The Braves are going with a six-man rotation for now, and the move puts AJ Smith-Shawver right back in the mix.
Smith-Shawver has been added to the roster in place of reliever Tyler Kinley, and he’ll start Wednesday against the Twins. Atlanta figures he’s built up enough to handle it after throwing 95 pitches in his most recent outing for Triple-A Gwinnett.
This isn’t a permanent setup, but it does buy the rest of the rotation an extra day. Manager Walt Weiss was clear about the tradeoff.
“ This is where we are right now,” manager Walt Weiss told reporters, including Courtney Hollmon of MLB.com. “ I do like the fact that it gives guys an extra day to the other starters… but you’ve got to pay the piper in the ‘pen, right?
Because you’re a man short there, and that’s just not sustainable for very long. … You’re really shorthanded at that point.”
Smith-Shawver’s path back has been slow and deliberate. He’s coming off Tommy John surgery, and after a brief big-league spot start at the end of July, Atlanta sent him back down to keep building toward a steadier role. The 23-year-old made a strong enough case in Gwinnett to force the issue, posting a 1.66 ERA across five starts with a 28.7% strikeout rate while limiting opponents to a .179 average.
The stuff has been loud, too. Smith-Shawver’s fastball has ticked up this season after sitting 94-96 mph across parts of three major league seasons.
In his lone big-league outing this year, he averaged 97.3 mph. At Triple-A, he’s averaged 96.9 mph on his four-seamer.
Atlanta’s current rotation also includes Martin Perez, Tyler Mahle, Grant Holmes and Chris Sale, and the club has already been careful with Sale’s workload. Since he joined the Braves in 2024, they’ve routinely tried to give him extra rest.
This year, he’s pitched on regular rest only twice, and the last time came in early April, when he gave up six earned runs to the Angels. He hasn’t worked on five days’ rest since then.
Bryce Elder also got extra time off in July after a rough June.
When the Braves go back to five starters, Holmes looks like the likeliest arm to lose his rotation spot if Smith-Shawver stays put. Holmes opened August with two scoreless outings before getting tagged for six earned runs over 3 2/3 innings last time out.
Even with a sub-4.00 ERA, his 4.78 xERA and 4.70 SIERA point in a less stable picture. Holmes worked mostly out of the bullpen when he debuted in 2024 and has made two relief appearances since last season.
There’s also another path Atlanta could take: move Smith-Shawver into relief instead of displacing someone else. Given the way his velocity has jumped, along with a curveball and splitter that miss bats, that could be a useful option.
“ I feel like AJ is a guy that’s going to help us, and if it’s in the starting role, that’s how we anticipated,” Weiss said. “ But that can always change to something else. It’s a talented arm, so I feel like he helps us moving forward.”
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