The Atlanta Braves' rotation is understandably a mess right now. Injuries to Reynaldo Lopez, AJ Smith-Shawver, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Chris Sale have sorely tested Atlanta's pitching depth and their failed (for now) Didier Fuentes experiment set them back even further. With options in the minor leagues dwindling, the Braves decided to go with a bit of a lottery ticket for their latest roster move.
While former first round pick Hurston Waldrep is still sitting at Triple-A and coming off a pair of decent starts, the Braves decided to call up Davis Daniel to bolster their rotation. You are forgiven if you didn't even know he was in Atlanta's organization.
#Braves recalled RH Davis Daniel after optioning LH Austin Cox to Triple-A Gwinnett.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) July 13, 2025
Daniel has a 3.52 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) at Triple-A Gwinnett.
Braves call up Davis Daniel as internal rotation options dwindle
Atlanta did a somewhat rare prospect swap with the Angels back in December to acquire Daniel in the first place. While not the most exciting arm, he does seem to be pretty adept at providing real innings and threw six shutout innings with eight strikeouts his last Triple-A start. Overall, Daniel has posted a 3.52 ERA in 76.2 innings of work with 60 strikeouts and a less exciting 32 walks.
At some point, one of the buttons the Braves presses has to work out, right? Daniel was, at one point, considered to be a real prospect with the Angels and Atlanta desperately needs something to go right after so many injuries and so many players forgetting how to play baseball.
We a strong showing on the road against the Cardinals thus far, Daniel pitching well could at least get the Braves back on the path of respectability. If not, we might find out exactly how things could get worse.