Slowly but surely, the Atlanta Braves are getting back to full health. This mostly pertains to the lineup and bullpen as we know the rotation has battled the injury bug for most of the season and it is going to stay that way for a bit longer. However, one potential major league relief option could be on his way back to Atlanta a lot sooner than we expected.
The team announced on Sunday that RHP Daysbel Hernandez will begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett tonight. Daysbel hasn’t pitched since June 4th against Arizona when he exited the game with numbness in his right pinky. The next day, Hernandez was placed on the 15-day IL with what the team labeled right forearm inflammation.
RHP Daysbel Hernández tonight begins a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 29, 2025
Daysbel Hernandez set to begin rehab assignment for the Braves
When a pitcher is on the IL with anything forearm related, you have to assume the injury is going to be long-term. However, Daysbel ended up getting cleared just a few weeks after he was placed on the IL. While Hernandez hasn’t been stellar in 2025 (mostly due to his command struggles) he does offer more upside than some of the current mop-up bullpen options.
Hernandez has a 2.22 ERA and 4.08 FIP in just over 24 innings of work this season. He’s had his moments this season for sure, but the 20 walks compared to just 21 strikeouts doesn’t give you faith Hernandez is much more than a depth piece for Atlanta’s bullpen. At the very least, his return will allow Alex Anthopoulos to determine if Hernandez is a viable bullpen piece for Atlanta in the second half, or if AA needs to make some moves at this year’s trade deadline.
However, it will be nice to have someone with real velocity available in this bullpen especially from the right-handed side. In just a couple days Jurickson Profar is set to return to Atlanta and hopefully fix the Braves left field problem. Hopefully Hernandez can provide similar value to the Braves bullpen. Regardless of their results, it’s nice to see Atlanta finally getting back to full strength as they look to dig themselves out the bottom-third of the National League standings during the second half of the season.
