Julio Teherán Announces Retirement
Veteran righty Julio Teherán announced this afternoon that he’s officially retiring from baseball (Spanish-language video provided by Francys Romero). The 35-year-old was on the roster for his native Colombia during this year’s World Baseball Classic. Unfortunately, he had to be scratched from his scheduled start against Canada on Saturday after experiencing shoulder discomfort during warm-ups.
Although Teherán hasn’t been a factor at the MLB level in recent seasons, he had a strong career. A two-time All-Star, he pitched parts of 13 years in the big leagues. Teherán spent the bulk of his career with the Braves, who signed him for $850K as an amateur in 2008. He moved quickly through the minors and was one of the sport’s top pitching prospects within a couple years.
Atlanta called Teherán up for his first major league start in May 2011, less than four months after his 20th birthday. He made a handful of appearances over that season and the following year. By 2013, the Braves felt he was ready for a full-time rotation opportunity.
Teherán made 30 starts and turned in a 3.20 earned run average across 185 2/3 innings. He finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting on a 96-win team that won the NL East. Teherán was hit hard in his one appearance during the Division Series, but he signed a six-year extension that winter and entered the following season as Atlanta’s staff ace.
He’d hold that title for the next few seasons. Teherán made his first of six straight Opening Day starts for the Braves in 2014. Although the mid-2010s were a rough stretch for the team, that wasn’t any fault of Teherán’s. He established himself as a durable and reliable mid-rotation caliber starter.
Teherán topped 200 innings in consecutive seasons between 2014-15. He tossed a personal-high 221 frames of 2.89 ERA ball during his second full MLB campaign, earning an All-Star selection in the process. Teherán was selected back to the Midsummer Classic two years later. He turned in 188 innings of 3.21 ERA ball that year.
The 6’2″ righty only had two minimal injured list stints during his run in Atlanta. He made at least 30 starts every year from 2013-19. He got to 175 innings in all but the last of those seasons (in which he came just one out away from that mark). Teherán posted a combined 3.64 ERA with nearly 1200 strikeouts while ranking ninth in MLB in innings over those seven seasons. The Braves would return to the postseason during his final two years with the club, though he’d pitch out of the bullpen in October.
Atlanta declined a club option after the 2019 season, sending Teherán to free agency for the first time. He landed a $9MM contract from the Angels but was knocked around for 35 runs across 31 1/3 innings during the shortened schedule.
That pushed him into journeyman territory, as he bounced around via minor league deals and spent time in independent ball and the Mexican League. Teherán made brief appearances with the Tigers, Brewers and Mets between 2021-24. His final major league outing came as a member of the Mets against his old club at Truist Park in April 2024. He spent last season in Mexico.
Teherán wasn’t able to pitch in this year’s WBC, but he did earn a win for his home country in the 2017 tournament. He pitched professionally for almost two decades and retires with a sub-4.00 ERA in the big leagues despite his rocky results after leaving Atlanta.
He steps away with a 3.85 mark in nearly 1500 innings. Teherán recorded 1260 strikeouts and posted a near-.500 record (81-82). Baseball Reference credited him with roughly 20 wins above replacement, including 4-5 WAR showings during both of his All-Star seasons. He made north of $45MM in career earnings. Congratulations to Teherán on an excellent run and all the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of Jake Roth, USA Today Sports.
Joey Wentz To Miss 2026 Season Due To Torn ACL
Braves left-hander Joey Wentz has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the entire 2026 season. Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to relay the news. Wentz will be transferred to the 60-day injured list whenever the club needs a roster spot, though their 40-man count is currently at 39 due to outfielder Jurickson Profar landing on the restricted list for a PED suspension.
Wentz, 28, was covering first base on a bunt attempt in yesterday’s game when he appeared to injure his right leg. Though he was carted off the field, initial tests seemed to suggest he may have avoided serious injury. It seems that further testing contradicted the first reports.
The lefty was claimed off waivers in July of last year and was effectively in the rotation from that point on. He made 13 starts and one relief appearance for Atlanta, allowing 4.92 earned runs per nine. His 23% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate were both close to league average. He qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player and the club felt good enough about that performance to tender him a contract. The two sides avoided arbitration in November by agreeing to a $900K salary for 2026.
As of a few weeks ago, Wentz was a bit buried in the depth chart but the Atlanta rotation has been hit hard since camp has opened. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep each required surgery a few weeks ago, as both pitchers had loose bodies in their elbows that needed removing. Their specific timelines aren’t clear but each is slated to miss months.
After those two surgeries, Atlanta projected to have a rotation with four spots going to Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes. That left Wentz, Bryce Elder and José Suarez battling for the final spot. Since all three are out of options, one of them was probably going to break camp in a long relief role.
Even before this recent spate of injuries, there was an argument for Atlanta to add more rotation depth, as even the guys who aren’t currently hurt have question marks. Sale has been injury prone in recent years, making more than 2o starts just once in the past six years. Strider returned from internal brace surgery last year but posted a lackluster 4.45 ERA. López only made one start last year due to shoulder surgery. Holmes was diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament last year and is currently trying to pitch in 2026 without surgery. Elder had a 5.30 ERA last year. Suarez is a fringe roster guy who rode the DFA carousel this winter.
Despite all of that uncertainty, the front office hasn’t shown much urgency in adding more arms. It was reported in mid-February, as the Schwellenbach and Waldrep injuries were coming to light, that Atlanta didn’t have much interest in Chris Bassitt before he signed with the Orioles and had not been involved with free agent Lucas Giolito. Up until yesterday, Zack Littell was still out there but he now has an agreement in place with the Nationals.
It’s possible that recent events make the club more likely to make an addition. If the budget was the problem, the Profar suspension helped them out, as he won’t be paid his $15MM salary this year. Atlanta saved about $18MM in total when factoring in tax savings. With the freed-up cash and now yet another injury, perhaps president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos does turn to free agency. In addition to Giolito, guys like Tyler Anderson and Patrick Corbin are still unsigned. More arms could shake loose as Opening Day approaches and other teams make cuts.
For now, the top depth options include Didier Fuentes, JR Ritchie, Martín Pérez, Carlos Carrasco and Elieser Hernández. Fuentes was hastily promoted last year at the age of 20 and was lit up in his first four big league starts. Ritchie is one of the club’s best pitching prospects but he has no major league experience and just 11 Triple-A starts under his belt. The other three are veterans who haven’t had much big league success in recent years.
As for Wentz, it’s a frustrating setback as he had a real chance to earn a rotation gig. Instead, he’ll spend the season on the shelf. If there’s one small silver lining, he’ll earn a full year of service time while on the IL, but he’ll be a non-tender candidate going into 2027.
Photo courtesy of Jordan Godfree, Imagn Images
NL East Notes: Wentz, Fulton, Miller
Joey Wentz and the Braves may have gotten relatively lucky after the left-hander was carted off the field with an apparent right leg injury during today’s game with the Rays. According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Wentz will undergo tests to determine the extent of the injury, but initial examinations indicate that Wentz likely isn’t dealing with anything too serious. Wentz hurt himself while covering first base on a bunt attempt in the fifth inning, and the cart ride may have been precautionary, as he was able to get to and from the cart without assistance or any overt discomfort.
While it seems like Wentz may be okay, his situation naturally drew concern given how Atlanta’s rotation depth has already been tested this spring. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep each underwent surgery in February to remove loose bodies from their elbows, leaving both starters on the injured list for at least (and in a best-case scenario) the first two months of the regular season. These injuries created an opportunity for Wentz and other depth starters to compete for the fifth spot in the Braves’ rotation, and Wentz has helped his bid with a 3.18 ERA over 5 2/3 innings of Grapefruit League action. If this leg problem ends up sidelining Wentz for any decent amount of time, it could open the door for Bryce Elder or non-roster invite Martin Perez as the fifth starter.
More from around the NL East…
- Left-hander Dax Fulton was one of five players optioned to the Marlins‘ minor league camp today, though “he’s much closer than he was to be able to come up and really help us” in the majors, manager Clayton McCullough told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters. McCullough implied that Fulton could be called up to pitch out of Miami’s bullpen during the regular season, though the southpaw will continue to be stretched out as a starting pitcher in Spring Training. A second-round pick for Miami in the 2020 draft, Fulton was a well-regarded prospect before a UCL surgery cost him most of the 2023 season and the entirety of the 2025 campaign. Fulton returned to action in 2025 and posted a 5.38 ERA over 103 2/3 combined innings with the Marlins’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, starting 22 of his 23 games. While the Marlins don’t want to close the door on Fulton’s rotation potential at age 24, allowing him to make his Major League debut as a reliever would perhaps help ease Fulton’s transition to the Show.
- Phillies top prospect Aidan Miller is still battling lower-back problems, and seems like a candidate to begin the season on the Triple-A injured list. Miller played through a similar injury at the end of the 2025 minor league season, and the back issue has kept him off the field this spring. Despite the lingering nature of Miller’s bad back and the fact that the prospect visited the Phillies’ medical staff in Philadelphia on Friday, manager Rob Thomson told The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes and other reporters that the team isn’t too concerned about the injury, even though “we don’t have a timeline” as to when Miller might get back on the field. “I mean, he hasn’t swung a bat in two weeks. So, we just want to get him healthy, where there’s no pain, and get him back playing again,” Thomson said. A consensus pick as one of baseball’s top position-player prospects, Miller needs a bit more minor league seasoning (he played in just eight Triple-A games in 2025) but is expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2026, with an eye towards a starting role in the Phillies’ infield by 2027.
How Could The Braves Pivot Following Another Profar Suspension?
The Braves opened camp in 2026 hoping for a full season from outfielder/designated hitter Jurickson Profar. He'd missed 80 games in 2025 following a PED suspension but was productive upon returning. With designated hitter Marcell Ozuna out the door, Profar and newly signed outfielder Mike Yastrzemski had plenty of runway to frequent playing time.
Of course, we now know that Profar isn't likely to play a single game in 2026. He's staring down yet another PED-related suspension, and the punishment for second-time offenders jumps from 80 games to 162 games. Profar and the MLBPA appear intent on appealing the ban, but there's no precedent for a suspension being completely overturned.
At best, Profar can probably hope for a slight reduction, and even instances like that are rare. Right-hander Michael Pineda saw a 2019 suspension reduced from 80 to 60 games, but only after providing sufficient evidence that the banned diuretic he took was not used as a masking agent for PEDs. Profar didn't test positive for a masking agent but rather exogenous testosterone.
Assuming Profar's season-long ban is upheld, Atlanta will have some decisions to make. The Braves are already down their shortstop and two rotation arms this spring. Ha-Seong Kim required surgery to repair a tendon in his hand after slipping on some ice in the offseason. Righties Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both underwent elbow surgery to remove loose bodies and/or bone spurs.
The Braves are now also without Profar, who'd been in line for regular at-bats and was hoping to build off the sound .248/.358/.446 batting line (126 wRC+) he logged in 355 plate appearances upon returning from last year's suspension. The veteran switch-hitter walked at a huge 13.2% clip and only struck out in 15.8% of his plate appearances. He connected on 14 home runs, 16 doubles and a triple while contributing nine steals (in 11 tries) on the bases.
Losing Schwellenbach, Profar, Kim and Waldrep before the halfway point in spring training is a rough way to begin the season for an Atlanta club hoping for better health than in an injury-decimated 2025 campaign. If there's a silver lining for Braves fans, however, it's that Profar's suspension sends him to the restricted list and mandates that he will not be paid his $15MM salary. The Braves are not only off the hook for that $15MM -- they're also spared $3MM of associated luxury taxes they'd have paid to the league.
There's obviously no guarantee that Atlanta reinvests the full freight of the money they're now spared. The Braves could opt to lean on in-house solutions to plug their newfound roster gaps, then readdress when the trade deadline rolls around. That's a defensible strategy, though the counterpoint would be that spending some of those funds on immediate additions would bolster the team's chances of making it to late July as a contender.
Much of free agency and the trade market has been picked over, but there are some options for president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos to explore with his unexpected $15MM of payroll flexibility late in the winter. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes more briefly touched on this topic in yesterday's mailbag, but let's take a look at some more possibilities.
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MLB Issues 162-Game PED Suspension To Jurickson Profar
Major League Baseball announced that Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended for 162 games after testing positive for exogenous testosterone, a performance-enhancing substance. The ban goes into effect on Friday and will cost him the entire 2026 season, including the playoffs. It’s the second career PED suspension for Profar, who missed 80 games last year after testing positive for Chorionic Gonadotropin.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Players Association plans to file a grievance challenging this suspension. MLB generally does not announce violations of the drug policy until after the appeal process plays out, as the player is usually allowed to continue playing pending that appeal. Rosenthal writes that Profar’s suspension, by contrast, is not stayed because it’s his second career PED ban. However, the process will be expedited to quickly reach a final resolution.
It’s rare for a player’s PED suspension to be overturned on appeal. Assuming the suspension stands, Profar will not be paid his $15MM salary this season. The Curacao native is also barred from representing the Netherlands in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
“We were incredibly disappointed to learn that Jurickson tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance and is in violation of MLB’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” the Braves said in a press release. “Our players are consistently educated about the Program and the consequences if they are found to be in violation.”
Profar, who turned 33 a couple weeks ago, was entering the second season of a three-year, $42MM contract. Last year’s suspension cost him just under $6MM of his $12MM salary in year one of that free agent deal. He’s signed through the 2027 season and is owed a $15MM salary again in the contract’s final year. If he incurs a third positive test in his career, he would receive a lifetime ban.
As a teenager, Profar was ranked as the top prospect in the entire sport. A switch-hitting shortstop with a tantalizing blend of power, speed and defensive aptitude, he was hailed as a future star but saw his career derailed by multiple shoulder injuries. He missed nearly the entire 2014 and 2015 campaigns due to shoulder surgery.
The version of Profar that returned looked far different. He hit .227/.316/.315 in 377 MLB plate appearances from 2016-17 before turning in a solid offensive season in 2018. His defense at shortstop had become untenable following the shoulder troubles. Profar spent time at second base and first base before being traded to the A’s, who had him for only one disappointing year before trading him to the Padres.
Profar had an up-and-down run in San Diego. He had an awful start in the shortened 2020 season before a torrid three-week finish to the 60-game season salvaged his batting line. A clear favorite of Padres GM A.J. Preller — who signed him as an international amateur during his days as a Rangers assistant GM — Profar inked a three-year deal following that season but flopped with a .227/.329/.320 slash in year one of the contract. He chose to forgo an opt-out opportunity, returned to San Diego for the 2022 season, turned in a better offensive performance opted out of a net $6.5MM to again test the open market.
Free agency was cold to Profar that winter. He wound up signing with the Rockies just prior to Opening Day 2023 on a $7.75MM deal. Colorado released Profar after he hit just .236/.316/.364 in 111 games. He re-signed in San Diego for the remainder of the season and hit well in 14 games late that year. Profar spent the entire offseason twisting in the winds of free agency before the Padres brought him aboard on a one-year, $1MM deal that looked like the steal of the offseason when he erupted with a .280/.380/.459 batting line in a career-best showing.
That performance prompted the Braves’ three-year, $42MM deal, but it will now forever be met with a healthy dose of skepticism. Profar missed 80 games last year, hit .248/.358/.446 in 355 plate appearances upon returning, and now won’t take another plate appearance until at least 2027. Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Braves will welcome him back or look to move on entirely.
That question doesn’t need to be answered for the time being. Profar can and will be placed on the restricted list, where he won’t be paid or count against Atlanta’s 40-man roster. The Braves will not only save on Profar’s $15MM salary — they’ll also dodge the 20% tax they’d been paying for him as a team that was over the luxury threshold. It amounts to an overall $18MM in savings for Atlanta, which gives the Braves some intriguing possibilities late in the offseason.
Atlanta has incurred a pair of notable injuries in the rotation. Righties Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both underwent elbow surgery to remove loose bodies/bone spurs. It’s not yet clear when they’ll return, but Schwellenbach is already on the 60-day IL and Waldrep will surely follow.
That’s left the Braves with Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez (who made just one start last year due to shoulder surgery) and Grant Holmes (who had a UCL tear last summer and rehabbed without surgery) in the top four spots of the rotation. Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz, Didier Fuentes and Jose Suarez are the fifth starter options on the 40-man roster. Non-roster invitees include veterans Martin Perez, Carlos Carrasco and Elieser Hernandez, as well as top prospect JR Ritchie.
Notable veterans like Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell and Tyler Anderson remain unsigned in free agency. Atlanta’s outfield group, of course, takes a hit following the Profar suspension, although the team’s November signing of Mike Yastrzemski means the Braves won’t necessarily need to add another outfielder. Yastrzemski, Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. can start on most days, though Acuña has had his share of recent injury troubles and Yastrzemski has long-running platoon issues. Righty hitters Eli White and Jorge Mateo are already on the roster as potential complements, but neither has even average career numbers against left-handed pitching.
Atlanta still projects to be just north of the $244MM luxury threshold, but the front office suddenly has an influx of cash that could be used to acquire additional help, be it another starting pitcher or a veteran right-handed bat to plug into the lineup. Time will tell whether those funds are put to immediate use or saved for in-season additions to the roster, but the Braves immediately become a team to watch with regard to a potential late-offseason addition.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported Profar was facing a 162-game PED ban. Image courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images.
MLBTR Podcast: Twins And Orioles’ Injuries, The Guardians And Angels’ Quiet Offseasons, And Chris Sale’s Extension
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- Twins right-hander Pablo López requiring Tommy John surgery (3:20)
- The Orioles losing Jordan Westburg due to a partially torn UCL in his elbow (13:15)
- The Guardians signing Rhys Hoskins to a minor league deal but doing little else this winter (23:45)
- Angels owner Arte Moreno making some curious statements (35:50)
- The Braves and Chris Sale signing an extension (47:35)
- Tony Clark resigning as executive director of the MLBPA and being replaced by Bruce Meyer (53:40)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Tigers’ Rotation, A Brewers-Red Sox Trade, And Late Free-Agent Signings – listen here
- Twins Front Office Shake-Up, The Brendan Donovan Trade, Eugenio Suarez, And More! – listen here
- Examining MLB’s Parity Situation – Also, Bellinger, Peralta, Robert, And Gore – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Jonah Hinebaugh, Imagn Images
Braves Extend Chris Sale
The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve signed veteran left-hander Chris Sale to a one-year, $27MM contract extension with a $30MM club option for the 2028 season. (Atlanta is one of the few teams that publicly discloses contract terms itself.) The Wasserman client was slated to reach free agency this coming winter but will instead stick with Atlanta through at least 2027.
Sale, 37 next month, is entering his late thirties but remains as effective as ever. Atlanta acquired the southpaw prior to the 2024 season in exchange for Vaughn Grissom in a deal with the Red Sox that turned out to be a coup. Since joining the organization, Sale has pitched to an otherworldly 2.46 ERA (2.84 SIERA, 2.38 FIP), with a strikeout rate of 32.2% and a walk rate of 5.9%. Those elite rate stats earned him his first career Cy Young Award in 2024, although a ribcage fracture in 2025 has limited his overall workload in Georgia to a total of 303 1/3 innings.
Injuries were the story of Sale’s career for several years prior to his arrival in Atlanta. For the first nine years of his big league tenure, the lefty was utterly elite with seven All-Star appearances and six top-five finishes in Cy Young voting for the White Sox and Red Sox.
That portion of his career ended in emphatic fashion as Sale struck out then-Dodger Manny Machado to secure the 2018 World Series for Boston, but come 2019 Sale struggled for the first time in his career. While his peripherals remained elite, he posted a pedestrian 4.40 ERA and was limited to just 25 starts due to injuries. He’d go on to make just nine starts between 2020 and 2022 before returning to the mound for most of the 2023 season with a 4.30 ERA in 20 starts.
Sale may not be a true workhorse, but he’s been more durable in recent seasons and will now look to continue the high note he’s found in Atlanta as his career begins to wind down. Both Sale himself and president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos recently indicated to reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman) that they hoped the remainder of the 2024 Cy Young winner’s career would be spent in Atlanta, and now he’ll remain under club control until the end of his age-39 campaign. Sale told reporters (including Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) after news of the extension broke this morning that the deal came together quickly after those comments were made early in camp.
“[Anthopoulos] said what he said, I said what I said, and we just kind of looked at each other like, ‘Are we serious?'” Sale said, as relayed by Bishop. “And I called [my agent] and was like ‘Hey, call Alex, figure something out.’ You know, we made our pitch, they made their pitch, and we just kind of met in the middle. I mean, I feel like this was [done in] like, a week.”
Sale will be looking to not only put the finishing touches on a compelling Hall of Fame case but also lead the Braves back into the postseason after a rough 2025 season. He’s the undisputed ace of an Atlanta staff that looks very intimidating when at full strength but now figures to enter the season without either Spencer Schwellenbach or Hurston Waldrep. Both young righties had surgery to remove bone spurs/loose bodies from their right elbows earlier this month, and neither has a clear timetable for his return.
Instead, Sale will be joined by Spencer Strider, Grant Holmes, and Reynaldo Lopez in the rotation as things stand, with a handful of depth arms in competition for the fifth starter job. It’s a group that could clearly use an additional quality arm, but it remains to be seen if Anthopoulos will manage to add someone like that to the mix before the season begins. Whatever may happen with the rotation in 2025, however, the Braves can now move forward with the assurance that one of the game’s most elite hurlers will be staying in town for the foreseeable future.
From a payroll vantage point, there doesn’t appear to be any immediate impact on the 2026 season. The contract is structured as a new deal beginning in 2027, so it doesn’t change Atlanta’s baseline cash payroll or its luxury tax payroll for the upcoming season.
Sale’s deal does tack on $27MM of luxury considerations to the 2027 budget, although the Braves already had substantial money coming off the books at season’s end. Ha-Seong Kim ($20MM), Raisel Iglesias ($16MM), Joe Jimenez ($9MM), Aaron Bummer ($9.5MM), Mauricio Dubón ($6.1MM), Jonah Heim ($1.25MM) and Jorge Mateo ($1MM) are all free agents at season’s end, and the only notable arbitration raise Atlanta faces will be Schwellenbach’s first trip through the process. As things stand, RosterResource projects a $176MM luxury payroll for Atlanta in 2027 — about $84MM shy of their current mark.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the extension and the 2027 salary.
Braves Announce Creation Of BravesVision
The Braves today announced the launch of BravesVision, a team-owned media entity which will broadcast the club’s games and make them available on television and via streaming. Fans will be able to deal directly with the team to access the broadcasts with no local blackouts. This will include all regular season games except those which are subject to national exclusivities. For those with questions about the details, the club released an FAQ page.
Up until recently, Atlanta was one of several teams with a regional sports network (RSN) deal with Main Street Sports, formerly known as Diamond Sports Group. That company’s portfolio of MLB clubs has been shrinking in recent years as they have hit financial trouble, largely caused by cord cutting. As of the start of this year, Main Street still had deals with nine MLB clubs, including Atlanta. The company missed some payments, which caused all nine teams to terminate their deals in January.
Earlier this month, six of those teams pivoted to having the league handle the broadcasts. Atlanta was one of the three still undetermined, but with some signs they would launch their own broadcast network, which has effectively come to pass with this announcement.
It’s difficult to say how this will impact the club’s bottom line in the long run. As of a few years ago, Atlanta was getting more than $100MM annually from their RSN deal. Travis Sawchik of MLB.com has reported that clubs who have lost their RSN deals and pivoted to new arrangements have been bringing in about 50% less than before, on average.
Atlanta is going a slightly different route than most of the other clubs in this position. The majority of them have handed the reins over to the league. The Rangers have been an exception, as they launched their own network a year ago, with Atlanta now following in that example. Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News spoke to some team officials about the situation in October. Those employees spoke highly of the increased ratings of the new arrangement but were more cagey about whether the club made as much money as they had on their previous RSN deal.
Down the line, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has a goal of marketing a streaming package that includes the rights of as many clubs as possible. It will be challenging to get them all on board since many of the large-market clubs have healthy RSN setups that they own or co-own. They will have some reticence about joining a more centralized arrangement that would see them sharing TV revenue with smaller markets.
For fans, today’s news seems to largely be a positive. Due to a dispute in 2024, there were times where the club’s games weren’t even available to some cable subscribers in the local area. Now the majority of the club’s games should be accessible to fans everywhere.
Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images
Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep To Undergo Elbow Surgery
Braves righty Spencer Schwellenbach underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow today, manager Walt Weiss told the team’s beat this morning (link Mark Bowman of MLB.com). Fellow righty Hurston Waldrep, who was also diagnosed with loose bodies in his elbow this spring, will undergo a similar operation on Monday. Weiss and the Braves have not put a formal timetable for a return on either young righty. Schwellenbach is already on the 60-day injured list, and Waldrep will surely join him there whenever Atlanta needs to open another 40-man spot.
Neither revelation is especially surprising, but both are notable all the same. Schwellenbach suggested that an arthroscopic procedure was likely last week when he was placed on the 60-day injured list. He said at the time that he was unsure what the recovery time period for such a procedure would be, and the team provided no further details today. Beyond the fact that he’ll miss at least the first 57 days of the seasons — the Opening Day IL placement can be backdated by three days — Schwellenbach can just be considered to be out indefinitely.
It’ll be the same story for Waldrep, who was cleared of structural damage to his ulnar collateral ligament in a recent MRI but found to have loose bodies in his elbow as well. As with Schwellenbach, Waldrep implied that surgery was likely when telling reporters that the loose bodies in his elbow “probably need to be dealt with.”
Heading into camp, Schwellenbach and Waldrep looked like locks for rotation spots. Schwellenbach missed time last summer with an elbow fracture but had completed five to six bullpen sessions, by his own estimate, before feeling pain at the end of a session a bit more than two weeks ago. The 2021 second-rounder has been brilliant since making his MLB debut in 2024, pitching to a combined 3.23 ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate in his first 234 1/3 MLB innings.
Waldrep just debuted last season and wasn’t quite as cemented on the starting staff, but he was the heavy favorite for Atlanta’s fifth starter gig. In 56 1/3 innings last year (nine starts, one relief appearance), the 2023 first-rounder posted a tidy 2.88 ERA with a 24% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. He also posted a 4.42 ERA in 19 Triple-A starts, shaking off a rocky stretch early in the season with a pristine 1.99 ERA over his final seven minor league starts before being promoted.
With Schwellenbach and Waldrep sidelined indefinitely, Atlanta’s rotation includes Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes. It’s a talented quartet, but Sale has a lengthy injury history and has only had one fully healthy season since the 2017 season wrapped. He won the NL Cy Young Award in that lone (mostly) healthy year, but there’s considerable injury risk for the lefty, who’ll turn 37 next month.
Strider, meanwhile, posted pedestrian results and rate stats during last year’s return from UCL surgery. Lopez made only one start in 2025 due to arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Holmes suffered a UCL tear last summer but has been rehabbing it without surgery and is said to be full-go this spring.
All four of the Braves’ set-in-stone rotation members come with some combination of injury, performance and/or workload concern. Be that as it may, the organization continues to downplay the possibility of bringing in further help from outside the organization. Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently wrote that the Braves’ previously reported interest in Chris Bassitt (who’s since signed in Baltimore) and Lucas Giolito (still unsigned) was overstated. There’s been speculation that perhaps president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is simply at or close to the budgetary limit set by ownership, though the team obviously wouldn’t publicly disclose that even if it were true.
In-house options to round out the staff include Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz, José Suarez, prospect Didier Fuentes (still just 20 years old) and non-roster veterans Martín Pérez, Carlos Carrasco and Elieser Hernández.
MLBTR Podcast: The Tigers’ Rotation, A Brewers-Red Sox Trade, And Late Free-Agent Signings
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- Tarik Skubal winning his arbitration hearing against the Tigers (1:30)
- The Tigers loading up the rotation by signing Framber Valdez and also Justin Verlander but losing Reese Olson for the year (13:25)
- The six-player trade between the Red Sox and Brewers headlined by Caleb Durbin and Kyle Harrison, with Milwaukee then signing Luis Rengifo (24:15)
- The Orioles signing Chris Bassitt and losing Jackson Holliday to injury (35:35)
- The Diamondbacks signing Zac Gallen and potentially losing Corbin Carroll to the injured list (44:30)
- The Braves losing Spencer Schwellenbach and maybe Hurston Waldrep while showing little urgency about bolstering the rotation (52:20)
- Tony Clark stepping down as MLBPA executive director, recorded as the news was still trickling out (59:15)
Check out our past episodes!
- Twins Front Office Shake-Up, The Brendan Donovan Trade, Eugenio Suarez, And More! – listen here
- Examining MLB’s Parity Situation – Also, Bellinger, Peralta, Robert, And Gore – listen here
- What The Tucker And Bichette Contracts Mean For Baseball – Also, Nolan Arenado And Ranger Suarez – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images