The Braves selected James Karinchak’s contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on June 10, 2026, bringing the right-hander back to the majors for the first time since 2023. Atlanta also designated Carlos Carrasco for assignment again, placed Tyler Kinley on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation and recalled JR Ritchie.
For Karinchak, the move put him on a big league roster after a strong run in the minors this year. He had thrown 25 2/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA in 2026, striking out 38% of the batters he faced while walking 10%, numbers that helped him get another look even though his average fastball sat at 93.8 mph.
The 2026 line mattered because it was the clearest evidence that the 39-year-old still had a path back. Karinchak had spent nearly the entire 2024 season on the minor league injured list with a shoulder issue and pitched only 6 2/3 innings that year, a stretch that followed years of uneven health and command problems. Before landing with Atlanta in December 2025, he had been released in June and had most recently logged 29 1/3 innings with Charlotte in the White Sox organization.
That is what makes this promotion more interesting than a routine bullpen shuffle. Karinchak arrived with real production, but also with the same questions that have followed him for years: whether his velocity will hold, whether the control will hold and whether the majors will hold onto him this time. The Braves have a roster spot open only because Kinley went on the injured list and Carrasco was pushed off again after being designated for assignment five times dating back to last August.
Carrasco’s exit was the other side of the same move. He had allowed three runs on 10 hits and a walk with four strikeouts in nine major league innings in 2026, though he also posted a 3.00 ERA in 30 innings with Gwinnett. Atlanta had already cycled him through the same waiver-and-re-sign loop before, and this latest transaction again cleared the way for a pitcher who could be sent back to the minors if the club needs the spot.
That is the unresolved part for Karinchak. He is back in the majors because the Braves liked what they saw in Gwinnett, but he still has a minor league option remaining and nothing in this move guarantees he stays in Atlanta beyond this opening. For now, he has the roster spot, the late-inning look and the chance to prove that his best numbers in years are more than a brief stop on the way back down.
