The Braves have claimed left-hander Josh Walker and right-hander Carson Ragsdale off waivers from the Orioles, according to announcements from both clubs. Both pitchers were designated for assignment by Baltimore a week ago. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count goes from 35 to 37.
This is the second time Atlanta has grabbed Ragsdale from the waiver wire. The first came in the middle of September, but the O’s claimed him back about a week later. Ragsdale, 28 in May, just made his major league debut in 2025. He made two appearances for the O’s, allowing eight earned runs in five innings. That is obviously a small and unimpressive sample, so Atlanta is presumably putting more stock in his minor league track record.
Prior to 2025, Ragsdale had been in the Giants’ system. He generally flashed a high-strikeout and high-walk profile. From 2021 to 2024, he logged 267 2/3 minor league innings with a 4.07 earned run average. He struck out 32.1% of batters faced while giving out walks 9.8% of the time.
The Giants put him on their 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. His results backed up this year, so they designated him for assignment at the end of July. That led him to Baltimore, Atlanta and then Baltimore again via the waiver wire. He finished 2025 having thrown 89 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.22 ERA, 19.5% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate.
It obviously wasn’t a good year but Ragsdale is not too far removed from being a notable prospect for the Giants. Going into 2025, Baseball America ranked him #17 in the system while FanGraphs had him at #11. He still has a couple of options, so Atlanta can keep him in Triple-A, either continuing his development as a starter or perhaps moving him to the bullpen.
Walker, 31 in December, is a straightforward lefty reliever. His major league track record isn’t especially long, with 26 appearances scattered over the past three seasons, pitching for the Mets and Blue Jays. He has a 6.59 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. His minor league work is intriguing, however. From 2022 to 2025, he tossed 131 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.90 ERA. His 11.6% walk rate was certainly high but he also punched out 30.5% of batters faced in that time with a steady diet of grounders as well.
The southpaw bounced around the league in 2025, going from the Jays to the Phillies via a small trade and then to the Orioles via waivers. He exhausted his final option season along the way and is now out of options.
He still has less than a year of service time but the O’s signed him to a major league deal earlier this month. The salary figures weren’t reported but Walker is presumably going to be paid at a rate nominally above league minimum. The idea of the O’s agreeing to such a deal is that it would theoretically make it more likely that he passes through waivers unclaimed and sticks around as non-roster depth.
Atlanta prevented that from happening in this case. They had multiple open roster spots and used one of them to grab Walker. For now, he gives them another lefty relief option, alongside Aaron Bummer, Dylan Lee and others. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Atlanta tries to pass Walker through waivers later, so that they are the ones who get to keep him as a depth option without him taking up a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images
Ragsdale becoming the new David hale.. good luck rags
Atlanta has gone from riches to rags
Pay him more to keep him didn’t work for Josh Walker.
Oh boy this is going to get some of us Braves fans worked up, typically myself included lol…But I’ve turned a new leaf and holding hope this is the year we finally make some splashes in FA. (no promises when we get closer to February however)
I still have PTSD from last year’s off season.
I assume every move might just be our only move.
Underrated comment
Me too sir, me too
Bargain Bin Braves!
Or…they have spots open and why not.
Hopefully these are just very fringe depth moves, but those of us that have been around a few years have heard the lines going into winter before and then these types of signings are what you get. Hopefully AA proves us very wrong this time, but I’m not holding my breath!
Arms race!
Some say bargain bin – but every team needs organization depth th survive the course of a year. Rags might be a solid pen arm if given the chance or to be an innings eating swing man. He has options so that’s important for emergency coverage.
mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/padres-rumors-john-seid…
Instead of whining on the Raisel Iglesias article, you could’ve noticed the Padres’ potential sale article was already posted earlier today.
Rags and Walker must have been highly recommended by new Braves coach Tony Mansolino.
Give me Cease or give me death
Just a couple of bullpen arms on the cheap. Not bad moves. Rather bring in 20 of these guys and see who sticks than drop $6-$8m on middle relief and setup. Bullpen guys are so hit and miss from year to year I don’t see them as good investments. Maybe a top shelf closer, but look what Diaz did a couple years back, and Williams last year.
Save the duckets for a couple of medium size splashes or maybe go after one significant splash. Put the money into hitting, particularly and OF/DH type that can split dayus in the field with Acuna. Then, if Harris doesn’t work out, send him down and figure out DH. The Braves have the room to go after Tucker. If it doesn’t work, blow it up two years from now to reset the CBT again (assuming the payroll the next two years goes over)..
Walker was probably the worst reliever that iv ever seen
Intriguing has got to be the most over-used word in baseball articles.
They just claimed a cat?
The comments that are worried that this is how the Braves fill their pen are beyond ridiculous. They had open spots in a lull. Why not
GM moves like this are what help make a championship team. That said, sooner rather than later, AA has to drop the hammer and buy a first rate short stop, starting pitcher, and stock the bullpen with Real Arms.
These guys can add much needed depth down the stretch but they won’t bring it home on their own in the long run.
Agree on the short stop. We don’t need an ace, we need a number 3 or number 4. Trading from Sonny Gray isn’t particularly exciting, but in all honesty it probably gets the job done. I’m not a huge fan of spending a lot of money on relievers. The careers of even good relievers are just so flimsy. Outside of maybe the top 15ish closers, they’re not worth spending big on. You’re just as likely to find a diamond in the rough (hello Tyler Matzek) as you are to pay big money for a “good” high leverage bullpen arm, just for them to implode. Last year left a bad taste in fans’ mouths, justifiably. But I’d rather spend extra money at SS, starter or maybe a LF so Profar can DH, then spending a ton of money to rebuild the ‘pen