Tuesday began with some bad news for the Braves.
Catcher Drake Baldwin, one of the best players in the National League this season, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained oblique.
Baldwin was 1-for-2 with a walk during Monday’s 12-0 loss to the Marlins at loanDepot park before being replaced in the bottom of the sixth by backup catcher Sandy León.
Baldwin is hitting .303 with a .932 OPS. He has 13 home runs and 38 RBIs. The 2025 NL Rookie of the Year has only 10 games this season in which he didn’t record at least one hit.
Baldwin being sidelined wasn’t the only big news for the Braves on Tuesday. The organization also released left-handed relief pitcher Aaron Bummer after his disastrous outing Monday, in which he allowed six earned runs on three hits and five walks.
The 32-year-old Bummer had a 7.36 ERA over 15⅓ innings this season. He had gone three straight appearances without allowing a run until Monday, when he walked four straight hitters, then gave up a grand slam and a solo home run to the Marlins.
“The last few (outings) have been better,” Braves manager Walt Weiss after Friday’s game. “He’s thrown the ball better the last few times out. I didn’t see that one coming. Obviously, a tough night for Aaron. I felt like he was turning the corner the last few times out, but that was a tough night.”
Said Bummer on Friday: “Obviously, I think, pathetic is kind of a nice way to put it. For somebody that’s been doing it as long as I have, to not be able to stop the bleeding, to (not) find the strike zone, in reality just to be able to make a pitch? Honestly, it’s bad. There’s really no other way to put it.
“I have to move forward and have to keep going and never allow something like that to happen again. To not able to stop the bleeding and (not) be able to make a pitch is tough.”
In November, the Braves signed Bummer to a two-year, $13 million contract. He was making $9.5 million this season.
To take Baldwin’s place on the roster, catcher Chadwick Tromp was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett. Tromp had played in 24 games for Gwinnett and was hitting .169 in 24 games with three home runs and 12 RBIs.
Tromp appeared in two games with the Braves last season.
The Braves also sent starting pitcher JR Ritchie back to Gwinnett and reinstated left-handed reliever Dylan Dodd from Dodd’s rehabilitation assignment with Gwinnett, a move that helps deepen Atlanta’s bullpen before the next scheduled off day Monday.
Dodd made nine appearances for Gwinnett and had a 4.85 ERA in 13 innings. Dodd had been placed on the 15-day injured list April 22 with left thoracic spine inflammation.
Ritchie made five starts with the Braves, dating to his MLB debut April 23 in Washington. The right-hander went 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA, a number inflated by Monday’s start, in which he was charged with six earned runs on six hits, a walk and two hit batters.
“This game, there’s gonna be a lot of ups and downs, a lot of stuff you can’t control, a lot of stuff you can control. I think it’s a mix of both (Monday),” Ritchie said. “I put the bullpen in a rough spot. I feel terrible about that. The biggest thing is just being able to pick up and move on and go to the next one.”
Finally, right-hander pitcher Victor Mederos was also called up to the big-league roster. Mederos, acquired by the Braves from the Angels in exchange for international bonus pool money April 3, pitched 24⅓ innings for Gwinnett and had a 4.81 ERA.
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