Braves send starter Ian Anderson to Triple-A

The Atlanta Braves demoted struggling starting pitcher Ian Anderson to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.

The Braves also sent outfielder Guillermo Heredia to Gwinnett, recalled right-hander Huascar Ynoa and selected catcher Chadwick Tromp to the major league roster.

Anderson, a 24-year-old right-hander, was the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2016 and was a key to the postseason run for the Braves the past two seasons, going a cumulative 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight starts.

But this season, Anderson is 9-6 with a 5.11 ERA. He’s given up a career-high 60 earned runs, walked 53 and struck out 93 in 105 2/3 innings over 21 starts.

After a sterling performance on July 30 in defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks, in which he gave up just one hit and struck out nine in six innings, he struggled on Friday against the New York Mets. He threw 4 2/3 innings and surrendered four runs in the 9-6 Atlanta win.

For now, trade deadline acquisition Jake Odorizzi has replaced Anderson in the rotation.

Heredia, 31, is batting .138 (9-for-65) for the season, with three home runs, six RBIs and 29 strikeouts.

Ynoa, 24, started two games earlier this season for the Braves, posting an 0-2 record and 13.50 ERA. He gave up 10 runs in 6 2/3 innings.

Tromp, 27, has 33 games of major league experience with the San Francisco Giants (2020-21) and has 17 career hits — five of them homers — and a .215 batting average. This season at Gwinnett, he’s batting .259 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs in 68 games.

The addition of Tromp was necessitated by All-Star catcher Travis d’Arnaud suffering a lower body injury and being day-to-day after getting banged up on a play at the plate in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Mets.