Carlos Carrasco is back on the Braves’ 26-man roster after a brief trip through free agency and a quick return on a new minor league deal. Atlanta selected Carrasco today and optioned Anthony Molina to Triple-A in the corresponding move.
The Braves will fit Carrasco into one of two open slots on their 40-man roster, a small but meaningful opening for a pitcher who has moved quickly from roster crunch to free agency and back again. Carrasco had been designated for assignment on Thursday when Dylan Lee returned from the paternity list, then elected free agency on May 1 after clearing outright waivers before re-signing almost immediately.
This is the latest turn in a winding season for the veteran right-hander, who was initially acquired from the Yankees last July in a cash trade. He finished last year at Triple-A Gwinnett and has since signed a pair of minor league deals with Atlanta as the club has tried to find the right fit for him in the system.
For now, the Braves are rewarding the best stretch Carrasco has put together since joining the organization. He pitched well in his first four turns through the Triple-A rotation this year, posting a 1.71 ERA with a 20.7% strikeout percentage and a 6% walk rate over 21 innings. His lone major league appearance this season was even sharper: a perfect inning with a strikeout of CJ Abrams.
The numbers also explain why Atlanta is still giving him a look despite the uneven big league track record. Carrasco owns a 6.33 ERA at the major league level since the start of 2023, and his fastball sits around 92 mph, which has pushed him to lean more heavily on his slider and changeup to keep Triple-A hitters off balance.
That makes this less a clean reinstatement than a test of whether the Braves can squeeze one more useful stretch out of a pitcher whose margin for error has narrowed. The roster spot is open, the results in Gwinnett were good enough to earn another chance, and now Carrasco has to make the most of it again.
