ATLANTA -- Three days after learning he would be left off the Braves¡¯ National League Division Series roster, Julio Teheran has joined it and gained an opportunity to potentially be the Game 4 starter.

Major League Baseball announced Teheran has been added to the Braves¡¯ NLDS roster to replace right-handed reliever Chris Martin, who suffered a costly left oblique strain during Thursday night¡¯s 7-6 loss to the Cardinals in Game 1.

Dr. Gary Green, MLB¡¯s medical director, confirmed the injury, which was suffered just before Martin threw a pitch to begin the eighth inning. His exit proved to be destructive when the Cardinals tallied a pair of runs to tie it in the eighth and then constructed a decisive four-run ninth.

Because he has been replaced on the NLDS roster, Martin would not be roster eligible again this year unless the Braves were to advance to the World Series. Regardless of how Atlanta fares over the rest of this month, this injury might have been a season ender for the reliever, who will become a free agent when the offseason begins.

¡°It's going to affect the bullpen,¡± manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°That's a huge hit right there. Probably Max [Fried] is going to need to maybe fill that role and pitch some of those high-leverage innings late in the game.¡±

Snitker said leaving Teheran off the NLDS roster was one of the hardest decisions he¡¯s had to make. But Teheran put himself in position to be omitted when he allowed 14 earned runs while totaling just 11 1/3 innings over his final three regular-season starts.

With Martin sidelined, Fried will now assume a more vital role in the bullpen. Fried was a likely candidate to start Game 4. But the young lefty has shown he can provide significant value as a reliever. He recorded two strikeouts while completing a perfect seventh inning during Thursday¡¯s loss.

Teheran allowed one earned run over the 10 innings he totaled in two starts against the Cardinals this year. The 28-year-old hurler made a sixth consecutive Opening Day start for the Braves this year. He struggled in April, but then produced a 2.67 ERA over the 23 starts made from May 5-Sept. 7.

Even as Teheran enjoyed this successful stretch, there were concerns. He produced the NL¡¯s third-worst walk percentage (11 percent) and MLB¡¯s second-worst Expected Fielding Independent Pitching (5.26) mark.

¡°He wasn't happy [to be initially left off the roster],¡± Snitker said. ¡°I didn't expect him to be. I wasn't happy. Like I said before, that was one of the toughest things I've probably ever been through. But he handled it like a pro -- very maturely. And he asked -- you know what, he asked all the right questions, I thought. He had us explaining how we came to that. He was very mature and professional about it.¡±