​It wouldn’t be a Braves day without another roster move to discuss. Hurston Waldrep’s ongoing recovery has zigzagged in surprising ways. After a late-season quasi-breakout when the Braves were out of contention and had little to play for beyond the chance to gain some meaningful major league development, Waldrep largely showed the kind of promise that could shape his future. In 56 1/3 innings during that stretch, he posted an ERA- around 68, a FIP- near 79, and an xFIP- approximately 89, which translated to about 1.2 fWAR. The Braves, recognizing the potential, nevertheless had to pause his progress for elbow cleanup surgery, sending Waldrep to the injured list for a spell. He returned to the minor leagues for a few rehab-like outings before the club promoted him back to the majors.
Waldrep’s return to action this season didn’t start smoothly. His first outing of 2026 featured a rough 3/4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over two innings in relief, although the defense helped keep the scoring low and away from him for that appearance. When he finally started a game again, his line looked a bit better on the surface: five innings with a 4/1 K/BB ratio, yet there was an ominous blemish—a hit-by-pitch and a three-run homer that dragged the Braves into an early 3-0 deficit. The momentum shifted against him in Pittsburgh as well, where a string of hanging breaking pitches allowed Ryan O’Hearn to do damage in a blowout loss, underscoring the volatility that has punctuated Waldrep’s early big-league action.
With Waldrep continuing to work through these growing pains, the Braves decided to make a strategic adjustment in the pitching staff. Tyler Kinley is set to rejoin the active roster, bringing a more veteran-style presence to a bullpen that will need to absorb some innings as the team navigates Waldrep’s rough patch and the continued development of their younger arms. In the meantime, the Braves will deploy a somewhat bulkier bullpen—utilizing Kinley and the rest of their relievers in a way that can stabilize late-inning pressure and preserve the rest of the roster for longer outings when needed.
Looking ahead, Mark Bowman reports that JR Ritchie is slated to start on Sunday. Ritchie’s rookie season hasn’t gone smoothly by traditional metrics—impressive on raw stuff but inconsistent in results—with a line hovering around a 108/130/116 slash (presumably in a smaller sample), and he’s been used as a multi-inning-ish reliever fill-in for much of July. This weekend, he’ll be given another chance to perform as a starter and demonstrate whether he has progressed enough to be a reliable option for the Braves in the near term. The question for Atlanta remains whether Waldrep’s rough early returns weigh more heavily in the short term than Ritchie’s current struggles, but in a broader sense, both pitchers are part of a larger development arc the Braves are hoping to cultivate.
From a broader perspective, the Braves’ approach in this stretch feels like a deliberate attempt to balance immediate needs with long-term potential. Waldrep’s early-season struggles are a reminder that even highly regarded pitching prospects can encounter speed bumps on the road to the majors. The organization’s decision to bring Kinley back into the bullpen and to give Ritchie another go at the start reflects an emphasis on stabilizing the present while continuing to push capital into Waldrep’s development path. It’s a dynamic that embodies the kind of depth-building strategy Atlanta has prioritized, especially as they navigate an increasingly competitive landscape in the division.
As the club charts this course, the central storyline remains Waldrep’s recovery arc and how quickly he can translate the flashes of promise into consistent major-league performance. His early results have been inconsistent, to be sure, but the Braves’ broader plan hinges on the belief that he can still evolve into a dependable contributor at the highest level. In the meantime, the bullpen reshuffle—adding Kinley, giving Ritchie another extended look, and juggling roles across the relief corps—offers the team a chance to stabilize while Waldrep continues to work his way back toward the form that once suggested a bright future in Atlanta. The coming weeks should illuminate whether Waldrep can recapture his downwardly trending promise or whether the club will need to lean more heavily on Ritchie and other internal options as they push toward the back end of the season.