Braves outright Martín Pérez to Gwinnett, veteran lefty elects free agency

Martín Pérez’s stint as Atlanta’s stopgap ended with a clearer message than the transaction line itself: the Braves no longer saw the veteran left-hander as part of their long-term rotation answer. After clearing outright waivers, Pérez elected free agency instead of accepting an assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett, giving Atlanta another open lane to rework a pitching staff already stretched by injuries.

The move came after Pérez was designated for assignment on April 12, a sign the Braves were ready to move past the left-hander after using him as a fifth-starter option in the early going. In three appearances for Atlanta, including two starts, Pérez logged 14 1/3 innings with a 3.14 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, six strikeouts and four walks. Those numbers were steady enough to help during a turbulent stretch, but not enough to make him indispensable once the staff began shifting toward younger arms and more bullpen coverage.

Atlanta had selected Pérez’s contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on March 30 after signing him to a minor league deal over the winter, a low-risk bet on a pitcher coming back from shoulder and elbow injuries last season. The Braves needed innings, and Pérez supplied them while the rotation was under pressure. But as the season’s first weeks unfolded, the club’s preference moved elsewhere, with Dylan Dodd recalled from Gwinnett when Pérez was bumped off the roster.

That reshuffle says more about Atlanta’s pitching depth than Pérez’s brief stay. The Braves were carrying a nine-man bullpen, and the next wave of coverage could come from José Suarez, Didier Fuentes or, eventually, Spencer Strider as he worked toward a rehab assignment expected to include at least three minor league outings. Walt Weiss had already indicated that Fuentes was being stretched out in Gwinnett, another sign the Braves were managing workload as much as talent.

For Atlanta, Pérez’s exit created room and clarified the pecking order. The Braves can still turn to veterans when necessary, but the early message from Truist Park is that trust is shifting toward arms with longer organizational runway.