Unfortunately for Didier Fuentes, the Atlanta Braves were forced to put him in a position where it was always going to be difficult to succeed. Fuentes was called up because, frankly, the Braves were out of options with actual upside as the injuries to the rotation piled up. Unfortunately, Fuentes struggled as most guys with his experience and at his age would and now he is being replaced.
It was already known that Fuentes was getting optioned after he imploded against A's, but his replacement was a bit of a mystery until today. On Wednesday, the Braves decided to go ahead and give Nathan Wiles a shot after sending Fuentes back down to the minors last night.
The #Braves today recalled RHP Nathan Wiles to Atlanta after optioning RHP Didier Fuentes to Triple-A Gwinnett following last night’s game.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 9, 2025
Braves recall Nathan Wiles, option Didier Fuentes to Triple-A
Again, the Fuentes move shouldn't surprise anyone. The team had already made their intentions known and sending Fuentes back down to the minors was overdue at this point. Hopefully he can turn things around and these struggles won't make him regress in his development.
Wiles is not an uninteresting arm and probably should have been the roster move the Braves made instead of turning to Fuentes prematurely. Wiles was called up to the big leagues earlier this season, but got beat up in one relief appearance. As full-time starter at Triple-A Gwinnett, however, Wiles has excelled with a 3.33 ERA in 15 starts, though he has been less good lately.
The longer the season goes on, the more and more Atlanta has simply run out of actual depth. The Braves are going to have to have some guys step up and/or get healthy soon or they may become even more unwatchable the rest of the way.