Following last night’s loss to the Nationals, I wrote about Didier Fuentes potentially making his return to — at the very least — serve in a long relief role if either Martin Perez or Chris Sale weren’t able to work deep into the game.

With Raisel Iglesias going down with an injury, Reynaldo Lopez managing just three outs on Tuesday, and the Braves in the middle of a stretch of 10 games in 10 days, the bullpen is incredibly short-handed. The club also gave a pretty clear hint when it opted to scratch Fuentes from his previously scheduled start.

That move became official this morning. Fuentes is back with the Braves, and Ian Hamilton has been designated for assignment.

However, Didier Fuentes won’t be serving in long relief — he’ll be starting for the Braves tonight, giving both Martin Perez and Chris Sale some extra rest. It also lines things up to save Sale for the Phillies, who the Braves would love nothing more than to keep kicking while they’re down this early in the season.

With the way some of Atlanta’s starting arms have faltered recently — particularly Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes — tonight feels very much like an audition for Fuentes. He’s pitched so damn well to begin the year, and if he delivers another strong outing against an underrated Nationals offense, the Braves could be inclined to keep him around.

As for Ian Hamilton, his Braves debut couldn’t have gone much worse, allowing three runs on two hits and a couple of walks. Maybe someone takes a flier on him, but there’s also a very real chance he clears waivers and ends up back in Gwinnett as organizational depth.

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(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire)