After a disastrous bullpen game on Saturday, where Brian Snitker and the Atlanta Braves were hammered when trying to squeeze out an extra inning out of Aaron Bummer and Dylan Dodd, the club was forced to make a move on Sunday.
With options limited, the Braves opted to bring back up fan favorite reliever Jesse Chavez to have a long relief option after burning through both of their long relievers yesterday. To make room for Chavez, Atlanta optioned Dylan Dodd to Gwinnett and transferred Spencer Schwellenbach to the 60-day IL.
The #Braves today selected RHP Jesse Chavez to the major league roster after optioning LHP Dylan Dodd to Triple-A Gwinnett following yesterday’s game. To make room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta transferred RHP Spencer Schwellenbach to the 60-day injured list.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 6, 2025
Jesse Chavez returns to the Braves yet again (for now)
Like Chavez's previous stints this season, Braves fans shouldn't expect the beloved reliever to spend very long with the big league club. The righty has pitched well with the Gwinnett Stripers, posting a 2.04 ERA in 30.2 innings, but did struggle in his two MLB outings this year.
The Braves roster does have a little more flexibility after unfortunate injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach and Chris Sale, but the Braves are still likely looking to fill the fifth spot in the rotation, internally or externally.
Unfortunately for Jesse, this likely means that he'll be the first on the chopping block whenever the Braves do add that next rotation piece, or if he's forced to cover multiple innings before Bummer recovers from a career-high in pitches.
While Dylan Dodd pitched much better this time around in the majors, he was inevitably the odd man out, as he not only threw 39 pitches, but also was one of the only relievers with options. Although the lefty allowed runs in his last three outings, it won't be surprising if we see Dodd back in the majors sometime soon.
The Braves also needed to move Spencer Schwellenbach to the 60-day IL to make room for Chavez on the 40-man roster. While this move isn't shocking, it does confirm that we won't see the budding ace until September at the earliest.