The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Nathan Wiles from Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta opened a 40-man roster spot by releasing righty Amos Willingham. Fellow right-hander Michael Petersen was optioned to Gwinnett to clear space on the active roster. The Braves acquired Wiles from the Rays in exchange for cash late in spring training. Willingham was placed on the minor league injured list earlier this month, and injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers — hence the decision to release him rather than try to outright him.
Wiles, 26, will give the Braves some length in the bullpen after Spencer Strider was unexpectedly placed back on the injured list yesterday following a hamstring injury. Atlanta has been planning to use an opener in tonight’s game, David O’Brien of The Athletic reports that’ll still be the case. However, since Wiles has been working as a starter in Gwinnett, he could give the Braves a much-needed long relief appearance. He’s stretched out fully; his last Triple-A start lasted six innings.
An eighth-round pick by Tampa Bay back in 2019, Wiles pitched to an ERA north of 5.00 in three partial seasons at the Triple-A level while in the Rays organization but has had a terrific start with the Stripers. He’s pitched 14 innings across three starts and held opponents to a lone earned run on nine hits and five walks with 15 strikeouts (27.8 K%, 9.3 BB%). He’s also kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 52.9% clip.
The Braves have several rotation depth options already on the 40-man roster, but Strider’s injury was particularly ill-timed. All three of Hurston Waldrep, AJ Smith-Shawver and Davis Daniel made their starts in the past three days. Righty Zach Thompson and lefty Dylan Dodd are both on the 40-man roster and have experience starting in the majors, but both are working as relievers in 2025 and both pitched as recently as Sunday (two innings, in Thompson’s case). Wiles would’ve been in line to start today for Gwinnett, but he’ll instead join the Braves ahead of what seems likely to be his major league debut behind tonight’s opener.
Willingham, 26, was a waiver claim out of the Nationals organization back in January. He’s yet to pitch a big league inning for the Braves, his hometown club, but he did tally 25 1/3 innings with the Nats from 2023-24. The results weren’t pretty, as he was tagged for a bleak 7.11 earned run average in that time. However, Willingham has a solid minor league track record. He’s pitched to a 3.67 ERA in parts of six minor league seasons, including a 3.40 mark in 98 frames of Triple-A ball.
As a Georgia Tech product and a native of Rome, Ga., Willingham was surely thrilled to be claimed by the Braves back in the offseason. Today’s release ends his tenure with the club for at least the time being, though it’s common for injured players who released under similar circumstances to re-sign a minor league deal with their current organization. That doesn’t guarantee that Willingham will follow that path, as he can now talk with 29 other clubs in free agency, but there’s ample precedent a quick reunion.