Atlanta calls up two young right-handers to bolster the pitching staff during Pérez‘s absence.
The Atlanta Braves spent much of Sunday hoping Martín Pérez had avoided the worst after a line drive struck his left forearm. Less than a day later, the club made it official.
Atlanta placed Pérez on the 15-day injured list Monday with a left forearm contusion, confirming the veteran will miss at least the next couple of weeks after exiting Sunday's loss to the New York Mets. X-rays on Pérez's forearm came back negative, but Atlanta still elected to place him on the injured list while he recovers from the soreness.
As a result, the Braves selected right-hander Owen Murphy to the major league roster, recalled right-hander JR Ritchie from Triple-A and designated veteran Carlos Carrasco for assignment.
Pérez's injury had already forced Atlanta into an uncomfortable spot on Sunday. After Juan Soto's 92 mph comebacker struck him in the fifth inning, the Braves needed to cover the final 14 outs with their bullpen. Atlanta had been operating with seven relievers while carrying six starters, leaving manager Walt Weiss with limited flexibility once Pérez departed.
"Some days, you can keep chasing games and you're equipped to do that," Weiss told reporters after Sunday's loss, via MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "Some days you're not. We could chase it for seven innings today. That's what we did, and they did a great job keeping it into a two-run game through seven. At that point, we were out of those high-leverage bullets."
Carrasco ultimately absorbed those innings, but his outing only reinforced the direction Atlanta appeared headed. The veteran allowed five runs over two innings, and Monday's transaction made official what had seemed increasingly likely after Weiss indicated Sunday that Carrasco was expected to come off the roster.
The Braves now appear ready to hand opportunities to younger arms instead.
Murphy joins the big-league roster as one of Atlanta's top pitching prospects and could make his debut during the upcoming series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ritchie, meanwhile, returns after spending much of the past month moving between Triple-A and Atlanta, where he could provide length in relief or work in a bulk-inning role if needed.
Those moves don't replace what Pérez had provided before the injury.
Although the left-hander had struggled over his past three starts, he remained an important part of a rotation that has continued to absorb injuries throughout the season. Sunday's outing was a reminder of that value. After a difficult opening stretch against the Mets, Pérez retired nine consecutive hitters before Soto's liner ended his afternoon.
"He's been a huge part of our rotation there, and it's just unlucky to get hit where he did," catcher Drake Baldwin told reporters after the game, via Bowman. "It squared him up pretty good. He's tough. He's going to work his way back. But it's tough to lose a guy like that, especially if he's going on the IL."
The Braves will hope these moves prove effective, whether that's Ritchie's limited big league experience or a positive debut run out of Murphy. Either will look to make an impact as Atlanta hits the road on Tuesday for a three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
