Braves roster shakeup claims veteran while reliever lands on IL
In what seems like a daily ritual, the Atlanta Braves made a series of roster moves to bolster their bullpen ahead of Sunday’s series finale against the New York Mets. This time, Hunter Stratton and Wander Suero are the relievers of choice taking the Gwinnett shuttle back up to the major leagues.
To make room for them on the active roster, Atlanta released starting pitcher Erick Fedde and placed reliever Aaron Bummer on the IL with shoulder inflammation.
After another frustrating loss that saw Cal Qunatrill’s first start in a Braves uniform get cut short due to cramps, the Atlanta bullpen was forced to cover more innings than the team would’ve preferred.
Braves roster shakeup claims Erick Fedde, Aaron Bummer to the IL
Tyler Kinely managed to eat up 1⅓ innings on Saturday, but Dylan Lee was pummeled by the Mets and was unable to get out of the seventh inning, which forced Aaron Bummer into the game. Bummer gave manager Brian Snitker 1⅓ innings, and Austin Cox threw 27 pitches to cover a prolonged ninth inning — which likely prompted the Braves to make the moves they did.
Fedde was acquired by the Braves at the end of July to eat innings, but struggled to do so. In his four starts with Atlanta, he averaged under five innings per start while posting an ERA north of 7.00. The writing was on the wall, and on Friday, when Fedde entered in relief in the blowout loss to the Mets.
Bummer’s weird season continues, as the lefty has been mostly used to cover multiple innings, something he hadn’t done since 2019. Bummer’s 54⅓ innings are the second-most in the Braves bullpen this year, granted 4⅓ came in two starts as the Braves’ opener. The Braves did not announce the severity of the injury, but hopefully his shoulder just needs a couple of weeks of rest.
This is Suero’s second go-around on the Braves active roster. The veteran appeared in three games back in July and was lit up in two of them, allowing six runs. He’s had more success in Gwinnett since being sent back down; allowing just one run in his last nine outings (0.97 ERA).
Stratton rejoins the Braves big league squad for the fourth time this year. The 28-year-old has appeared in three games without allowing a run all season. The Braves are hoping that trend continues.
