Braves recall Hunter Stratton from Triple-A amid bullpen shakeup

Atlanta’s bullpen needed a reset, and Hunter Stratton got the call. The Braves recalled the right-handed reliever from Triple-A Gwinnett on May 1 and, in the same move, selected Anthony Molina while designating Joel Payamps and José Suarez for assignment. With Chris Sale and the rotation drawing the spotlight, the late-inning mix had become the pressure point, and Stratton’s return signaled that Atlanta wanted a harder-throwing, more dependable option in the relief group.

Stratton, 29, had already shown he could survive in that role. Atlanta had optioned him to Gwinnett on March 1, but his work there kept him on the short list. MiLB listed him at 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 11.1 innings over 10 games, a rate that pointed to a pitcher missing bats even as the sample remained small. Another early-May update had him at a 4.50 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 12 innings, but the common thread was the swing-and-miss stuff Atlanta has been seeking as it reshuffled the back end of the bullpen.

That strikeout profile matters because Stratton already proved he could handle major league leverage last season. In 12 appearances for Atlanta in 2025, he went 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA across 16.1 innings and recorded his first save as a Brave. For a club that has spent the early part of the season sorting through trust issues in relief, that track record carried real weight. Stratton is not being summoned as a long-term novelty; he is being asked to fill innings that matter, where one clean frame can protect a lead and one missed spot can unravel a game.

The Braves’ confidence in him has been building since the trade that brought him from the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 1, 2025, for minor league outfielder Titus Dumitru and cash considerations. A Bristol, Tennessee native and Walters State Community College product, Stratton debuted in the majors with Pittsburgh on September 5, 2023, and now returns with a clearer organizational job description: get outs, miss bats, and help stabilize a bullpen Atlanta could no longer wait to sort out.