The Braves made 5 non-tenders this night. Most notably, they parted methods with outfielder Ramón Laureano and up to date commerce pickup Griffin Canning. Atlanta additionally dropped lefty reliever Ray Kerr and righties Huascar Ynoa and Royber Salinas.
Laureano caught on with the Braves in Could after being launched by the Guardians. He had a surprisingly sturdy end, hitting .296/.327/.505 with 10 homers throughout 226 plate appearances. Laureano’s dismal early-season manufacturing with Cleveland left his season batting line proper round league common: .259/.311/.437 with 11 homers by means of 309 journeys to the plate.
The late-season turnaround was Laureano’s greatest prolonged stretch since his 2021 suspension for performance-enhancing medication whereas a member of the A’s. It’s truthful to marvel if that was greater than a small pattern mirage. He struck out at an elevated 28.3% clip whereas strolling solely 3.5% of the time with the Braves. Laureano has by no means been an elite contact hitter, however he drew walks extra persistently throughout his greatest years in Oakland. Atlanta wasn’t sufficiently satisfied to retain him at a wage which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected at $6.1MM.
Canning’s non-tender might come as a little bit of a shock. The Braves simply acquired him three weeks in the past in a one-for-one swap that despatched Jorge Soler to the Angels. That was way more about shedding Soler’s wage than a sign that the Braves valued Canning specifically. The Angels have been keen to imagine the remaining two years and $26MM on Soler’s contract, which wasn’t a tenable worth for an Atlanta crew that has Marcell Ozuna locked in at designated hitter.
Certainly, MLBTR’s Steve Adams famous inside our Soler writeup that the Braves may lower bait with Canning solely in the event that they didn’t comply with a deal beneath his $5.1MM projected wage. Atlanta may’ve seen the righty as a candidate for a “pre-tender” deal that checks in beneath his projection in order to keep away from a non-tender. Whether or not the Braves by no means pursued that or Canning merely didn’t have curiosity in signing at a reduced price, the end result is identical. He’ll hit free company, which in all probability would’ve been the case had he not been traded. The Angels would probably have non-tendered him themselves.
Canning will look elsewhere for a touchdown spot after struggling to a 5.19 ERA in 32 appearances for the Halos final yr. The UCLA product has battled accidents over his five-year profession, although he’s intermittently flashed mid-rotation potential. He had a 4.32 ERA with a near-26% strikeout price in 127 frames a yr in the past. Canning ought to be capable of discover an MLB deal, presumably with a decrease base wage than the arbitration projection, now that he’s a free agent.
The opposite cuts have been about clearing roster house reasonably than shedding wage. Kerr and Salinas have but to achieve arbitration. Ynoa was arb-eligible however projected for a wage barely above the league minimal. Kerr underwent Tommy John surgical procedure in June and can miss the majority of subsequent season. Ynoa hasn’t pitched within the large leagues since 2022, whereas Salinas has but to make his MLB debut. Atlanta may look to re-sign any of them to minor league offers. They’ll probably attempt that route with Salinas, specifically, as they only claimed the 23-uyear-old off waivers from the A’s three weeks in the past.