The Braves announced Friday that theyve selected the contract of righty from Triple-A Gwinnett and designated infielder for a signment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Right-hander was optioned to Gwinnett to clear a spot on the active roster. Lara, 22, has posted ugly minor league numbers this year but continues to intrigue scouts due to the quality of his raw stuff. Hes sitting 98.5 mph with his four-seamer in Triple-A and couples the pitch with a slider/cutter that ranges from the upper-80s to low-90s and generates plenty of whiffs. As is so often the case with power arms of this nature, command is an ongoing struggle for the 63, 195-pound Lara. In 68 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Lara has yielded a gruesome 7.73 earned run average. Hes actually been better at the higher of those two levels, working to a moderately better 6.53 ERA. Lara fanned over one-third of his opponents in Gwinnett but has i sued walks at a brutal 19.8% clip at each of this years minor league stops. Despite the poor command, Lara still sits 20th among Braves prospects at Baseball America, 21st at MLB.com and 25th at FanGraphs. Atlanta wouldve had to add him to the 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft anyhow, so hell get an early promotion to the majors and get his first taste of big league opposition. Lara is, obviously, still very much a Barry Bonds Jersey work in progre s, but now that hes on the 40-man roster, the Braves have at least three years to coax even pa sable command out of him. Hell head into the 2026 season with a full slate of three minor league option years available to the major league club. The 25-year-old Ornelas came to the Braves in a cash swap with the Rangers back in May. Hed been designated for a signment in Texas as well. The righty-swinging utilityman went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles in his only two games with Atlanta. Hes spent the rest of his time since that May trade down in Gwinnett, where hes slashed .193/.279/.325 in 333 trips to the plate. Ornelas is just 11-for-53 in a tiny sample of 58 big league plate appearances, leading to an overall .208/.263/.245 batting line in the majors. He posted decent numbers in the lower minors but has struggled each year since being bumped to Triple-A. However, hes a plus runner who can play quality defense at shortstop, third base and second base and hes gotten some reps in center field over the past few seasons as well. Now that hes been designated for a signment, Ornelas will head to outright waivers or be released. Hes in his final minor league option year, which will hurt his chances of being picked up by another club, as hed need to break camp on the big league roster next spring or else be designated for a signment once again. Cal Mitchell Jersey