Braves rumors: Acuña injury update, Fried extension still looms, fringe players added and returning
- Dereck Rodriguez has been selected and another RP has a rehab start scheduled
- Max Fried's extension (or lack thereof) still sits as a major talking point
- Ronald Acuña Jr. gets return update
By Josh Wilson
Fringe updates to Braves roster
Some fringe updates have been made to the Atlanta Braves roster, both on the pitching front. One is in regards to an injury return, the other with a "new" add of a somewhat familiar face.
First, the injury. Nick Anderson, who has appeared in 35 games for 35.1 innings in 2023, is set to make a rehab appearance (subscription required) according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on track to make his return to the big-league squad in the near future. Anderson has been out with an injury since July.
Also on the pitching front, the Braves selected the contract of Dereck Rodriguez. Fans might recognize his name because he did pitch two games with the team, one in May and one in July after being selected off waivers from the Twins. His starts were solid, giving up no earned runs, albeit in just 2.2 innings in total. Both games were game-ending appearances, one where the game was a Braves runaway.
Rodriguez likely won't make for a game-changing add this year. MLB Trade Rumors points out that his work at the Triple-A level hasn't been very encouraging. The Braves moved some pieces around to make room for him on the active roster, but health restoration to other pieces -- like Anderson, mentioned above -- will likely push him back to Triple-A on the 40-man soon enough.
With the Braves already holding a Wild Card bye, remaining games will serve as a good big-league opportunity to give players like Rodriguez some reps with relatively low stakes.