The Braves announced that they have claimed outfielder Jake Fraley off waivers from the Reds. Cincinnati designated him for assignment a couple of days ago. Atlanta has multiple 40-man vacancies. They will need to open an active roster spot once Fraley reports to the team, as he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent.
Fraley has had some major league success but isn’t having his best season. He has had a couple of stints on the injured list, one due to left calf tenderness and another due to a right shoulder sprain. Those injuries limited him to 67 games with the Reds. His .232/.332/.387 batting line translated to a 98 wRC+, indicating he was 2% below league average. He only stole four bases, despite getting at least 20 in the previous two seasons.
The Reds squeezed him off their roster, opting to give some of his playing time to Will Benson as they are trying to make a playoff push. Atlanta is in a different situation, as they are out of contention this year. Fraley can be retained for 2026, so they can give him some playing time down the stretch to see if he’s worth tendering a contract for next year.
His career has had ups and downs but there are things to like in his profile, particularly his ability to succeed with the platoon advantage. A left-handed hitter, he has a career .260/.344/.434 line and 112 wRC+ against righties. Against southpaws, that line is just .172/.269/.234, leading to a 45 wRC+. As mentioned, he can swipe a few bags as well. He only has four this year but got 21 in 2023 and 20 last year.
Defensively, the reviews are mixed. Playing all three spots, he’s been credited with four Outs Above Average in his career. Defensive Runs Saved gives him a far worse grade of -9. However, DRS hates his work in center and right field but likes him in left.
Fraley is making $3.125MM this year and, as mentioned, can be retained for next year via arbitration. This year’s injuries will limit his ability to earn a massive raise. Atlanta evidently feels there’s a possibility to him serving a role on next year’s club, so they have grabbed him today.
Atlanta’s current outfield mix includes Ronald Acuña Jr., Jurickson Profar, Michael Harris II, Eli White and Vidal Bruján. They have Marcell Ozuna as the designated hitter on a regular basis but he’s an impending free agent. It’s possible the club wants to use next year’s DH spot to get more at-bats for the catching duo of Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy, but they could also rotate some outfielders through there. It’s been speculated that they might make Murphy available in trades this winter to give the job to Baldwin and clear some payroll space. Others have speculated that they might make Profar available since he got hit with a PED suspension shortly after signing. Trading either would open up some more playing time for others.
Those are questions still to be answered in the long run. Atlanta is not committed to including Fraley in next year’s plans as they could always non-tender him after 2024. For now, Fraley will jump into the current outfield mix. Perhaps Acuña will get some time off his feet down the stretch since his health has been touch-and-go this year. He was still recovering from last year’s ACL tear at the start of the 2025 campaign. More recently, he missed a few weeks due to a calf strain.
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Not like I’m watching the Cincinnati Reds or anything. I’m a Yankee fan but I remember this guy in Tampa. I thought he was pretty good, new team in August without a trade yikes oh mighty.
That’s Luke Raley
Some team needs to acquire Fraley, Raley, and Frelick for their OF.
If only they hadn’t let Laureano walk after a great season last year. Now he’s a better hitter than anyone on the braves.
Nah he’s thinking of Juke Faley. Or maybe it was Lake Farley?🤔
June Foray. I bet a flying squirrel could cover some ground in the OF.
He doesn’t live in a van down by the river either.
Nice one! I could only come up with Frake Jaley.
Glad you weren’t watching the Reds when they took 2 of 3 from your Yanks this year. 😉
Good luck and best wishes Jake.
McCann debuted 20 years ago. No player is expected to still be on a team after 20 years. Not unbelievable!
Say goodbye Jared Kelenic.
I did. Many, many (many) months ago.
Not one single Saturn dealership is still selling Saturns- not even one.
Almost unbelievable.
Kelenic 2.0 ?
That has been a long, long time ago. That is hardly a surprise. It would be more surprising if there WAS someone still playing on the same team since that time
Stuart Fairchild, Jake Fraley. The Braves are cycling through Reds OF castoffs this season.
Not just reds they are basking in everyone’s castoffs
I’m basking in the summer sun….poolside, with no clothes of any kind on. margaritas within reach.
Literally
Kelenic is most definitely gone
He can’t even hit in the miners
Jake the Rake.
I’m a lifelong Reds fan, and I will really miss Jake Fraley! I was so upset with the way the Reds let him go! They were supposed to do surgery on his shoulder after the season was over, but instead they DFA’d him. What a crappy thing to do! Such a good player and person, too. His little 6 year old daughter has Leukemia. She’s in remission right now, thank God. I hope everything works out for him with the Braves. They’re my 2nd favorite team!
With this signing at least Luke Williams and his eephus pitch are safe.
AA keeps trying, I suppose. Hit fool’s gold in ‘21. That’s not a formula for long-term success unless your coaching and development staff know things no one else has figured out. Bless his heart.
My guess is that he will replace Brujan on the roster
When healthy, he can be an useful corner OF, LH platoon side.
“Have sub-par glove and no bat? No problem! Come and join the Braves Outfield today”…
“sub-par glove and no bat?” Really? Like Harris II, Acuna, and Profar huh. This guy’s just a depth addition. Braves of is solid.
I’m referring more to the many Outfielders they’ve cycled through replacing those guys throughout the season
@Rsox: Lol, then you’re spot on. W/the (slight) exception of Eli White, all the other of’ers have been brutally bad. DeLaCruz, Verdugo, Kelenic were horrific. Harris II was too until a month ago. Moved his hands back up by his ears like he hit in his rookie season and moved up in the box a couple of inches. Tearing the cover off the ball now.
@Rsox, then you’re dead wrong with Fraley. For his career he has an OPS+ of 100, league average. His last two years he’s been slightly below average at 95. Hardly no bat. His biggest problem is that his power has disappeared the last two years. And he no longer has a subpar glove with his defense being league average for the last two years. He’s made some spectacular defensive plays this year. He is a very capable fourth outfielder.
Great guy with some grit, hope he does well
The ship may be sailing on the Baldwin/Murphy DH combo. Murphy is at .174 for the last month even worse for the past 15 games. He will be an anchor around the Braves neck in the offseason.
It’s kind of funny because the reason he was DFA’d was because he was unhappy with his playing time and now he goes to a team with an even more established OF/DH. Now he gets to ride the bench on a team out of the race.
He was DFA’d because he’s the 26th man and the Reds needed a competent backup CF’er for a playoff push. I’d rather ride the pine with the Braves (amassing big league service time) than sitting in AAA after clearing waivers.
Not one single RadioShack is still open after they weee a leading store decades ago. Unbelievable.
Keep Murphy. I agree that Murphy shouldn’t be half of a DH timeshare w/Baldwin next year, but he should be the primary catcher (80 to 120 games) w/Baldwin the DH and backup catcher. Murphy’s defense is much better than Baldwin’s, the pitchers like throwing to him, and he’s got power. Braves catching is solid w/both of them. No Murphy and an injury to Baldwin would leave them in a terrible spot. No decent depth in the mil to cover that. Baldwin at DH for 90-100 games and use Acuna in the other 60 plus games. Save his legs. Get a bat first 4th of’er to cover rf when Acuna’s the DH. Subtraction of Ozuna’s salary leaves more than enough to get an outfield bat that’s cheap enough to allocate some (half or more) of the savings toward arb raises. Mike Tauchman (please), trade for Nootbar, etc.
I would support those moves, and yeah they absolutely should NOT trade Murphy unless they’re just blowing up the roster and rebuilding. I think working out Baldwin in RF next Spring couldn’t hurt either. Then you can cycle Murphy/Baldwin/Acuna at DH/RF/C most days and keep all those bats in the lineup.
They can send Profar away in a trade idc. He cheated and it hurt the team. Keep Murphy and Albies.