The Braves were one of the teams looking to acquire Tarik Skubal from the Tigers at the trade deadline, with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writing a few days after the deadline that Atlanta “never got close to a deal for Skubal, even though they made virtually all of their young players available, including right-handers AJ Smith-Shawver and JR Ritchie.”
One of the youngsters apparently not on the table was Didier Fuentes, as the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reports that the Braves “wouldn’t part with” the right-hander as part of the negotiations with Detroit. While it isn’t known what exactly the Tigers wanted from the Braves in terms of an overall trade package, Atlanta’s desire to keep Fuentes speaks to how quickly the righty has risen to prominence in the team’s future plans.
Fuentes was an international signing in January 2022, and he only just celebrated his 21st birthday in June. In the latest instance of the Braves aggressively promoting players they’re high on, Fuentes’ contract was selected to the active roster just after his 20th birthday in June 2025, and with only one Triple-A appearance to his name.
The deluge of injuries suffered by Braves pitching that season certainly played some role in Fuentes’ quick path to the majors, and he indeed looked overmatched in his first taste of MLB action. Fuentes posted a 13.85 ERA in four starts and 13 innings and was then optioned back to Triple-A after less than three weeks in the Show. He had a more respectable 4.08 ERA in 17 2/3 innings and four starts for Gwinnett before an injury ended his season in early August.
Returning in good health, Fuentes won himself a spot on Atlanta’s Opening Day roster in a long relief capacity, though the Braves sent him back to down to Triple-A a couple of times before recalling him for good in late April. The results were day and night from 2025 — Fuentes posted a 2.45 ERA, 31% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate, and a host of other impressive metrics over 73 1/3 innings and 58 appearances for the Braves. This was followed by a 3.86 ERA in seven innings across five postseason games, including 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Atlanta’s 3-2 win over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLDS.
That performance against Los Angeles is of particular note because, of course, Skubal was on the other side. The Dodgers won the deadline bidding war by sending a three-player trade package to the Tigers, and the star southpaw has unsurprisingly kept up his star form on his new team. Skubal had a 2.61 ERA in 62 regular-season innings for L.A., and he was the winning pitcher in Game 1 of the NLDS after holding the Braves to one earned run on two hits and two walks over six innings.
As great as Skubal is, it’s hard to say whether or not the Braves’ postseason fate would’ve been different if they’d been the ones to complete the deal with Detroit. After all, Tyler Mahle ended up pitching like an ace after the Braves acquired him from the Giants at the deadline, in what was seen as a consolation prize after Atlanta couldn’t land Skubal, Jacob deGrom, or Jose Soriano.
If the Braves had Skubal but didn’t have Mahle, Fuentes, and whoever else might’ve been sent to the Tigers, the net effect on Atlanta’s season might’ve evened out. And, having Skubal probably wouldn’t have solved the larger problem of the Braves’ lineup going ice cold in the last two seasons of the season and throughout the playoffs.
Reliever Anthony Molina was all the Braves had to give up to land Mahle, who had a 5.13 ERA in 94 2/3 innings for San Francisco before he got rolling on his new team. The trade is already a win for Atlanta given how Mahle pitched, whereas giving up Fuentes for Skubal might’ve been a regret if Fuentes goes on to have a prosperous big league career. Skubal is a free agent this winter and will command a record contract, so he likely wouldn’t have been on the Braves’ radar even with a couple of months in Atlanta under his belt.
If Raisel Iglesias departs in free agency, the Braves could promote Robert Suarez to the closer’s job and use Fuentes as the top set-up man. That said, the Braves surely would’ve been open to moving Fuentes for Skubal if Atlanta saw relief pitching as Fuentes’ ceiling. This probably means Atlanta still views Fuentes as a future starter, and he could be stretched back out as a rotation candidate as early as next spring depending on what else happens with the Braves’ starting mix.
Chris Sale, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder, Spencer Strider, and Reynaldo Lopez project as the starting five in 2027, though Strider and Lopez will be looking to bounce back from injury-marred and inconsistent campaigns. Smith-Shawver, Ritchie, Owen Murphy, and prospects Herick Hernandez and Cam Caminiti are on hand for even more depth, plus Spencer Schwellenbach will be back at some point after recovering from a fractured elbow. There’s plenty of upside in this group, but given how the Braves still ran short of reliable pitching in the playoffs, Atlanta might have interest in seeing what Fuentes can bring.
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