The Braves are giving themselves a little more bullpen punch and infield insurance as they head into Tuesday’s series opener against the Nationals.
Atlanta added right-hander Blake Burkhalter and veteran infielder Kyle Farmer to the active roster, a move that comes just as September roster expansions are approaching. To make room on the 40-man roster, the club transferred right-hander Robert Suarez to the 60-day injured list while he continues his return from right elbow inflammation.
Burkhalter is set for his major-league debut after a strong year in the minors. In 26 relief appearances, the 25-year-old put up a 1.26 ERA with 46 strikeouts and a 1.12 WHIP over 35 2/3 innings. He’s been described as a high-leverage option with a fastball in the upper 90s and a sharp cutter.
Farmer, meanwhile, brings familiar depth to the bench. The nine-year big-league veteran already spent time with Atlanta earlier this season, and in 15 games he hit .267 with a .250 on-base percentage and a .583 OPS. His value is in the glove as much as the bat, with the ability to handle second base, third base and shortstop.
Suarez’s move is procedural and allows Atlanta to keep him on the roster without needing a waiver designation. His placement was backdated to June, when he first got hurt. Before the elbow issue, he had been outstanding, posting a 0.56 ERA with 26 strikeouts and four saves in 32 innings.
Burkhalter’s path to this point has been a long one. The 76th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Auburn, he underwent Tommy John surgery earlier in his career and shifted to the bullpen, where his swing-and-miss stuff has taken off. He remains under team control through 2032, giving Alex Anthopoulos another cost-controlled arm with real upside for the back end of the bullpen.
The Braves enter September at 82-56 and still sitting in first place in the NL East, four games ahead of the Phillies.
In Other News...
Nationals Give Jared Simpson His Shot As Roster Change Turns Costly
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Simpsons arrival is the more immediate baseball story for Washington. The 26-year-old has moved between Double-A and Triple-A this season while showing the kind of strikeout and ground-ball numbers that can get a pitcher noticed, and now he gets his first major league opportunity. For the Nationals, it is a chance to see whether his performance can translate in the majors, even if the first assignment figures to be in relief and the bigger question is how he fits into the bullpen picture going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Win Put One Growing Standard Front And Center
A win can cover a lot of ground for a young club, but the Nationals still walked away with a reminder that standards matter as much as the scoreboard. Blake Butera has been reinforcing that message since taking over, and it showed up in a recent game when a mistake on a routine pop-up led to a quick benching. For a team trying to build habits as much as results, the point was hard to miss: effort and discipline are part of the expectation every night.
The backdrop made the lesson even clearer because Daylen Lile is starting to look more like the player Washington hoped he could be after working through a slump. His bat gave the lineup a real lift, and his recent progress has been one of the more encouraging signs for the Nationals. In that sense, the night offered both sides of the same coin for Buteras group, a glimpse of the upside when things are going well and a firm reminder that the margin for lapses is still thin. [Read more 🡒]
Yohandy Morales Just Gave Nationals Fans Another Young Bat To Watch
Yohandy Morales arrived in the majors and wasted little time giving Nationals fans a reason to keep watching. In his MLB debut, the young infielder announced himself with a home run for his first major league hit, joining a rare bit of club history in a 9-5 Washington win.
Morales became the eighth player in Nationals history to homer for his first career hit, and the second to do it this season, which only adds to the sense that the organization may have found another bat worth tracking closely. He also came up a triple shy of the cycle, leaving just enough unfinished business to make his next few starts feel a little more interesting. [Read more 🡒]