The Braves Non-Tender Five, Add a Free Agent

Among those that get the boot are Ramon Laureano and Huascar Ynoa

It was a day of some activity for the Atlanta Braves as they dealt with some roster maintenance and added a new face to the picture in the outfield.

Friday was the deadline to tender contracts, which usually means offering arbitration for players still under team control and not signed for 2025. The Braves came into the day with six arbitration-eligible players. Three were tended a contract, three were not, and two others who weren't arbitration-eligible were also non-tendered. Let's dive into the five players no longer on the 40-man roster.

Griffin Canning - At the beginning of the offseason, the Braves acquired Canning in the salary dump for Jorge Soler. With two free agents in their starting rotation, plus the unknown factor of when Spencer Strider would be ready to return, Canning looked like a possibility for the 2025 Braves. Perhaps they tried to bring him back below the $5.1 million projected price tag he was expected to get in arbitration and they couldn't find mutual interest from Canning. Whatever the case, the Braves have unloaded $26 million over the next two years while adding nothing.

Ray Kerr - Even though he wasn't up for arbitration, Kerr was always a likely non-tender because he will miss most, if not all, of 2025 after Tommy John surgery last June. Kerr, who had some interesting metrics in 2024, might be a guy the Braves attempt to bring back on a minor-league deal as he rehabs.

Ramon Laureano - This one might surprise people considering how valuable Laureano became for the Braves over the last couple of months of the season. This came down to a business decision for Atlanta. Like Canning, Laureano was due a hefty salary in arbitration (around $6.1 million) and Laureano's overall numbers from the last three seasons do not support that kind of salary. That said, Laureano did perform his best in a Braves uniform so perhaps Atlanta might entertain a reunion at a smaller investment. Personally, I would move on. Laureano is a prime candidate to regress significantly in 2025 and the Braves need a more reliable bat to add to the outfield considering the questions related to Ronald Acuna Jr.

Royber Salinas - Speaking of reunions, the Braves briefly had one with Salinas, who they picked up off waivers a few weeks ago. Salinas was part of the haul that the A's procured in the Sean Murphy trade. Injuries limited him to just 43 innings in 2024. Like Kerr, he will miss a good portion of 2025 rehabbing from surgery. The Braves loved Salinas enough to bring him back on waivers so the expectation is that they will extend an offer to return on a minor league deal. The last time he pitched for the Braves, he struck out 175 over 109 innings between Augusta and Rome in 2022. If they re-sign him, they hope to jumpstart his career again.

Huascar Ynoa - In 2021, Ynoa looked like a breakout star. With great secondary pitches and high velocity on his fastball, Ynoa put up sexy metrics - though inconsistency led to a higher barrel and hard-hit rates than you'd like. Nevertheless, the belief was that Ynoa was on the verge of tapping into his high-level potential. But then the injuries came. They kept coming and they wouldn't stop coming. Last year, he logged just 29.2 innings and they were rarely successful. But like Kerr and Salinas, Ynoa is a strong return possibility. Or maybe, as opposed to those two, I hope he is. He's got a lot going for him if he can ever unleash it.

Those five are gone, but Dylan Lee, Jarred Kelenic, and Eli White were all tendered a contract for 2025. None were shocking choices. Lee is one of baseball's best-kept secrets. He has an elite profile and, with A.J. Minter perhaps gone, his role is likely to increase. Kelenic's first season with the Braves was full of short-lived streaks of excellence and prolonged bad stretches. A year after believing they had bought low on a high-reward guy, the Braves are now back in the Kelenic loop that the Mariners soured on - taking a guy with immense natural talent and getting him to turn that into positive production. Kelenic will likely not be handed a starting role for the 2025 Braves and shouldn’t be. He hasn't earned it yet. But, with Acuna out, Kelenic has a shot to open some eyes early in the campaign provided he's not traded. White is decent last guy to have on the bench. That’s about all I have to say about that.

While some are gone from the mix, the Braves also added a player named Carlos D. Rodriguez. An outfielder who has spent his entire career in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Rodriguez hit minor league free agency this offseason with 470 games of experience, though only 31 of them at the highest minor league level. Rodriguez, who turns 24 on December 7, is coming off a .284/.368/.374 campaign that was unevenly split between Biloxi (Double-A) and Nashville (Triple-A). As both teams are in direct competition with the Braves' top two minor league squads, the Braves were awarded extended looks at Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who hits left-handed, profiles as a depth outfielder. He combines good contact and on-base skills with solid speed and a glove capable enough of handing center field. Last year, he walked more than he struck out and though he's not a prolific base stealer, he did swipe 17 bases in 23 tries. In six years, he's hit just 14 homers and has an ISO under 100 so the production isn't there to suggest he's a guy you foresee as a starter in the majors. He's more of an Eli White-type. He can play all three outfield slots, though he won't stand out as a center fielder.

Which is why the signing was probably confusing. The Braves sacrificed a 40-man slot for Rodriguez, but unlike White, Rodriguez has a full assortment of options. The Braves can stash him in the minors, call him up when they might need a player, and send him back down without the hassle of a DFA. Rodriguez, who presumably will make around the major league minimum, doesn't appear to be an option for the 2025 roster at this moment. If the Braves are hunting for a platoon partner for Jarred Kelenic, Rodriguez ain't the guy as they both hit left-handed. He's also not the guy if the Braves are looking for a player to move ahead of Kelenic on the depth chart. But Rodriguez provides solid minor league depth for the major league roster and a potential postseason option as a defensive replacement/pinch runner. Basically, he profiles similarly to Eli White but has options.

As the Braves head into Thanksgiving week, the team sits with 35 players on their 40-man roster.