Atlanta Braves Announce Roster Move Before Cardinals Series

The Atlanta Braves enter their last series before the All-Star break in a good spot, having moved to 54-38 with Thursday’s 10-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Atlanta begins Friday atop the NL East, three games clear of both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins, who each sat 52-42 at the start of the day. While Philadelphia and Miami remain within striking distance, the weekend gives Atlanta one more chance to add to that cushion.

It has also been a week of roster shuffling in Atlanta. Outfielder Eli White was reinstated from the paternity list on Thursday, and the moves did not stop there.

On Friday morning, hours before the series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Braves announced a roster move on X involving a pair of right-handed pitchers, one coming and one going.

“The #Braves today reinstated RHP Tyler Kinley from the paternity list and optioned RHP Hurston Waldrep to Triple-A Gwinnett,” the team wrote on X.

Kinley’s stay on the paternity list ran the full three games allowed. Entering Friday, the 35-year-old owned a 4-3 record and a 3.62 ERA across 36 appearances this season, striking out 33 over 32.1 innings.

Selected 24th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, Waldrep went 6-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 10 games in 2025, striking out 55 over 56.1 innings for the big league club.

That breakout followed a rough first look at the majors, a 2024 debut that produced a 16.71 ERA across two games and seven innings, and it positioned the 24-year-old as a part of Atlanta’s long-term rotation picture.

The results have not carried over in 2026, Waldrep’s third major league season. He entered Friday with an 8.44 ERA and an 0-1 record through three appearances, two of them starts, walking 10 against nine strikeouts over 10.2 innings.

His latest outing did the most damage. Waldrep took the loss Tuesday in Pittsburgh, allowing seven earned runs on six hits over 3.1 innings while walking five and striking out two.

For now, Friday’s move amounts to a reset. Braves fans saw a version of Waldrep worth betting on during his 2025 run, and the hope around Atlanta is that the right-hander finds it again before long.

Chris Sale draws the first assignment of the weekend. Friday’s opener at Busch Stadium is set for 8:15 PM ET, with the middle game slated for Saturday at 7:15 PM ET and the finale scheduled for Sunday at 2:15 PM ET before the All-Star break arrives.