Monday's loss to the Mets was not the Atlanta Braves bullpen's finest hour. Didier Fuentes was shaky, Raisel Iglesias blew a save, and Owen Murphy struggled a bit when pressed into service for his MLB debut. However, the bigger takeaway (for now) is that Atlanta had to use their bullpen a good bit, and without a day off for a while, they needed some fresh arms.
The only question was exactly how many changes we would see. Robert Suarez is still out with an injury, and given how many pitches Fuentes, Iglesias, and Dylan Lee threw on Monday, Atlanta would probably prefer to stay away from all of them for a game or two.
Well, we got our answer on Tuesday. Not only did the Braves option Murphy back to the minors, but they also put Tyler Kinley on the paternity list. To replace them, Atlanta brought James Karinchak back up and is also going to give LHP Connor Thomas a shot.
The #Braves today selected LHP Connor Thomas to the major league roster and optioned RHP Owen Murphy to Triple-A Gwinnett. To make room on the 40-man roster, the club released RHP Daysbel Hernández. Atlanta also recalled RHP James Karinchak and placed RHP Tyler Kinley on the…
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 7, 2026
Braves call up James Karinchak and Connor Thomas, Owen Murphy sent back to the minors
There is a lot to unpack here. No one should think that Murphy getting optioned is an indictment of his future or talent. The fact is that he has been a starting pitching prospect for his entire career. The Braves needed some short-term help in the bullpen, and he gave them 20 pitches. By sending Murphy back to the minors, he can get back to starting games and getting ready for his big league opportunity in the rotation.
Kinley being out is a bit of a surprise, but this is only a paternity list stint, so he shouldn't be out long. A big congratulations to him and his family. In less good news, it is a shame that Daysbel Hernandez got released. There was a time when Hernandez was a very legit relief prospect who showed flashes in the big leagues. Unfortunately, a series of injuries robbed him of his stuff, and he has been a prime candidate to be a 40-man roster casualty for a while.
In exchange, the Braves are turning to Karinchak again. There were fans that really wanted Karinchak to get called back up earlier, but he does come with a drawback, as the Braves really don't want to pitch him on back-to-back days. As for Thomas, there is a real chance that he could carve out a role as a lefty reliever in the Braves' bullpen if he can take advantage of this opportunity. In 10 appearances for Gwinnett this season, Thomas has posted a 1.14 ERA in 23.2 innings of work.
Add us as a preferred source on Google