The Braves are bringing Elieser Hernández onto the big-league roster, selecting the right-hander’s contract as Atlanta makes a pitching move ahead of the stretch run. The club already had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so there’s no corresponding transaction there. To clear room on the active roster, Owen Murphy is being sent to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Hernández, 31, originally signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in November. His 2025 season was split mostly between the Braves organization and the Korea Baseball Organization, where he logged 14 starts for the LG Twins and posted a 4.23 ERA.
He also missed bats at a solid clip, striking out 26.4% of opposing hitters, which ranked 12th in the league among pitchers with at least 50 innings. Even so, the Twins moved on from him in August after the run prevention didn’t quite match the swing-and-miss stuff.
That led Hernández to the Blue Jays on another minor league deal that same month, but the stop in Triple-A didn’t go well. He put up a 7.91 ERA over 19 1/3 innings before choosing free agency after the season and eventually landing back with Atlanta.
His numbers with Gwinnett this year have landed somewhere in between. Over 76 1/3 innings, Hernández has struck out 21.6% of batters faced and walked 8.1%, but his ERA sits at 4.83.
He opened the year mostly as a starter, then shifted into relief work after June 9th, working out of the bullpen in all but one appearance since then. In that role, he has a 4.02 ERA across 15 2/3 innings, a step forward without being a dramatic one.
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