The Braves announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Rolddy Munoz to the 40-man roster. In doing so, they’ll protect Munoz from next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The deadline to protect players from Rule 5 eligibility is tomorrow evening. Atlanta’s 40-man roster is now up to 39 players.
Munoz, 25 in April, split the 2024 season between High-A and Double-A. His twin brother, Roddery Munoz, was once in Atlanta’s minor league system as well and made his big league debut with the Marlins in 2024. Roddery bounced from the Braves to the Nats to the Pirates to the Marlins via waivers before that debut. He’s since been claimed by the Cardinals and is currently on the 40-man roster in St. Louis.
Rolddy Munoz, meanwhile, has yet to make his big league debut but is now one step closer to doing so after joining the 40-man roster. He logged a combined 4.24 ERA in 51 innings between High-A and Double-A last year, spending more time and enjoying more success at the more advanced of those two levels. Rolddy Munoz fanned a hefty 34.6% of his opponents overall, though his combined 10.1% walk rate was about 1.5 percentage points higher than average.
FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Rolddy Munoz 18th among Atlanta prospects last summer, noting that he has one of the best sliders in all of minor league baseball: a bat-missing 85-89 mph breaker with incredible movement. He sits upper-90s with his heater and can touch triple digits but has below-average command of the pitch, which has “ineffective movement,” per Longenhagen. Munoz figures to head to Triple-A Gwinnett early in the 2025 season and could have a chance at breaking into the majors next year.
