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Atlanta will skip Elder's next turn through the rotation, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Elder was lined up to make his next start Friday against the Mets, but Atlanta will give him extra time to rest after he displayed diminished velocity during his last outing Saturday. Grant Holmes will now take the mound to begin Friday's contest; meanwhile, Elder's next start is likely to come next week in Pittsburgh.
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Braves' Reynaldo Lopez: Earns win vs. Cardinals
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Lopez (4-1) earned the win Wednesday over St. Louis, allowing a run on two hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out six.
Making a second straight start, Lopez would give up a run in the first inning before settling in and holding the Cardinals without a hit over his final four frames. After a rough start to the year, Lopez has turned things around of late, posting a 2.70 ERA over his last 11 appearances (23.1 innings). Lopez looks to have earned another chance in Atlanta's rotation going forward -- he's currently slated to face the Mets at home in his next outing.
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Braves' Grant Holmes: Might remain in bullpen
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Holmes could remain in Atlanta's bullpen moving forward, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Holmes made 15 starts for Atlanta before tossing four scoreless relief innings during his last appearance against the Giants. While Holmes could make another start Thursday versus the Cardinals if Hurston Waldrep is needed in relief Wednesday, the club's preference is to keep Holmes in the bullpen. The right-hander has collected a 3.96 ERA and 69:37 K:BB over 77.1 frames this season.
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Braves' Hurston Waldrep: Could enter rotation Thursday
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Waldrep could start Thursday's game against the Cardinals if he isn't needed out of the bullpen Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Reynaldo Lopez is starting Wednesday's game, and if he's able to go at least 4-to-5 innings, it will likely be Waldrep that starts Thursday's series finale. If the right-hander has to pitch in relief Wednesday, Grant Holmes could draw Thursday's start. Waldrep had surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow back in February, but he threw 55 pitches over two scoreless relief innings during his season debut for Atlanta last week. His highest pitch count in five rehab starts was 71, so the righty is not fully stretched out yet.
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Braves' Reynaldo Lopez: Making another start Wednesday
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Lopez will start Wednesday's game against the Cardinals in Atlanta.
Lopez will be making his second straight appearance as a starter, though Mark Bowman of MLB.com previously reported that Atlanta could once again have Hurston Waldrep piggyback the veteran right-hander. In his last appearance Friday in San Francisco, Lopez threw three innings of one-run ball before Waldrep followed with two scoreless frames in relief. Lopez tossed 57 pitches in that outing, but even if he gets piggybacked agin, he could still push up his pitch count a bit more Wednesday.
Braves' Martin Perez: Punished by long ball in loss
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Perez (6-5) took the loss Tuesday against the Cardinals, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks while striking out one over five innings.
Perez was undone by two swings in the fourth inning. Nelson Velazquez led off the frame with a solo homer before Nathan Church added a three-run blast. The four earned runs matched Perez's season high, and it was an uncharacteristic showing after he had surrendered just three home runs over his previous 36 innings. Following a four-start winning streak, Perez has now dropped each of his last two outings. He'll carry a 3.27 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 61:30 K:BB across 77 innings into his next scheduled start at home against the Mets.
Braves' AJ Smith-Shawver: Tosses three innings in rehab start
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Smith-Shawver (elbow) pitched three innings Tuesday during a rehab start with Single-A Augusta, allowing one run on three hits while striking out four batters, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Smith-Shawver was making the second start of his rehab assignment as he enters the home stretch of his recovery from Tommy John surgery in June of 2025. The right-hander was able to limit the damage to just one run on a solo homer, and he tossed 29 of his 41 total pitches for strikes. Smith-Shawver will likely make his next start at a higher level in Atlanta's farm system.
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Braves' Ha-Seong Kim: Bound for bench Tuesday
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Kim is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cardinals.
Kim had started in Atlanta's last four games, but he went 0-for-11 over that stretch to bring his average down to a lowly .068 for the season. Atlanta has an opening in the everyday lineup for Kim while Mauricio Dubon is needed in the outfield to help cover for the absence of Ronald Acuna (hamstring), but Kim's inability to get going at the plate has made it increasingly difficult for manager Walt Weiss to justify keeping him in the starting nine. Jorge Mateo will spell Kim at shortstop Tuesday.
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Braves' Ronald Acuna: Not expected back before break
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Acuna (hamstring) went through a full pregame workout at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
It's a big step for Acuna, who is on the 10-day injured list for the second time this season with a strained left hamstring. He missed nearly three weeks of action the first time and has already been out longer than that this time around. Going through a full workout suggests Acuna could be nearing a return to games, but Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said it's a "long shot" the outfielder returns before the All-Star break. Acuna could be back for the beginning of the second half, however.
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Braves' Hurston Waldrep: Likely to move into rotation
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Waldrep is a likely candidate to join the Atlanta rotation in the near future, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
The 24-year-old right-hander was added to the 26-man roster Friday and threw 55 pitches over two relief innings that day, working behind Reynaldo Lopez. Lopez's next start is scheduled for Wednesday and manager Walt Weiss has hinted that the duo could be piggybacked, but Atlanta is also likely looking for ways to get Bryce Elder some extra rest, as he showed reduced velocity in his last start and has struggled over the second half of June. Once Waldrep is further stretched out, he could join a six-man rotation that gets the team through to the All-Star break -- Atlanta doesn't get another day off before the break once they begin a series against the Cardinals on Tuesday.
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Braves' Bryce Elder: Could get extra rest before ASB
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Elder's velocity was down about one mph on all his pitches in his most recent start, and Atlanta is likely to look for opportunities to give him extra rest, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
The right-hander has looked fatigued over his last three starts, coughing up 19 runs in 14 innings on 27 hits, including five homers. Atlanta's rotation is already missing multiple members, however, and depth is an issue. Hurston Waldrep, who was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett this past weekend and threw 55 pitches over two innings of relief behind Reynaldo Lopez on Friday, could be an option to make a spot start and buy Elder an extra day of rest.
Braves' Spencer Schwellenbach: Eyes late August/early September
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Schwellenbach (elbow) will likely report to Atlanta's spring training facility in early July and could be a candidate to rejoin the major-league rotation by late August or early September, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
To this point, Atlanta has only ruled Schwellenbach -- who is coming back from surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow -- out through the All-Star break. Bowman, though, notes that a typical spring training buildup could have Schwellenbach big-league ready by late August or early September. Any timeline for the righty is approximate at this point, as he still has several boxes to check in the rehab process.
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Braves' AJ Smith-Shawver: Making first rehab start Tuesday
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Smith-Shawver (elbow) is slated to make the first start of his rehab assignment Tuesday with Single-A Augusta, Barrett Sallee of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.
After completing a series of bullpen sessions and live batting practice sessions as he works his way back from June 2025 Tommy John surgery, Smith-Shawver threw a two-inning simulated game at Atlanta's spring training facility in Florida as a final step before embarking on a rehab assignment. He'll likely build on that two-inning workload during Tuesday's outing and will presumably need at least three or four more rehab starts beyond that before Atlanta brings him back from the 60-day injured list. Smith-Shawver still has a minor-league option remaining, but if his velocity and command looks good during his rehab assignment, Atlanta may have room for him in the big-league rotation. Before undergoing elbow surgery last summer, Smith-Shawver posted a 3.86 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 42:21 K:BB In 44.1 innings over nine starts with Atlanta.
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