The Atlanta Braves' pitching staff has been in flux all season, with a ton of moving parts even from the start of the season. A lack of pitchers with minor league options made managing and shuffling around their rotation and bullpen very difficult, but they also had real needs in both spots. It was quite the conundrum, but one solution they landed on to preserve their existing pitching depth was to move top pitching prospect Didier Fuentes to the bullpen.
So far, that decision has proven to be wise. Being able to keep Martin Perez around as a starter ended up being a godsend somehow, and Fuentes acclimated to being a reliever extremely well. However, the assumption was that Fuentes would get shifted back to the rotation after this season, given his successful history as a starting pitching prospect.
However, that may not be the case. In The Athletic's preview of the Braves' upcoming series against the Phillies, Braves beat writer Jesus Cano noted that Fuentes' switch to the bullpen may end up being permanent.
Didier Fuentes' shift to the Braves bullpen may end up being permanent (and that may not be a bad thing)
Most people thought that the most likely outcome this season was that Fuentes would stay in the bullpen despite the arguments in favor of moving him back into a starting role. The uncertainty around Robert Suarez combined with how good Fuentes has been as a reliever (1.85 ERA in 58.1 innings out of the bullpen so far) is probably too good of a solution to pass up this year.
However, Cano wrote the following: "After using him as a starter as he rose through the minors, the Braves wanted to develop Fuentes as a reliever in the majors." That certainly does not sound like Fuentes' move is a temporary one, does it? Now, Cano did not source that declaration, so that may just be his assessment of the situation, but that doesn't mean he is wrong, nor does it mean that making the move permanent is necessarily a bad thing.
Like it or not, relievers have never been more important in the game of baseball than they are right now, even if their contracts often don't reflect it. Starters are not going as deep into games anymore (looking at you, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder), and having multiple quality relievers is often a defining characteristic of the really good teams in the league. Right now, Fuentes is as reliable in high-leverage situations as they come, and the Braves would be right to be hesitant to give that up so easily.
Unfortunately, this is a question that is unlikely to be answered definitively until next season. The die is cast on 2026, and Fuentes will be in the bullpen. Even if Atlanta wanted to shift him back immediately, they wouldn't have enough time to stretch him back out. However, it honestly wouldn't be a surprise if 2027 spring training opened up (whenever that ends up being) and we saw Fuentes firmly entrenched in the Braves' reliever corps.
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