The Braves are about to get some help on the mound, and it could come in two different forms. Martin Perez is lined up to return this week, while AJ Smith-Shawver is building toward a possible comeback in the next couple of weeks as Atlanta keeps searching for stability in its rotation.
Perez is expected to start Wednesday against the Padres, according to Braves beat reporter Mark Bowman. He’s eligible to come off the Injured List Tuesday after going down with a forearm contusion, the result of a line drive off the bat of Juan Soto.
The Braves are hoping the version that shows up now looks more like the pitcher who helped carry the rotation through the first two months than the one who stumbled across his last three starts before the injury. Even so, Perez gives Atlanta something it needs: a veteran arm that can still deliver competitive innings while the club sorts through the rest of the rotation.
Smith-Shawver brings a different kind of intrigue. In his latest rehab outing with the Gwinnett Stripers over the weekend, he threw 4.2 scoreless innings and struck out five. His pitch count has climbed to 72, and the stuff has looked every bit as sharp as it did before Tommy John surgery, with the radar gun hitting 100 MPH more than once.
That kind of performance makes it hard to keep expectations modest, even with a pitcher coming back from a major arm injury. Alex Anthopoulos said the plan is for Smith-Shawver to get his pitch count above 80 in his next start, and then the Braves will decide whether he’s ready to return to the big-league club.
Since Smith-Shawver still has options, Atlanta doesn’t need to force the issue. But if he turns in another strong outing, the Braves may not have much choice but to bring him back.
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Several of the names that could come up in any framework are young Braves arms, the sort of pieces other clubs usually ask for when they are looking to restock a rotation for the future. For Atlanta, the appeal is obvious: if the front office is going to turn surplus pitching into a bat, this is the kind of matchup that could finally line up. The only question is how far the As are willing to go, and whether the Braves decide this is the moment to act. [Read more 🡒]
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For a Braves team that has spent much of the year trying to stay in the race, the timing matters as much as the diagnosis. Striders recovery could shape how aggressively Atlanta pursues starting pitching before the trade deadline, and whether the front office leans toward longer-term answers or a more temporary fix. For now, the only real certainty is that the Braves are still looking for clarity on one of the most important arms in the organization. [Read more 🡒]
Braves May Have Found A Rotation Fix With One Major Catch
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The catch is in the contract, which makes any deal harder to sort out than a simple need-for-need swap. Recent trades for pitchers on similar deals have offered a rough guide, but they also highlight how quickly the asking price can drift depending on how a team values the player, leaving Atlanta and Kansas City with plenty to work through before anything gets close. [Read more 🡒]