With less than a week left in spring training, the Atlanta Braves have been busy rounding outthe final 26-man Opening Day roster. On Friday, three of the Braves non-roster invitees were added to the 40-man roster, which all but confirms their spots on the big league squad.
Drake Baldwin, of course, is the most notable name of the bunch, as the top prospect quickly emerged as the presumptive starting catcher after an unfortunate injury to Sean Murphy. Enyel de los Santos and Héctor Neris were vetern relievers who were both non-roster invitees, and impressed the Braves enough to make the final cut.
The #Braves today selected RHP Enyel de los Santos, RHP Héctor Neris and C Drake Baldwin to the major league roster.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 21, 2025
Braves essentially confirm Drake Baldwin, Enyel de los Santos, and Héctor Neris have made Opening Day roster
While typically a team will wait until after spring training is over to select the non-roster invitees who have made the regular season roster, the Braves clearly felt there was no need to wait any longer to make the announcement.
After Sandy León was reassigned to minor league camp and Curt Casali was cut, Drake Baldwin was the only catcher left standing aside from Chadwick Tromp, who had been penciled in as the backup since camp began.
Baldwin has been outstanding so far this spring, as the soon-to-be 24-year-old has slashed .313/.436/.375 39 plate appearances. His performance has no doubt made the final choice for starting catcher easy after Murphy's injury.
Additionally, after Anderson Pilar was returned to the Marlins, there were only 14 pitchers left in camp. With Bryce Elder and AJ Smith-Shawver still having options, it seems as of now that one of these two starters will be the odd man out and get sent down, and de los Santos and Neris will be the 12th and 13th pitcher.
The newcomer de los Santos has pitched 6.2 innings in five games this spring, and has a 2.70 ERA with seven strikeouts and just one walk. Neris joined the Braves late in camp, and only appeared in two games, but both of his outings were scoreless.
Barring any last second additions, these seem to be some of the final touches on the Opening Day roster, with just a few players left to be optioned.