The Braves announced that right-hander Carlos Carrasco has been selected to the active roster.  Right-hander JR Ritchie was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett in the corresponding move, and no further transactions were needed since Atlanta had an open spot on its 40-man roster.

This is now the sixth time Atlanta has selected Carrasco’s minor league contract this season, as the veteran right-hander has been operating as an unofficial 41st man on the club’s roster.  If the pattern holds, Carrasco will be designated for assignment within the week, then clear waivers and reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, and the 39-year-old will then quickly re-sign with the Braves on a fresh minor league deal to return to Gwinnett and begin the cycle anew.

The situation has allowed Carrasco to act as a fresh arm whenever the Braves need some innings covered.  Ritchie threw three innings of relief in Saturday’s 14-3 win over the Mets, so he’ll head back to the minors while Carrasco joins the bullpen to back up fellow veteran Martin Perez in today’s scheduled start.  The Braves are six games into a stretch of 13 games in as many days heading into the All-Star break, so the club is turning to Carrasco, Ritchie, and a few other pitchers as long relief depth to help keep the regular starters and relievers fresh.

While the transactional carousel has been the primary story of Carrasco’s 17th MLB season, the 39-year-old has been pretty effective in terms of results.  Carrasco has a 3.68 ERA and a tiny 1.6% walk rate over 14 2/3 innings and seven appearances, though the righty has only a 9.8% strikeout rate.