The Atlanta Braves on Monday tweaked the roster before welcoming in the Athletics for a three-game series. According to the Braves on X, right-hander Didier Fuentes was optioned to Triple-A, and left-hander Martin Perez’s contract was selected from Gwinnett.
Atlanta Braves Demote Top Prospect for Former All-Star
Fuentes made the Braves’ Opening Day roster after striking out 18 in 13.2 innings. Pitching out of the bullpen, Fuentes logged four innings in the 4-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
Since Fuentes will be unavailable to pitch in the next few days, the Braves had to add another arm. Perez did well this spring despite not making the Opening Day roster. In four games, Perez had a 2.84 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 12.2 innings.
With Didier Fuentes being unavailable over the next 4-5 days after yesterday’s four-inning outing, he has been sent down to make room for Martin Perez. Jose Suarez or Perez could start tomorrow night. One will be available to work out of the pen tonight. https://t.co/cTJPYyDGce
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 30, 2026
Martin Perez Adds Depth to Pitching Staff
With injuries galore ravaging the starting rotation, Perez will offer some much-needed reinforcements. Already using three-fifths of the starting rotation, either Perez or left-hander Jose Suarez will start against the Athletics on Tuesday.
Suarez is the scheduled starter to face off against right-hander Aaron Civale, but a change could be incoming. Primarily a reliever (4.51 ERA in 44 games), Suarez has 62 career games as a starter (5.59 ERA) under his belt.
Right-hander Spencer Strider received a positive health update per Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who said Strider can be back “sooner rather than later.” With Strider soon to return, Perez’s time on the Braves could be short.
“He was really starting to turn the corner in the spring,” Anthopoulos said on MLB Network Radio. “The day before he was scheduled to pitch, he said, ‘I can pitch tomorrow, but I just want you guys to know I am feeling a little bit of something in my left side, because it’s not bad. I felt it in my last game. I felt it in my bullpen, but I didn’t think it was anything big.’ And we said, let’s just get an MRI to make sure. And we found a grade one oblique strain. So it was Sean Murphy who was in the clubhouse at the time, and he said, If you don’t feel it, sneezing or coughing, then he goes. It took him four weeks for that part to go away. So Strider didn’t have any of those symptoms at all. It was mild. And I think it’ll be sooner rather than later that you see him back.”
Main Photo Credits: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
