Right-hander Didier Fuentes has won himself a spot on the Braves’ Opening Day roster, ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes. The 20-year-old Fuentes made his big league debut last season with four starts and 13 innings for Atlanta, and he’ll now return to the Show in what Passan says will be a relief role.
Fuentes’ bullpen assignment provides some more clarity to the Braves’ rotation picture. Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Strider, and Grant Holmes have the top four positions, and Bryce Elder and Jose Suarez now appear to be the last two candidates for the fifth starter role. Fuentes is headed to the bullpen, top prospect JR Ritchie was assigned to the minor league camp yesterday, and minor league signing Martin Perez will remain in the organization but isn’t being included on the Opening Day roster.
With Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, and Joey Wentz all felled by injuries, rotation depth has been one of the primary storylines of Atlanta’s spring. This opened the door for multiple pitchers to try and win a job, and while Fuentes isn’t being ticketed for rotation duty, he certainly caught the Braves’ attention with an incredible Grapefruit League performance. Over three appearances and nine spotless innings, Fuentes didn’t allow even one walk or a hit, while striking out 17 batters — one HBP was the only thing keeping Fuentes from an unofficial perfect game during his spring work.
It is certainly possible Fuentes could receive a proper starting assignment, depending on how exactly the Braves choose to line up their rotation through a busy opening to the season. Atlanta doesn’t receive its first off-day until April 9, so it is very likely that both Elder and Suarez (or Fuentes) could get starts if the Braves deploy a six-man rotation in the early going. Even if Fuentes may not start, his ability to eat multiple innings out of the pen should prove useful as the Braves navigate this stretch of 13 straight games.
Fuentes has started 48 of his 52 career games in the minors, and his 2025 season saw the righty pitch at three different minor league levels as well as his four-start cup of coffee with the Braves. It may have been too much too soon for Fuentes since he was torched for an 13.85 ERA in his first exposure to MLB hitters, but the Braves had to dig into their depth chart after a swath of injuries wiped out their rotation last summer.
Fuentes has shown a knack for recording strikeouts and limiting walks in the minors, and some bad batted-ball luck might be why his 3.73 ERA over 202 2/3 minor league innings doesn’t exactly stand out. Still, there’s some obvious potential here even at Fuentes’ young age, and his huge spring numbers indicate that Fuentes might thrive as a reliever. While the Braves’ hand with Fuentes may have been forced by injuries last year, the team hasn’t been shy about quickly promoting prospects they feel can provide immediate help.
