Braves release Maverick Handley, reinstate Hurston Waldrep from 60-day IL

What happened

The Atlanta Braves announced the release of catcher Maverick Handley, who had been on optional assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett, clearing a 40-man roster spot in the process. That space was immediately filled by right-hander Hurston Waldrep, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned back to Gwinnett. The club also outrighted Carlos Carrasco yet again, following a designation for assignment on Wednesday.

Three moves, one announcement, and a 40-man roster that looks more or less the same on the outside — which is roughly how roster surgery tends to work.

Why it matters

The Waldrep piece is the one worth watching. The 2023 first-round pick had entered Spring Training as a lock for the rotation, per MLB Trade Rumors, coming off a 2.88 ERA across 56 1/3 innings. Then, at the beginning of Spring Training, he underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow — and has been out all season as a result.

His reinstatement from the 60-day IL does not mean he is pitching in Atlanta anytime soon. The option to Triple-A Gwinnett is the next step in what figures to be a monitored return, and the Braves have not indicated a timetable for when, or whether, he might factor into the major-league picture this year. What the move does signal, per the club's announcement, is that Waldrep is healthy enough to be removed from the 60-day IL — a list that, under general league mechanics, carries its own threshold for reinstatement eligibility.

For a rotation that absorbed a remarkable amount of damage before the season even began, the prospect of Waldrep eventually being available is not a trivial footnote.

The Carrasco outrighting is the quieter transaction in this bundle. This is, per MLB Trade Rumors, yet again for Carrasco — a phrase that carries its own gentle comedy for anyone who has followed the veteran right-hander's recent roster history. He was designated for assignment Wednesday, and the outright assignment follows the standard procedural path.

The numbers

Waldrep's pre-injury résumé is the relevant data point here: a 2.88 ERA through 56 1/3 innings, per MLB Trade Rumors, before the elbow procedure ended his spring and his season before it started. The Braves carry a 94-68 record (.580), sit first in the NL East, and are leading the division heading into a weekend series at Citi Field.

Where the club stands

Atlanta enters Friday at 94-68, leading the NL East, though they arrive on a one-game losing streak. The schedule sends them to Citi Field for three games against the New York Mets: Spencer Strider is the probable starter Friday against Nolan McLean, Martín Pérez takes the ball Saturday opposite Sean Manaea, and Bryce Elder is lined up for Sunday against Freddy Peralta.

That Elder is starting Sunday is itself a small data point in the larger story of Atlanta's pitching resilience. MLB Trade Rumors notes that the Braves have more than weathered the injuries that hit their staff before Opening Day — a staff that lost Waldrep to elbow surgery, saw Spencer Schwellenbach undergo his own elbow procedure (from which he has yet to return), watched Strider begin the year on the injured list, and absorbed the news that Joey Wentz tore his ACL. Chris Sale, per MLB Trade Rumors, has been fantastic, as expected. Elder has held up his end as well.

Is Waldrep going to pitch in Atlanta this year?

That is genuinely unknown. The reinstatement from the 60-day IL and the option to Gwinnett establish that he is cleared to pitch in a professional game, but the Braves have not announced a timeline, a workload plan, or a target date for a potential call-up. Given that he has been out all season following elbow surgery, a careful ramp-up would be the logical expectation under general roster mechanics — but the specifics of that process have not been reported.

What MLB Trade Rumors does make clear is that Waldrep was considered a rotation-caliber arm before the injury. A 2.88 ERA across 56 1/3 innings, first-round pedigree, and a spring that had him penciled into the starting five — that profile does not quietly disappear from a front office's planning horizon, even when the season is already deep into June.

What we don't know yet

The Braves have not announced a return timetable for Waldrep, nor has one been reported. The same is true for Schwellenbach, whose own elbow procedure has kept him out all season. Strider is listed as a probable starter for Friday's game at Citi Field, which places him in the rotation for this weekend, but MLB Trade Rumors does not detail the specifics of his current status beyond that scheduling note.

The Carrasco situation — outrighted yet again — leaves open the question of what comes next for the veteran, though MLB Trade Rumors does not report any further details about his plans or the club's intentions beyond the transaction itself.

What to watch

The most operationally significant thread here is Waldrep's progress at Gwinnett. A 2023 first-round pick with a 2.88 ERA in his pre-injury sample, now pitching in Triple-A for the first time this season — the Braves will be watching his workload, his stuff, and his health closely. Whether that eventually translates into a September role, a spot-start opportunity, or simply a healthy arm heading into the offseason is a question the next several weeks will begin to answer.

The Mets series this weekend also carries its own weight. Atlanta leads the NL East at 94-68, but a three-game set at Citi Field against a division rival is not a backdrop that invites complacency, regardless of how comfortable the standings look. Strider, Pérez, and Elder are the scheduled starters — three pitchers whose presence in the rotation is itself a testament to how the Braves have managed a spring that, on paper, looked like it might unravel everything.

It did not. And now, quietly, Hurston Waldrep is pitching in Gwinnett.