Devine was the Braves' first selection (27th overall) in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft out of North Carolina State University, where he had set the Wolfpack record for saves with 24 and made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team three times.

[6] Braves manager Bobby Cox showed faith in Devine, however, by including him on the postseason roster despite his pitching only five innings with the big-league club during the regular season.

In the 18th inning of Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series, Devine gave up a walk-off home run to Houston Astros rookie Chris Burke to end the Braves' season.

In 2006, Atlanta planned to have Devine start the season at Triple-A Richmond as the closer,[7] but injuries to Horacio Ramírez and Blaine Boyer forced the Braves to call him up along with fellow reliever Ken Ray.

However, after struggling to find control in a flukish spring training game, Joey Devine was sent down to the A's Minor League Sacramento River Cats to work out the kinks.

He instantly regained his 2008 form and commenced to not allow a single earned run over his first 121⁄3 innings, striking out a solid 17, giving up only 4 hits, and walking a mere one batter.

[14] His control issues lead to his being demoted back to Sacramento River Cats on July 28, 2011, despite the fact that many of the earned runs he had acquired to that point were inherited after he stepped off the mound.