There was a time when James Karinchak was one of the most exciting relievers in baseball. He had highlight-reel stuff, but struggled to control it, and then the injuries started coming. Just like that, one of MLB's rising bullpen stars was out of the big leagues and has been since the 2023 season. However, the Braves saw something they liked and scooped him up on a minor league deal. Now, we get to see if that decision will pay off.
Despite having a very strong case for making the Braves' Opening Day roster, Atlanta opted not to in favor of other veterans on big league contracts. It was getting a little weird that the Braves just simply would not give Karinchak an opportunity when Atlanta's middle relievers were struggling as much as they were.
However, that is in the past now. On Wednesday, the Braves announced that not only were they finally giving Karinchak a chance, but they were also bringing JR Ritchie back from the minor leagues. Unfortunately, that came at the cost of putting Tyler Kinley on the injured list with elbow troubles and designating Carlos Carrasco for assignment again.
The #Braves today selected RHP James Karinchak to the major league roster and designated RHP Carlos Carrasco for assignment. The club also recalled RHP JR Ritchie to Atlanta and placed RHP Tyler Kinley on the 15-day injured list, backdated to June 8, with right elbow…
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 10, 2026
Braves finally call up James Karinchak and bring JR Ritchie back, but Tyler Kinley is headed for the injured list
Designating Carrasco for assignment is hardly surprising. Not only was he not great in his appearance on Tuesday, and was not going to be available for a few days, given his pitch count, the Braves also seem to have grown fond of using Carrasco as their de facto roster casualty. Calling Ritchie back up is a bit more surprising, but it does give the Braves some length, depth, and upside with Carrasco "gone".
Karinchak getting an opportunity is the real story here, and one hopes that Kinley heading for the injured list is just his arm in need of a break and not something more serious. Given how adventurous some of his appearances have been, even when they turned out fine, there are worse ideas than giving him a bit of a breather. Karinchak is not a sure thing whatsoever, but it will be nice to see the Braves find exactly what they have in him instead of letting him rot in the minors.
Through 21 appearances for Triple-A Gwinnett, Karinchak has posted a 2.45 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 10 walks through 25.2 innings. If he can just be that guy or relatively close to it without having his walks shoot through the roof, Atlanta should be thrilled.
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