The Atlanta Braves scratched All-Star left-hander Chris Sale from his Monday night start against the Arizona Diamondbacks and recalled right-hander Bryce Elder from Triple-A Gwinnett to start the contest.
The Braves announced the promotion of Elder four-plus hours before first pitch.
Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said the recalling of Elder is tied to keeping the teams’ starters fresh entering the upcoming All-Star break.
“We decided to bring Bryce in, give all those guys an extra day leading into the break,” Snitker said.
Sale will start Tuesday night’s game against Arizona ace Zac Gallen and also pitch on Sunday against the San Diego Padres. The second outing rules him out of a possible starting assignment for the National League in the All-Star Game on July 16.
“He’s going to come back on regular rest Sunday,” Snitker said. “It’s just how these things land and the guys we have involved. … It’s easy to put somebody in, but things have to be able to work right.”
Sale (11-3, 2.71 ERA) is tied for the major league lead in victories and ranks sixth in strikeouts (127) and eighth in ERA. The 35-year-old was named to the NL All-Star team on Sunday. It will be his eighth appearance.
Elder, 25, is 1-3 with a 5.76 ERA in six big-league starts this season, the most recent coming in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 26 when he gave up two runs and four hits over six innings.
Last season, Elder was 12-4 with a 3.81 ERA in 31 starts for the Braves. He was a member of the NL All-Star team.
At Gwinnett, Elder is 5-3 with a 4.35 ERA in nine starts.
Atlanta also promoted veteran outfielder Eddie Rosario to the major league roster, optioned left-hander Dylan Lee and outfielder Luke Williams to Gwinnett and designated outfielder J.P. Martinez for assignment.
The Braves just brought Rosario back to the organization on Friday. The 32-year-old was released by the Washington Nationals Wednesday. He is in the starting lineup, batting seventh and playing left field against Arizona on Monday.
Rosario was the 2021 National League Championship Series MVP when the Braves defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. Rosario batted .560 (14-for-25) with three homers and nine RBIs in the series. Atlanta went on to win the World Series.
Rosario batted .255 with 21 homers and 74 RBIs in 142 games for the Braves last season but the club declined his $9 million option for 2024. He subsequently signed with the Nationals and was batting .183 with seven homers and 26 RBIs in 67 games before his release.
“We know what Eddie’s done here,” Snitker said of Rosario. “He’s got good memories here, he’s been successful here, so hopefully this is something maybe that he uses as a good second chance for him this year.”
Lee is 2-2 with a 2.00 ERA in 28 games for Atlanta this season. Williams was 1-for-10 in 12 games and Martinez was 2-for-10 in seven games.
–Field Level Media
