Braves cut Charlie Culberson before infielder’s father was to throw 1st pitch

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves designated infielder Charlie Culberson for assignment hours before his father was set to throw out a ceremonial first pitch on Father’s Day.

Culberson, a 34-year-old from Rome, Georgia, was cut before Sunday’s game against Colorado. He was brought up from Triple-A Gwinnett on May 19 but had not appeared in any games since his promotion.

After Culberson was let go, the father of Braves outfielder Michael Harris II took care of the first pitch at Truist Park. Harris went 5 for 5 and scored three times for Atlanta in the 14-6 win.

Culberson made his big league debut in 2012 with San Francisco. He is a .248 hitter with 30 homers and 145 RBIs in 589 games.

He also played for Atlanta for parts of three seasons from 2018-2020, hitting a career-high 12 homers in 2018.

Catcher Chadwick Tromp was recalled from Gwinnett. He is 2 for 16 in six games with the Braves this year.