When the Atlanta Braves optioned Bryce Elder back to the minors on Thursday, it seemed to be an acknowledgment that the Braves knew he was on borrowed time.

Elder’s results had been good, but the stuff remained suspect and it was only a matter of time before he started costing Atlanta some game. However, the team declined to make a corresponding roster move until today.

Elder getting sent down obviously meant that Atlanta was going to bring up an arm for their weekend series against the Red Sox.

They had a number of options they could entertain for that move including potentially Craig Kimbrel who has looked pretty good. Instead, the Braves went in a different direction as they called up Dylan Dodd on Friday.

Braves call up Dylan Dodd, immediately becomes favorite to have spot taken by Spencer Strider

The logic here is straightforward. Atlanta knows they need a full slate of arms for this upcoming road trip and they just sent one down with Elder.

Dodd may have had some struggles in the major leagues, but he is already on the 40-man roster, is a lefty which should help against a Boston lineup with some scary left-handed bats, and he can throw multiple innings out of the bullpen if needed.

As Braves beat writer Mark Bowman correctly pointed out, the odds that Dodd will last very long on the roster are small.

Atlanta already revealed that they plan on activating Spencer Strider during their next series against the Nationals that begins early next week.

While it would be nice to take this opportunity to get rid of a fringe bullpen arm, Dodd is pretty easily the favorite to get his spot taken when Strider comes back.

Hopefully Dodd can take advantage of this opportunity as it wasn’t that long ago that some thought he could be an important part of the Braves’ future.

If he impresses in this short stint, don’t be surprised if he gets another look later on in the season.