In terms of roster spots, Atlanta Braves pitcher JR Ritchie's position was already very precarious. He was, without question, the easiest start to option back to the minor leagues if Atlanta needed to make a roster move, and his performance just hasn't been good enough to justify keeping him around indefinitely. After his latest dude of a performance against the Padres, it was abundantly clear that the talented young pitcher just needs significantly more time in the minors, and his days (for now) were numbered.
The only question was what other moves the Braves would make and the actual timing of the moves, with the team on the road at the moment. We got our answer early Wednesday afternoon, when the Braves not only optioned Ritchie back to the minors, but they also DFA'd Carlos Carrasco again, called up Ian Hamilton, and activated Tyler Kinley from the injured list.
The #Braves today reinstated RHP Tyler Kinley from the injured list after optioning RHP JR Ritchie to Triple-A Gwinnett. The club also selected RHP Ian Hamilton to the major league roster and designated RHP Carlos Carrasco for assignment.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 24, 2026
Braves welcome back Tyler Kinley from the injured list, send JR Ritchie back to the minors
We'll focus on the positives first. Ian Hamilton gets another chance at the major leagues after his one appearances with the Braves in 2026...did not go well. However, he has shown himself to be a very capable reliever in Triple-A and gives Atlanta a much-needed fresh(ish) arm. Getting Kinley back could be great, as he was a key piece of the Braves' bullpen after the trade deadline last year. Some amount of caution is necessary with Kinley, given how he was pitching before he went down, but a healthy and productive Kinley in the Braves' bullpen is absolutely a good thing.
The moves do come at the cost of Ritchie's roster spot. Hamilton is very clearly a short-term fix, and Ritchie's spot is going to go to Reynaldo Lopez and/or Hurston Waldrep once he is fully stretched out, in all likelihood. As for Carrasco, it feels like the Braves DFA him once a week, and he wasn't going to be available for a while anyway after throwing 30 pitches on Tuesday. He'll make his way back to the Braves like he always does.
Given how constrained the Braves' bullpen was in this Padres series, it is great to get some fresh blood in there to help stop the bleeding, especially if Robert Suarez's injury proves to be an actual problem. Time will tell if it will actually work, but it can't get much worse than how things have looked lately.
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