Tyler Mahle to make Braves debut Friday

Tyler Mahle’s first pitch in a Braves’ uniform will come Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

“Tough assignment, right?” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Thursday.

But no time like the present for Mahle, the team’s new right-handed starting pitcher, to make his first start for the Braves after being acquired from the Giants in a trade Sunday. And after spending two days in the Braves’ clubhouse this week, Mahle is already in New York ahead of his first outing since Sunday, when he was still a member of the Giants.

“I think a level of consistency, strike throwing,” Braves’ pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said Thursday about Mahle. “He has a little bit different mix than some of our other guys. It’s mostly four-seam, slider, split, where most of our guys are four-seam, two-seam, and some sort of breaking ball. Our calling card is our breaking pitches. (Mahle’s) calling card is a split. So it gives the (opponent) something else to focus on before they play us.

“He’s very even-keeled. He’s been around the league a long time. I think he’s fit in extremely well with the group.”

Mahle’s career successes and failures have been curious.

After making his MLB debut in 2017, he had his best season in 2021 with the Reds when he had a WAR of 4.7, struck out 210 batters in 188 innings and had a 3.75 ERA over 33 starts. But after 19 starts with the Reds in 2022, he was traded to the Twins and would only make nine starts for that club before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023.

Later that year, Mahle signed as a free agent with the Rangers and got $22 million for two seasons. The investment appeared well worth it in 2025 when Mahle threw 86 2/3 innings and had a 2.18 ERA and a 1.131 WHIP.

Mahle (3-9, 5.13) turned that season into a $10-million, one-year contract with the Giants. Before going on the injured list in June, Mahle was 3-8 with a 6.04 ERA.

“The Giants had introduced, like, some type of sweeper thing, and a two-seam, and then a cutter - and to mixed results,” Hefner said. “And then, kind of the last month, he went on a good run. He kind of went back to who he always was, and so we’re just going to continue that and make sure that we’re doing everything that we can to support him.”

During a three-game stretch in July, Mahle had a 2.00 ERA over 18 innings. The two starts before those, and the one after, were not so great.

The Braves are hoping they will have way more of the good Mahle than the bad as they try to chase down a division title over the next two months.

“We feel like there’s a guy that has shown he can pitch into the sixth inning and that type of thing. We feel like there’s some stuff with his pitch mix where there’s more there,” Weiss said Tuesday. “It’s always been a good fastball, one of those invisible fastballs that plays up, and guys have a hard time getting to. We feel like there’s some things, like I said, with his pitch mix that can make him more effective, especially against right-hand hitters.

“But another guy that takes the ball and can go out there and give you very competitive innings.”