The Braves announced that they have signed right-hander Joel Payamps to a one-year, $2.25MM deal. Payamps is represented by agents Larry Reynolds and Rosie Lopez-Herrera.
After Payamps was designated for assignment by the Brewers in September, Atlanta stepped in to claim the righty on waivers, and Payamps logged two appearances and 2 2/3 innings with his new team before season’s end. The Braves then outrighted Payamps off their 40-man roster and (since he has been previously outrighted in his career) he elected free agency rather than accept the assignment.
The move was essentially an early non-tender on the Braves’ part, as Payamps was projected to earn $3.4MM in his second trip through the arbitration process. This new contract brings Payamps back into the fold on a lower price tag, and a number that the Braves were surely more comfortable paying in the wake of a disappointing 2025 season for the veteran reliever.
Payamps posted okay but unremarkable numbers over his first four big league seasons before taking things up a notch as a member of Milwaukee’s bullpen in 2023-24. The reliever posted a 2.78 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate, and 6.7% walk rate over 129 2/3 innings, emerging as a trusted setup man in front of closer Devin Williams.
In 2025, however, Payamps’ effectiveness suddenly went south, with a 6.84 ERA, 20.5 K%, and a 7.7 BB% over 26 1/3 combined innings with the Brewers and Braves. While his 4.16 SIERA was nothing special, it at least reflected some of the misfortune (such as a .346 BABIP and a 60.4% strand rate) that went into Payamps’ performance.
The Braves are investing $2.25MM in the idea that Payamps can regain his old form with a change of scenery. Payamps is out of minor league options and thus can’t be sent to Triple-A without first being designated for assignment, though his guaranteed contract provides leverage for the team. Because Payamps has less than five full years of MLB service time, he would have to forfeit any remaining guaranteed salary if he refused another outright assignment in favor of free agency. The added salary might also act as a bit of a deterrent for other teams who might otherwise be interested in claiming Payamps off waivers following a DFA.
Payamps was one of several arb-eligible players (along with the likes of Alek Manoah, Vidal Brujan, and Jake Fraley) picked up later in the season by the Braves, as the club was basically getting an early start on its offseason by auditioning some intriguing depth candidates. Manoah was non-tendered and Fraley was waived, but Brujan agreed to an arbitration-avoiding contract and now Payamps is back in the mix.
If the 2023-24 version of Payamps resurfaces, Atlanta has added a solid bullpen arm at a budget price. The Braves also re-signed Raisel Iglesias to return as closer, and more relief additions seem likely given the continued uncertainty over Joe Jimenez’s health status. It is possible Iglesias could be the priciest of the Braves’ bullpen adds, as the team might prefer to save its larger dollars for the other needs and aim for less-expensive hidden gems on the relief front.
Get back under your bridge.
Replies like this always look odd when the person replied to has been banned.
It seems like he accidentally turned his elite riding four-seamer into a sinker, which killed the deception on his slider and turned him into a batting-practice machine. Are the Braves hoping he’ll be a successful reclamation project or are they just hiring him to throw batting practice for the team?
York, I almost said that I doubt the Braves would pay that much for a batting practice pitcher, but I suddenly remembered watching their pen last season………………………….
Lol this dude is cheeks
I like the gamble, ATL! Good keep.
I didn’t even realize the Braves picked him up last year.
Don’t blame you. The Braves set a franchise record by using 46 pitchers in 2025. They also set an MLB record for overall players used—- 71. Tough to remember all of them—-if you even want to.
Another trash heap acquisition. The AA Special.
Like Dylan Lee when the Marlins released him in 2021 and AA signed him to a minor league deal.
I don’t understand why the Braves are giving $2.25M to Payamps, whose effectiveness is questionable, while they wouldn’t give about $5M to Kinley or $7M to Johnson, both of whom were effective?
Johnson wasn’t effective at all in the second half.
@Sid: He was pretty effective at watching long flyballs hit off his hanging curveball turn into homers.
@sid Payamps hasn’t been effective in over a year though.
Why are Brewers fans so worried then? lol. I’ve never seen this many other teams fans comment on this small of a signing lol
I do agree that Kinley could have been kept, he was pretty much lights out with Atlanta, but the only thing is $5m is a bit over the price I believe..
25ip for 2er and only 6bb, maybe it’s a small sample size but he was excellent..
Pay attention haters.
This is how elite GM’s build winning teams without breaking the bank.
Nobody wants to pay “Dodger” prices for tickets
Apparently 4m+ wanted to pay Dodger prices for tickets last season.
Other than that, it seems like a smart signing by AA.
Just cuz there’s a trillion people living in LA doesn’t mean 4M in attendance is impressive. Y’all live in your own little world while everyone outside of LA would rather watch something else lol. Hence why there’s a lockout coming
There’s plenty other things to do in LA. More than most areas. Which is why you need a compelling product to draw interest.
If you get what you think you want with a new CBA, will you still complain if the Dodgers keep winning?
Absolutely. I love baseball and have nothing wrong with the dodgers spending. But I’d be goddamn there’s so many of my friends that stopped watching within the last 10 years
Following up on the numbers. The 4m+ was for home games.
Dodgers average almost 36k average road attendance at opposing team parks. Considering most teams don’t generate that number consistently at their home parks, that suggests many many people want to see the Dodgers around the country.
Ahh but 4Million did.
wifflemeister’s sarcasm flew right over a hockey fan’s head.
I am so sick that the only trades AA is doing are the throw aways. Picking up the trash. Literally
Paying $2.25m for Payamps instead of $5m for Kinley, a pitcher who actually got hitters out last year seems like a bad sign(Al la Hector Neris, de los Santos, etc. last year). Makes me think Dubon will be our starting SS as yet another cost cutting move. Just what are the Braves doing with the $$$$ flowing through the Battery…????
@Outfield: Googled your question to inquire about the state of the Braves finances. The answer was “The total debt for Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc (the publicly traded entity that owns the Braves and the mixed use development, The Battery Atlanta) was approximately $860 million.” So, they’re paying off loans and operating the business…. ? I vaguely remember reading something in the last couple of years about the Braves having to deal w/MLB about the size of their debt because it was over a MLB regulation debt limit. Could be totally wrong about that, but I do remember reading something about the Braves having a problem w/ML around 2019 or so.
‘problem w/MLB…..”
Relax. Braves had one of the top eight payrolls in baseball in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Then only stepped back in 2025 to reset their CBT ticker asthey were about to land in the tax for the third straight year.
It does remain to be seen if they chose to stay below this year. I had originally thought they would go big this year, but the problem was that I thought there would actually some players worth spending on that would also want to sign with ATL. I am just not certain that exists right now. The top FA’s are mostly going to become bastly overpaid slightly better than average players or in the case of Tucker, a free agent that will get too many years given age and recent injuries. In other words, the Braves decided to reset last year in preparation for signing a better group of FA’s this year, but sadly, that pool is shallow and full of jellies.
After Baldwin’s ROY win, the FO probably (hopefully) decided that sacrificing the PPI pick to sign a FA w/a QO is poor strategy. Depending on the outcome of the lottery, Atlanta’s bonus pool could give them a significant advantage in the draft. Even if they only maintain their current draft position, the PPI will add approximately $3.4M to their draft pool. Wasting that financial muscle to sign any of the QO attached FA’s in “that pool…..shallow and full of jellies” would very disappointing. There are a few FA unattached to QO that are worth pursuing. Keller, Bassitt, Weaver, Roberto Suarez………4th outfield types like Tauchmann.