After posting a 1.47 ERA over four starts with the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, Julio Robaina is headed back to affiliated baseball with the Atlanta Braves organization.
Robaina, 24, signed a minor league contract with the Braves on Tuesday after a hot start with the Tigres, where he made four starts totaling 18 1/3 innings, striking out 15 and walking five with a 0.927 WHIP. He has been assigned to Double-A Columbus (Ga.).
Born in San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba, Robaina joined the Houston Astros organization as a teenager and rose as high as Triple-A, making one start at the highest level of the minors in 2024. He spent the bulk of his time at Double-A Corpus Christi, where he threw 258 2/3 innings over parts of three seasons with a 4.77 ERA between 2022-24.
After leaving the Astros organization following the 2024 season, the 5-foot-10, 220-pound lefty saw limited action in the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional with the Leones del Caracas during the 2024-25 winter season before signing in the American Association with the Kansas City T-Bones for 2025, where he allowed two runs on six hits in five innings in his lone start before joining the Tigres de Quintana Roo.
In total, Robaina made 20 appearances and 16 starts for the Tigres during 2025 and 2026, posting a 2.82 ERA over 89 1/3 innings, striking out 87 and walking 38. Over the winter, he made two starts for the Algodoneros de Guasave in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico and a single start for Cuba at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The Braves currently only have one left-hander – Hayden Harris – at Triple-A Gwinnett who is neither injured nor on a rehab assignment, and Robaina is one of three active lefties on the Double-A roster, joining Sam Strickland and Jack Dashwood.
Photo: Cuba-born lefty Julio Robaina has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves. (Photo courtesy of the Tigres de Quintana Roo)
