Braves option critical 2022 bullpen piece to Gwinnett

Stephens was under consideration for one of the final spots in the bullpen coming into Spring Training, but he didn’t get many opportunities, making only two appearances — one of which only lasted 0.1 innings as he surrendered five earned runs. Those aren’t the kind of performances Stephens needed if he wanted to make the Opening Day roster, but he remains quality organizational depth, and I still expect to see him in Atlanta at some point this season.

The Braves signed Stephens out of the Mexican League last year, and he was a bit of a revelation. His role continued to grow as the season went on, and he finished the year with a more than respectable 3.69 ERA over 53.2 innings. If he performs well in Gwinnett early on in the year, we could see him back in Atlanta very soon.