The Atlanta Braves, who once boasted one of the deepest rosters in baseball, are now scouring the waiver wire hoping something is still usable. The latest addition? Outfielder Jake Fraley, freshly waived by the Cincinnati Reds, and now the newest face in Atlanta’s ever-growing collection of “well, maybe he’s got a little something left.”
Now, to be fair, Fraley’s no complete wash. He’s rocking a .719 OPS, which is not lighting up any leaderboards. But for a bench bat on a team limping toward the offseason? You could do worse. He draws walks, plays decent enough defense, and he’s got some wheels. The only catch? He’s nursing a knee injury that makes that speed more “on paper” than “on the basepaths” right now.
Why Are the Atlanta Braves Doing This?
Atlanta is doing this because they simply have to. Connor Seabold, Vidal Brujan, and Joey Wentz have all been picked up in the past few weeks as the Braves scramble to put together a playable roster. Alex Anthopoulos is pulling waiver pieces and hoping the roster doesn’t fully collapse.
The days when the Braves had deep roster depth and flexibility are long gone. Now, it’s August, the playoffs are basically out of reach, and every new waiver claim is a reminder that injuries, regression, and plain old bad luck have shredded the team’s once-proud roster.
Anthopoulos isn’t mailing it in. These moves, while not sexy, are signals to that clubhouse — “we haven’t quit on you.” That matters. Maybe not in the standings, but in the culture, in the room, in setting the tone for 2026, where this group — or at least what’s left of it — will be asked to turn things back around.
So Jake Fraley joins the mix. No one’s throwing a parade, but in a season that’s gone sideways, even a waiver claim can be a quiet vote of confidence.
