Braves News: Luke Williams era ends, Martin Perez, more
The Braves keep cruising with series victories as they shuffle their fringe veteran depth
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 11: Martín Pérez #33 and Jonah Heim #20 of the Atlanta Braves converse in the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Truist Park on April 11, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Braves are cruising to start this season, with the second best record in MLB and the best run differential (pending the Dodgers game tonight).
While there’s been some good fortune on the pitching side, there has also been some uncharacteristic underperformance from Chris Sale and some bad luck from a few of Atlanta’s bats. Dominic Smith is unlikely to be Aaron Judge all year, but on the whole this feels in the realm of sustainable, especially with reinforcements coming over the coming weeks and months. It would be especially useful if a few of Schwellenbach, Smith-Shawver, and Waldrep could come up and be productive, perhaps giving the team and opportunity to bump Grant Holmes and/or Reynaldo Lopez into an impact reliever spot.
For now though, let’s just enjoy the team being in a good spot 10% of the way into the season, a stark contrast from last year. Braves News Martin Perez is back and expected to start Friday’s game , after being waived, electing free agency, and ultimately re-signing with Atlanta. Luke Williams elected free agency after being DFA’d , but of course he could always sign back in Atlanta like Perez did.
We took a minute to appreciate what Dominic Smith has produced for Atlanta so far this season . The Braves collected another series win, this one against the Marlins in a convincing 6-3 game behind Bryce Elder and some solid offense. MLB News Nick Pivetta will be sidelined for significant time with a flexor strain for the Padres .