Next man up, or something
The Braves have mercifully made a transaction this morning after their latest descent into irrelevancy last night.
The #Braves today recalled RHP Nathan Wiles to Atlanta after optioning RHP Didier Fuentes to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night’s game.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 9, 2025
Didier Fuentes, the young phenom who isn’t old enough to legally drink but deserves a beer, has been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. He has thrown 13 innings in three starts with a 13.85/9.05/5.59 line for a injury-plagued Braves rotation without a ton of options. Upon inspection of his first start, I thought he would really be interesting in 2026 and has two pretty strong pitches. But it’s 2025, and he needs to cook. Right now, he can’t provide the Braves with quality and hasn’t been stretched to pitch a high quantity of innings. And that’s no fault of his own.
Replacing him will be Nathan Wiles from Gwinnett. I think he’s here not to start, but to be the mop-up guy after Jesse Chavez pitched three innings last night. Jesse Chavez, who has approximately 37 years of service, isn’t eligible to be optioned. Let’s hope Bryce Elder can recapture the San Francisco start tonight in Sacramento against a team from Oakland, and the Braves won’t need Wiles.