnings this season, though given his veteran status, his minor league pacts are probably coming with a slightly heavier base salary for major league time.
Bob Horner Passes Away
Former All-Star and Rookie of the Year Bob Horner has passed away at 68. The Braves announced the news on Tuesday afternoon while sending their condolences to his family and friends.
Horner was born in Kansas but grew up in Arizona. A 15th-round pick by the A’s out of high school, he instead elected to attend Arizona State University. The righty-hitting Horner had a legendary college career, clubbing 56 home runs over three seasons with the Sun Devils.
It was then an all-time NCAA record and remains the most for any ASU hitter to this day. Horner led them to a national title in 1977 and a runner-up finish in his junior season. He was one of five players — alongside Will Clark, Robin Ventura, Dave Winfield and Brooks Kieschnick — enshrined in the inaugural College Baseball Hall of Fame class in 2006.
The Braves held the first pick in the 1978 draft, which was held in the middle of June. They selected Horner and immediately added him to the MLB roster. That bold decision paid off, as he slugged 23 homers (including one off Bert Blyleven in his big league debut) and drove in 63 runs in 89 games. He narrowly topped future Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith for the NL Rookie of the Year award.
Horner opened the following season as Atlanta’s third baseman, his first of seven straight years in that role. He remained an impact power threat, topping 30 homers in each of his first two full MLB campaigns. Horner earned a ninth-place finish in MVP balloting behind a career-high 35 longballs in 1980. He made the ’82 All-Star Game during his third 30-plus homer season, also helping the Braves to an NL West title.
Over parts of nine seasons in Atlanta, Horner hit .278/.339/.508 with 215 home runs. He moved to first base for the ’86 campaign, in which he hit .273 with 27 homers. That included one of the best single-game performances in history. Horner had a four-homer game against Montreal on July 6, 1986. It’s one of 21 such recognized games in big league history and remains the only four-homer performance by a Brave. Unfortunately, it was also one of three occasions in which his team lost the game, as the Expos prevailed 11-8.
Horner reached free agency after the 1986 season. MLB owners at the time were colluding to drive down player salaries. (Various arbitrators would rule in the Players Association’s favor on that matter, leading to an eventual $280MM settlement for violations of the collective bargaining agreement.) Horner rejected what he considered a lowball offer from the Braves going into ’87.
When no other MLB teams made a stronger offer, he signed a $2MM contract with the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Horner hit .327 with 31 homers in 93 games. He’d return to the Majors the following season on a one-year deal with the Cardinals. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, he rejected a $3MM offer from Yakult to sign with St. Louis for just $950K.
Horner had a career-worst season at age 30 in 1988. He signed with the Orioles but announced his retirement in Spring Training ’89, citing a left shoulder injury that didn’t fully recover after surgery. He spent his post-playing days in the Dallas area with family. Horner finished his MLB career with a .277/.340/.499 slash line. He popped 218 homers, topped 1000 hits, and drove in 685 runs.
He’s one of the best players in college baseball history and had one star-level season in Japan amidst a unique, fascinating career. Horner’s passing sadly comes not long after the baseball world lost two other key figures from Braves history, Ted Turner and Bobby Cox. MLB Trade Rumors joins others around the game in sending our condolences to his family, friends, former teammates and loved ones.