Worldwide Sports News

The Braves made their quarterly earnings release call on Wednesday morning. BravesVision isn’t printing money, but they’re still better off producing things in-house than they were with the previous TV arrangement. The Battery is strong, but they appear to be growing into the real estate that they have. They had two postseason games in September, so ticket sales went up. But overall, it’s kind of a meh three months.

Before we dive in, a brief aside:

This post is not financial advice, and shouldn’t be confused as such. Battery Power, SBNation and their parent company, and I don’t care how you invest. I don’t hold a financial position of the Braves, whether that’s buying or holding or selling. We cover all aspects of the Braves here, and we’re walking through these results to get a sense of the financial health of the franchise. I don’t have a take on the stock. And even if I did, you shouldn’t take my advice anyway. I’ve made every bad investing decision at least twice over the course of my lifetime. Ok, back to the news.

Top Line Numbers

• The Braves returned to the postseason and saw a 14% increase in average attendance per regular season home game in the third quarter from the prior year period.
• Baseball revenue increased 4% in the third quarter of 2026 compared to the prior year primarily driven by increases in baseball event revenue and retail and licensing revenue.
• Mixed-Use Development revenue increased 7% for the third quarter of 2026 primarily due to an increase in rental income driven by increases in tenant recoveries and new lease agreements.
• Debt increased $20 million in the third quarter primarily due to net borrowings on the League wide credit facility to support working capital, partially offset by net payments on the TeamCo revolver.
• Booked a 51.1 million dollar loss January through September 2026 versus a profit of 36.2 million in January through September 2025

Umm yikes, y’all. Going into the lockout and new CBA negotiations, I didn’t expect the Braves to confess to having blowout numbers. And they surely didn’t. The on-field personnel payroll increased by 43 million last year, but that’s just about half of the shortfall. Ticket sales were basically flat when you consider that the Braves had one more home game and two postseason games in Q3.

The first two playoff games were underwhelming

Ticket sales were up slightly. The total revenue is up 7 percent. But that’s with one additional home game and two postseason games. My guess is that Games 1 and 2 of the NL Wild Card Series versus the Phillies brought in about 4 million dollars apiece. That’s more in line with what they get for a regular season game. It’s not overstating it that the Atlanta Braves gave up 7-8 million dollars total to deliver two postseason games in the middle of weekdays with weather in the high 80s and low 90s. I can’t blame Atlanta for staying home. I built a mini-vacation around this playoff series, but not everyone can do that. There is also the issue that even with the increases in season ticket packages and 18 more wins and a NL East Division title, the Braves weren’t able to pay it off with more revenue.

The City Connect uniforms are amazing

However, the retail and licensing part of the house exploded this year. Revenue from this line is up 25 percent over the previous quarter and 21 percent from last year. They really did an excellent job with this City Connect uniform. Most other teams are rolling with some very generic, AI-non-inspired dreck. They honestly looked like something that a movie whose producers wanted to put in a baseball uniform but couldn’t afford the licensing costs. The Braves however, really did combine the old and the new with a big shoutout to Ted Turner. I keep waiting for these to drop in price. Now I understand why they aren’t.

Terry McGuirk is pleased with the roster

While there were no shoutouts to Fangraphs or professed admiration of some stats over others, McGuirk seems very content with the state of the organization. In his words:

I want to be clear about how I see this season. It was real progress. We went from missing the playoffs to winnings the division and a postseason series. Our core is in place. Our young players go better and our new manager’s first year was a success. Our minor league system is stocked with future major league talent. We’re pleased with where this organization is headed and will keep working to build on it in 2027.… Coming into this season, we made a deliberate decision to invest in our roster and our major league payroll was meaningfully higher as a result.

This doesn’t sound like someone who is getting ready to turn over the roster. And I got the sense on the call that he was not looking to move on from Tim Hyers, either. We reportedly got confirmation of that hunch earlier. They did increase payroll this season. But they basically made the team deeper and not necessarily gave it a higher ceiling. (which hey, I wanted a deeper bench too and have been griping about it for years) But outside of the higher salary absorbed in a trade for Utility Gold Glove Mauricio Dubon, they didn’t get much return from Ha-Seong Kim, Aaron Bummer, Mike Yastrzemski, and Joel Payamps.

BravesVision is proving to be a great move

The Braves owning their own network was always the way forward. This year they are trailing their media revenue by 8 percent from last year. There are a few things to consider here, though. The payouts that the Braves receive for their product differ from last year. They used to basically get monthly payments while the season was on, but nothing in the offseason. Now the payments come directly from advertisers, and those will be spread out over the course of the year. Another thing that will spread out over the course of the year are payments from cable companies. They can offer 12 months of programming, and they recently told us what that would be.

The Braves led in league in streaming viewers this season. I take that to mean that more people are buying Braves.TV versus any other <insert team here>.TV. But we expected that with how the last rights holder considered the Braves versus everyone else. I would be curious to know how the Braves did versus the Yankees and Cubs. It’s pretty outstanding considering all of the confusion in March around where fans could see the Braves.

Tax bill should go down next year

The Braves, as a public company, have tax issues around employees making a million plus a year. Which is not great, considering they have about 25-30 of them. But Braves Development Company President and CEO Mike Plant said that there is pending legislation to correct this. “We are aware of the recent legislation introduced and continue to lobby and have had discussion with a number of interested parties, including members and leadership of the House and Senate administration and Treasury” said Plant. I believe this might be the legislation he is referring to here. The Braves have been very mysterious about this and it’s hard to tell. They’re not talking about the CBA negotiations either. Because, yeah.

Mostly not great news

The Braves had a lot more game attendance this year. BravesVision is trucking along. Mixed-use development aka The Battery and Pennant Park is still very profitable. But any revenue growth in the real estate portion would come with more debt and scrutiny. But they are making a very good argument about the idea of teams spending money (in the form of higher player salaries) to make more money. The Braves can’t really hide from these numbers, unless you consider how they report BravesVision numbers. But they will go on the report sometime.

The Washington Nationals had a great offensive season in 2026. They finished tied for 3rd in OPS, 6th in homers, 3rd in runs, 4th in doubles, 12th in average and 3rd in slugging percentage. That production did not go unnoticed. Stars James Wood and CJ Abrams were both nominated for Silver Sluggers. The Nationals were also nominated for the best offensive team in the National League.

While I am happy for Wood and Abrams, the team award is what has me most excited. For the Nats to be nominated alongside the Dodgers, Cubs and Brewers is a great achievement. Those teams have been developing into offensive machines for years now. In Paul Toboni’s first season running the Nats, they are now in that company.

Obviously the players deserve a lot of credit as well, but this is a huge player development win. The Nats have star players like Wood and Abrams, but it takes more than that. This award is due to guys like Keibert Ruiz, Jacob Young, Andres Chaparro, Curtis Mead and Luis Garcia Jr. all taking big steps in the right direction.

There are plenty of teams who had bigger names in their lineup. However, most of those teams could not match the Nats success at the plate. Based on the numbers, the Cubs will probably win this award, but to even be nominated is a huge win for the Nationals organization.

On to the players, I think both Wood and Abrams have strong Silver Slugger cases. Abrams filled up the statsheet in 2026. He led all NL shortstops in home runs, RBI and stolen bases. Abrams broke the Nats record for homers by a shortstop before July was even over.

For the season, Abrams hit .261 with 33 homers, 34 steals, 106 RBI and an .834 OPS. Doing that as a shortstop is wildly impressive. If you got those numbers from a first baseman or left fielder, they would still be in the Silver Slugger mix.

The race between Abrams, Elly De La Cruz and Otto Lopez will be hotly contested. In my opinion, Abrams and Elly are neck and neck for this award. De La Cruz’s red hot finish to the season might get him over the line, but both had tremendous seasons.

I also think James Wood has a decent chance of picking up hardware. Like Abrams, I think this one could go either way. He was the best offensive outfielder in the NL for the first half. However, he slowed down after the All-Star break and missed about a month.

Even with that context, Wood still had the second best OPS in the National League at .891. He hit 30 homers, scored 106 runs, stole 21 bases and drove in 77 runs. When Wood was at his best this season, he was an unstoppable force that pitchers had no answers for.

We will see if that elite first half is enough to get him silverware. When I look at the numbers, I tend to think it should. Besides Pete Crow-Armstrong, all the other candidates are pretty close together. Fernando Tatis Jr. had a great second half, but also went about two months without homering. Like Wood, Corbin Carroll and Jordan Walker had rough second half numbers, but were not as good as the Nats slugger in the first half.

The winners will be announced on November 17th, so that will be something to look forward to. It would be a real shame if no Nats got rewarded with a Silver Slugger given the offensive season the team had. I tend to think Wood will get over the line, but we will find out in a couple weeks.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a team to keep an eye on during free agency this offseason, as they look to take that next step toward making their first postseason appearance since 2015.

Their 82-80 record this past season provides hope for the future and makes them an intriguing team for free agents to sign with. One player that could be on their radar is San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France.

“The Pirates have more than $20 million coming off the books from 2026, just between Brandon Lowe (who has a qualifying offer to decide on) and Marcell Ozuna. A portion of that could be reallocated to France, in hopes that he can help them build on their first winning season since 2018,” Bleacher Report contributor Tim Kelly wrote.

France, 32, was an All-Star in 2022 with the Seattle Mariners, who he helped reach the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. In the years to follow, France’s career took a bit of a downswing, which led to him being designated for assignment by the Mariners in 2024. While he struggled and bounced around the league with the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, and Toronto Blue Jays, he ended up having a breakout year for the Padres in 2026.

He had a career-high 4.5 wins above replacement while participating in 133 games for the club. He batted .295 with 21 home runs and 72 RBIs, making him one of the top free-agent first basemen on the market.

France would be a strong upgrade compared to Spencer Horowitz, who played 114 games at first base for the Pirates this past season. If Pittsburgh wants to take that next step, they need to be aggressive in free agency, and signing France could be the move that helps them get closer to their goals.

BD community, what are your thoughts on the potential of signing France? Let us know in the comment section below.

Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has already taken home three awards this offseason — Player of the Year from Baseball America and the Players Choice Awards, and a Gold Glove.

Thursday, Louisville Slugger announced “finalists” (really just the top vote-getters) for its Silver Slugger awards.

PCA and Seiya Suzuki were finalists for the NL outfield awards. There were seven “finalists” and three will be chosen (regardless of position). The other four: Corbin Carroll, Jackson Chourio, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jordan Walker and James Wood.

Alex Bregman and Max Muncy were the two “finalists” at third base.

It’s entirely possible that all three Cubs “finalists” will win Silver Sluggers this year. For Suzuki and PCA, it would be their first such award. Bregman won a Silver Slugger in 2019 with the Astros and 2026 was clearly his best offensive season since then.

The winners of the 2026 Silver Slugger Awards will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger were officially announced as American League Silver Slugger Award finalists. Award creator and sponsor Louisville Slugger announced the finalists on Thursday morning, with the winners to be revealed on November 17th.

The Silver Slugger Award was created in 1980 to recognize the best hitter at each position in their respective leagues, with the award recently expanded to be given to a utility player as well as one for the best offensive team in each league. Unlike many of the other year-end honors including MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year, the Silver Slugger is not decided by the BBWAA. Instead, coaches and managers from each team cast votes for the winner and are not allowed to vote for players on their own teams.

This is Ben Rice’s second straight appearance as a finalist for the award, getting nominated in the utility category last year before losing out to Zach McKinstry of the Tigers. Despite splitting reps between first base and DH, Rice earns the nod in the DH category this year. Rice led all Yankees position players with 4.2 fWAR this season, finishing third in MLB in slugging (.534) fifth in wRC+ (149) and seventh in home runs (41). Overall, he slashed .264/.363/.534 while also adding a team-high 105 runs and 97 RBIs in 154 games. Should he win, this would be Rice’s first major award of his career — but given his competition, he’s probably a long shot.

As for Bellinger, this is also his second straight nomination as a finalist for the award, missing out last year to Aaron Judge, Byron Buxton, and Riley Greene. Bellinger has already secured two pieces of hardware this offseason, winning the AL Gold Glove Award and the Fielding Bible Award in left field. Despite missing a month to a hamstring injury, Bellinger still finished third among left fielders with 3.5 fWAR and fifth in wRC+ (115). In 121 games, Bellinger slashed .264/.338/.429 with 17 home runs, 73 runs scored, and 73 RBIs. Should Bellinger be voted winner on November 17th, it would be the third Silver Slugger award of his career, the other two coming in 2019 and 2023.

As for the rest of the AL nominees, Dillon Dingler and Carter Jensen are finalists at catcher. Pete Alonso and Willson Contreras are first base finalists after both finished in the top-six in MLB in wRC+. Kody Clemens and Chase Meidroth are the second base finalists. Finalists at short include AL MVP finalist Bobby Witt Jr., likely AL Rookie of the Year Kevin McGonigle, and Zach Neto. At third base is AL MVP finalist Junior Caminero and Miguel Vargas, the pair finishing tied for 12th in MLB in fWAR.

The outfield finalists joining Bellinger are Mike Trout, Wilyer Abreu, Randy Arozarena, Chase DeLauter, Jac Caglianone, Chandler Simpson, Riley Greene, and Tristan Peters. It’s a tight group and Bellinger might well end up outside the top three. Rice also has tough competition at DH with likely AL MVP Yordan Alvarez named as the other finalist. Rounding out the finalists are McGonigle, Sam Antonacci, and Ezequiel Duran at utility, while the Astros, Rays, Twins, and White Sox are your team finalists.

Over on the NL side of the award, Hunter Goodman and Gabriel Moreno are finalists at catcher. NLCS MVP and World Series winner Jake Bauers is joined by Alec Burleson, Rafael Devers, and Matt Olson as first base finalists. NL MVP finalist Brice Turang and Brandon Lowe are finalists at second base. Elly De La Cruz was snubbed as an NL MVP finalist, but is nominated for this award alongside CJ Abrams and Otto Lopez at shortstop. Alex Bregman and Max Muncy are your third base finalists.

In the outfield, presumptive NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong leads the way, accompanied by Jackson Chourio, Corbin Carroll, Seiya Suzuki, Fernando Tatis Jr., James Wood, and Jordan Walker. NL MVP finalist Shohei Ohtani is joined by Kyle Schwarber as DH finalists. Finally, Bauers and Tatis are joined by NL Rookie of the Year finalist Sal Stewart in the utility category while the Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, and Nationals are your team finalists.

Best of luck to Ben and Cody!

The Baltimore Orioles went into 2026 with a ton of optimism. They had a core of talent, a couple of high ranking prospects on the cusp, and signed a big veteran bat in Pete Alonso to give them some feared thump in the lineup. However, the 2026 Orioles mostly limped along through the season, rotating between 500 baseball to 9 games below at their worst, finishing with a 79-82 record, good for 4th place. We talked to Tyler Young of Camden Chat about their takeaways from the 2026 season and what the Orioles can look forward to in 2027.

With the 2026 season in the rearview mirror, what do Orioles fans think are the key takeaways, both good and bad on the season?

I think the big takeaway from most in the fan base is that there is something deeply flawed about the front office. There are just too many things not working out for it to be a coincidence. The homegrown hitters have regressed, the former top prospects aren’t living up to the hype, major injuries hit right at the start of spring training every year, and the team has consistently under-performed its perceived talent level ever since the all-star break in 2024. Many fans want Mike Elias, the team’s president of baseball operations, gone. Instead, the ownership group is committing to increase the size of the front office and has already hired a GM (Jared Banner) under Elias that will be responsible for solving some of those issues I mentioned earlier, while Elias focuses on talent evaluation. It’s good that they are doing something, but it’s unclear how much it will move the needle. On the field, it’s all pretty negative, though I think most fans are cautiously optimistic on the pitching side of things. There is organizational stability in that area, and the club does seem to get the most out of the talent they have on the mound.

What would you consider the team front office’s priority to be this offseason (assuming we’ll have baseball like normal next year)?

Outfield help probably needs to be the top priority. Colton Cowser is the only name you can pencil in with any confidence, and I’m not even sure they want him to play against left-handed pitching. There is speculation that they could convert one of their infielders to play in a corner spot. Coby Mayo is a candidate there, but others think Jackson Holliday could do it as well. The front office probably still needs external help in any case. Starting rotation additions are number two.

Who would be the key players targeted in Free Agency or by trade for the team this offseason, and likewise, is there any players you expect to be traded by the team?

I do think a reunion with Trevor Rogers makes sense. As of this writing, they have extended him the qualifying offer, which Rogers will probably decline. He’s been the team’s best pitcher over the last two seasons, and has seemed to enjoy his time in Baltimore. If that doesn’t come through, I would expect them to make a hard push for Reid Detmers in a trade. The Orioles and Angels have made several deals since Elias arrived, and Elias likes trading for pitchers with years of control left. It would be expensive, but might be worth it. Recent reporting indicates that the Orioles are open to trading anyone but Pete Alonso this offseason. I just don’t know how much value anyone outside of Gunnar Henderson really has, and even he has been less than what they expected recently. They probably need to figure something out at third base with Mayo, Jordan Westburg, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand all in the mix. One of them could be packaged up to solve a problem elsewhere.

Going into spring, which prospects, if any, look like they’ll have a real chance to start the year with the major league club?

Enrique Bradfield Jr. probably has the best chance. Outfielder, former first-round out of Vanderbilt. Super fast, great glove, no pop in the bat. He’s not a “Top 100” type, but it’s a skillset that could help this team, even if his playing time is sporadic. They need outfielders, and he is the next one up. Trey Gibson might break camp with the big league team too. He spent some time in Baltimore in 2026 as a spot starter. Could battle for the fifth spot in the rotation. And Luis De Léon is another pitcher to watch. They speed-ran him through Triple-A to help out of the big league bullpen near the end of ’26. They probably want him to spend more time in the minors as a starter for now.

What would team fans consider the elements of a successful 2027 season going forward, whether it is just positive steps forward all the way to winning the World Series?

This needs to be a winning baseball team in 2027, and in this version of the American League that should mean a playoff berth. How they get to that point is harder to say, but I think it starts with the offense. The rotation is serviceable, and the bullpen has some sneaky depth. It was the lineup that failed to live up to expectations last year. Outside of Alonso, and a late-season surge from Mayo, the group was disappointing. They need more out of guys like Henderson, Holliday, Cowser, Samuel Basallo, and the return fo Jordan Westburg. If that means a top five-ish lineup, they will be in a good spot.

And a fun little exercise; you’ve been named GM for the Orioles. Tell me the four biggest (and at least vaguely realistic) moves you make this offseason? 

– Re-sign starter Trevor Rogers. There is a good relationship there. He flourished in Baltimore, and the Orioles need him (or someone similar) in the rotation. Plus, the projected contract is pretty palatable. 
– Trade for outfielder Steven Kwan. The Orioles have no lead-off hitter, and they sorely need better outfield defense. Kwan solves both problems.
– Sign catcher Tyler Stephenson. It seems like they want Basallo to catch less often, and Carlos Narváez was an offensive disaster last year after coming over from Boston. They need a dependable option behind the plate.
– Sign starter Kevin Gausman. Elias loves signing veteran starter pitchers to one-year deals. He does it every winter. Gausman isn’t what he once was, but he stays healthy and gives his team a chance to win. That’s a perfect back-end arm for a team looking to survive a season. Baltimore being a return to where Gausman began his big league career is a nice added bonus from the fan perspective.

Thanks Tyler!

In case you missed it, the Mariners introduced manager Jason Kanzler in a press conference Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park…and so begins another chapter for the team under the leadership of President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto.

After a roughly month-long search, the Mariners tapped Kanzler who, despite having coached with the Astros and more recently served as the farm director for the Cubs, has never been a manager. Some fans and critics of the team may have hoped for more of a known figure to head the clubhouse, especially considering neither of the first two managers under Dipoto had managerial experience either.

I admittedly haven’t formed a strong opinion on the hire. A lot of this probably sources from lack of information on Kanzler, plus my own default belief that a manager only matters so much. There also weren’t many names publicly considered, and one of those few withdrew their name from contention. The early skepticism that the hire may evoke for some is largely understandable — a 36-year-old with a unique background but lack of managerial experience is a pretty big question mark for a team that’s not only coming off a 76-win season, but also desperate to take advantage of the core that’s taken them closer to a World Series than they’ve ever been. That said, I went into viewing the introductory press conference with an open mind; he’s the new manager, regardless of any opinion I might have before I ever see him leading the team from the top step.

Personally, the thing that struck me most from Kanzler’s first public appearance was his thoughtful answers to the questions from the media. In LL’s Build-a-Manager piece, I talked about modern managers functioning as baseball’s version of a middle manager. From this standpoint, a strong ability to communicate may be the single most essential trait for someone new to the role. Whether it be relating with the players, working with the front office and coaching personnel to optimize in-game decisions, or speaking with the media, communication is always going to be at the forefront. Kanzler, regardless of the level of success he will eventually find in Seattle, seems ready to excel in this aspect of the job. Success on the field will need to accompany, of course, but Wednesday’s presser nonetheless marked a promising start to his tenure.

The full press conference is linked here if you haven’t seen it already. With that, here’s today’s discussion prompt:

What is your first impression of Jason Kanzler following his introductory press conference? Has your opinion on the hire been swayed?

Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!

This morning, the Silver Slugger finalists were announced and the Arizona Diamondbacks have two: catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Corbin Carroll.

Caroll won the award in 2025 and is looking to add to his awards collection. The 26-year-old slashed .239/.328/.467 with 22 home runs in 156 games this year. He also knocked 33 doubles and an MLB-leading 17 triples.

He faces some stiff competition, though, as he is up against Jackson Chourio (Milwaukee Brewers), Pete Crow-Armstrong (Chicago Cubs), Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego Padres), Jordan Walker (St. Louis Cardinals) and James Wood (Washington Nationals). Three of them will take home honors.

Moreno is a two-time Gold Glove winner, but has not yet added Silver to his trophy case. The 26-year-old had an outstanding year at the plate, winning the National League batting title with a .311 average. He also posted an .874 OPS with 16 home runs, alongside one triple and 33 doubles of his own — tying him with Carroll for the team lead.

Moreno faces stiff competition, as he is up against Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, who is the reigning winner. Goodman finished the season with 41 home runs plus a .245 average and .839 OPS.

The winners are set to be announced on Tuesday, November 17.

A serious bout of catcher injuries struck the Atlanta Braves during the first half of the season, and desperate times called for desperate measures. One of those measures, of the band-aid variety, ended up being Austin Wynns, who spent two weeks with the club in June and appeared in six games.

How Acquired

The Braves added Wynns in the middle of the season, while both Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy were down with injuries. They sent cash considerations to the Angels in exchange for Wynns’ services, and designated longtime third-string catcher Chadwick Tromp in a corresponding move. The reasoning was a bit weird, though it was all meant to be a temporary fix anyway: Sandy Leon was getting the bulk of playing time anyway, so the Braves opted to acquire a backup-to-Leon instead of using Tromp in that role for whatever reason.

One silly thing about the Wynns acquisition is that the Braves kind of prompted it with their own DFA of Jonah Heim earlier in the season. The Athletics, who acquired Wynns in a midseason trade in 2025, DFAed him three days after trading for Heim. He was released and signed with the Angels, but didn’t get promoted to their big league team. Three weeks later, the Braves traded cash considerations (which is what they received for Heim) to Anaheim for Wynns.

What were the expectations?

There weren’t any real expectations, to be blunt.

Coming into 2026, the 35-year-old Wynns had a career 74 wRC+ that featured a pretty sizable xwOBA overperformance (.282 wOBA, .265 xwOBA) in 783 career PAs spanning parts of six major league seasons. He had never topped 180 PAs in a single season, nor 1.0 fWAR. He came kind of close in 2025 riding a massive xwOBA overperformance (.365 wOBA, .295 xwOBA), though. He also wasn’t highly regarded defensively, with just one good defensive year (2023) behind the plate and some substantially below-average performance in other seasons.

He wasn’t doing much of anything in 2026, either — a -47 wRC+ (yes, a negative sign) in 43 PAs in Sacramento before getting released. Basically, the Braves acquired a guy who had 0.6 career fWAR in 826 PAs at the big league level.

While it’s not entirely clear what the Braves were thinking in swapping Tromp for Wynns, it was a fairly inconsequential shuffle to try and survive until Baldwin and Murphy returned.

2026 results

Wynns was only with the Braves for two weeks, acquired on June 3, recalled on June 4, and granted free agency on June 16, the day after Baldwin returned from the Injured List.

During his time in Atlanta, he appeared in six games and was 1-for-14 at the plate. He had just one single and no walks, leaving him with a sad .071/.071/.071 slash line that was somehow even worse than his -47 wRC+ with the Athletics. In what would be his final game with the team, he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts against the Mets. It wasn’t much better behind the plate, where he allowed six stolen bases and didn’t throw a single runner out, and lost nearly a run of defensive value despite barely playing, even after accounting for the massive catcher positional adjustment. In total, he put up -0.3 fWAR in 14 PAs, which by far his worst stint-with-a-team-in-a-season of his career, small sample size and all.

At least the baseball gods threw him a bit of a bone: after he rejected the Braves’ outright assignment and became a free agent, he signed a minor league deal with the Rangers, spent a month playing in their minor league system, and then got promoted for a month on the big league roster. In 32 PAs in Arlington, he somehow managed a .312 wOBA with a .195 xwOBA, and his defense improved-ish. All in all, Wynns finished 2026 with -0.7 fWAR in 89 PAs, but it would’ve been worse without that stint in the Lone Star State. The Rangers outrighted him in August, and he once again elected free agency, and spent the tail end of the season in the minors with the Cubs.

It wasn’t a fun season for Wynns, as he tied his career-worst in fWAR, had a sub-100 PA season for just the third time, and had a career-worst wRC+ (2).

What went right?

Per Statcast, his defense was commensurate with being in the 73rd percentile in blocks above average? That’s about the only good thing you can say for his season, and it’s largely negated by the fact that he was below average in caught stealing above average, framing and pop time.

In somewhat fitting fashion, Wynns’ “best” game as a Brave was the beginning of their downfall — that 6-5, extra-inning loss to the White Sox. Wynns’ hit was a one-out single that put runners on the corners on with one out while the Braves already had a one-run lead. They didn’t end up scoring in the frame, in part due to a fielder’s choice that threw the runner trying to go home out, and, well, you know how that game and the rest of June went for the Braves.

What went wrong?

Not to be harsh, but, pretty much everything. He wasn’t expected to be a plus bat but one could have at least hoped he could’ve improved on his -47 wRC+ from earlier in the year. That’s how you get a career-worst year.

If you had to pick a specific game from his six as a Brave, well, the day after that horrible loss to the White Sox, Wynns really faceplanted. He flew out with the bases loaded and two out in the second. Then he flew out with the go-ahead run on second and two out in the fourth. Then, after the leadoff man reached in the seventh and Wynns represented the tying run, he lined out. He didn’t get another chance in that game, as Eli White pinch-hit for him and drew a walk in the ninth, representing the tying run, but the Braves lost that game, 2-1.

2027 Outlook

With Wynns set to turn 36 in December, it seems quite possible this is the end of the road for his major league career. He may get another chance with a team if they pick up a rash of catcher injuries, but it’s hard to imagine that would be the Braves again. There are also enough catchers out there on the waiver wire that a guy who neither hits nor fields the catcher position particularly well doesn’t seem like anyone’s first choice, but… the Braves did deliberately acquire him last year, so you never know.