Braves Sign Chuckie Robinson To Minor League Deal
The Braves signed depth catcher Chuckie Robinson to a minor league contract. He’s in the lineup tonight with Triple-A Gwinnett.
Robinson finds a new home around a week after being released by the Dodgers. (His release from Los Angeles was coincidentally spurred by them signing frequent Atlanta depth catcher Chadwick Tromp to a minor league deal.) While this will be his first game action for the Atlanta organization, he’s not a completely new face. Atlanta claimed him off waivers from the Dodgers last September and kept him in the organization through the end of the regular season. They outrighted him at the beginning of the offseason, which allowed him to return to the Dodgers on a minor league deal.
The 31-year-old Robinson got a couple brief looks on the L.A. roster this season. He went 2-23 across eight MLB games. Robinson is a career .124/.157/.176 hitter over parts of four MLB campaigns. He owns a .264/.330/.408 slash line at the Triple-A level.
Robinson isn’t going to offer much at the plate, but teams clearly like his work with a pitching staff. He has had multiple stints with the Dodgers and now the Braves. Robinson, Sandy León and Maverick Handley are all at Gwinnett as non-roster depth in case of an injury to Drake Baldwin or Sean Murphy.
Braves Designate Tyler Kinley For Assignment
The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve recalled righty AJ Smith-Shawver from Triple-A Gwinnett and designated veteran reliever Tyler Kinley for assignment. Smith-Shawver will start tomorrow’s series finale in Minnesota.
Kinley has spent the past year in the Atlanta bullpen, coming over in a 2025 trade with the Rockies and then re-signing on a $4.25MM deal ($3MM salary in 2026, $1.25MM buyout on a 2027 club option). The 35-year-old was dominant down the stretch in 2025 and pitched well through the end of June this season before running into a rough patch.
Through his first 30 innings in 2026, Kinley logged a flat 3.00 ERA with a strong 25.8% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. He was too homer-prone along the way but was generally missing bats and doing a good enough job of keeping runners off the bases. He was tagged for three runs in an early-July appearance and hasn’t really recovered, however. Dating back to July 3, Kinley has a 6.39 ERA in 12 2/3 innings. He’s walked as many batters as he’s struck out in that span (10 apiece) and served up four homers.
Kinley has always had some susceptibility to home runs, as one would expect for a fly-ball pitcher who’s spent the vast majority of his career calling Denver’s Coors Field his home park. However, he’s never struggled with the long ball to this extent. He’s averaging 1.9 homers per nine innings pitched this season. A career-worst 15.5% of the fly-balls he’s allowed this year have left the yard. That trait is exacerbated by the fact that Kinley is allowing more contact in the air than he ever has in a full season; his ground-ball rate on the year is just 29.2% — the seventh-lowest mark among the 329 pitchers who’ve tossed at least 40 innings in the majors this season.
Kinley is still sitting 94.4 mph on his four-seamer, but his slider’s results have taken a noticeable downturn this year. That’s not a good development considering it’s far and away his most-used offering (64.7%) and has typically graded as his best pitch. Opponents batted just .194 with a .297 slugging percentage against Kinley’s slider last year. In 2026, they’re hitting .215 but slugging .449. His swinging-strike rate on the pitch has fallen from 17.3% to a career-low 13.8%.
With Kinley off the roster and the trade deadline behind us, Atlanta can only place the right-hander on waivers. He’s still owed about $642K in salary, plus that $1.25MM buyout on a $5.5MM club option. The remaining $1.89MM left to be paid out might be too steep for another team to place a claim, but Kinley pitched well for most of the season and quality bullpen arms are hard to come by this time of year. It’s at least plausible that another club with some payroll wiggle room will scoop him up in hopes that he can provide a boost down the stretch.
Smith-Shawver made his return from UCL surgery in late July, lasting 4 1/3 innings and allowing a pair of runs in his first MLB action since May 29, 2025. The Braves sent him back down after the fact, and he’s been solid in two starts since: 11 innings pitched, two runs, three hits, four walks, 13 strikeouts. He’ll get the nod Wednesday at Target Field, allowing Atlanta to push workhorse Chris Sale back a bit. Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Grant Holmes will start Thursday and Sale will take the mound Friday.
Braves To Release Carlos Santana From Minor League Contract
The Braves will grant veteran first baseman Carlos Santana his release from Triple-A Gwinnett today, as reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Santana had been with Gwinnett on a non-roster deal since the end of June. He will become a free agent and try to latch on with another team for the stretch run.
The 40-year-old Santana has been a journeyman in the past few seasons. Since the start of 2023, he’s suited up in big league games for the Pirates, Brewers, Twins, Guardians, Cubs, and Diamondbacks. He was below-average with the bat last year and didn’t fare any better upon joining the Diamondbacks for 2026, as he hit .083/.154/.125 in 26 plate appearances. A right adductor strain sent him to the injured list in early April, and after he struggled on a rehab assignment, Arizona designated him for assignment on June 24th.
Santana caught on with the Braves a few days later and has since looked more like himself at the plate. In 104 plate appearances for Gwinnett, he is batting .292/.385/.382 with a 108 wRC+, 18.3% strikeout rate, and 12.3% walk rate.
Despite this success, it isn’t surprising that the Braves are parting ways with Santana, given that Matt Olson has first base covered in Atlanta. With Ronald Acuna Jr. getting a good chunk of DH time and Dominic Smith getting most of the designated hitter time when Acuna is in the field, it seems like there just wasn’t room for Santana on the 26-man roster. The release gives the veteran some opportunity to see if he can find another job on a team with a clearer path to MLB playing time.
Braves Designate Danny Young For Assignment, Select Ray Kerr
The Braves are selecting left-hander Ray Kerr to the 40-man roster, according to Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In a corresponding move, fellow southpaw Danny Young is being designated for assignment. The team’s 40-man roster continues to have an open spot after this move.
Young underwent reconstructive elbow surgery last year and continued to rehab after signing a split deal with Atlanta for the 2026 season. He did well in a handful of rehab appearances at the end of June, and the Braves activated him off the 60-day injured list on July 3rd, slotting Young into their bullpen. On the surface, he was effective throughout the month of July, as he posted a 2.08 ERA in 8 2/3 innings across 12 appearances while inducing plenty of ground balls.
There were troubling signs under the surface. Young struck out eight hitters in July but allowed an equal number of walks. He also gave up plenty of hard contact and stranded an unsustainably high 95.6% of opposing baserunners. Regression came when the calendar flipped to August. In four appearances this month, Young has surrendered nine earned runs on nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings. That includes an inning of mop-up duty in yesterday’s 10-3 loss to the Diamondbacks, in which Young allowed three earned runs.
It’s a disappointing turn of events for Young, who hasn’t thrown a meaningful number of big league innings since his 2024 campaign with the Mets. In that year, he posted a 4.54 ERA in 37 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, striking out an impressive 29.1% of opponents while walking them at a worse-than-average 10.9% clip. Young was generating grounders 53.3% of the time, which was well above average. Other metrics like his 3.64 FIP and 3.22 SIERA suggested he was more effective than the 4.54 ERA. The shoulder injury has simply prevented him from proving it lately. Dating back to 2025, Young has thrown just 20 2/3 innings between the Mets and Braves.
Young has under two years of service time, but the Braves outrighted him in 2022 during his previous tenure with the team. He has the right to reject another outright assignment in favor of electing free agency, provided he clears waivers. That said, because Young has less than five years of service time, electing free agency would mean forfeiting his remaining salary commitments.
His split contract with the Braves pays him $925K for any time in the Majors. The minor league pay is unknown, but it’s probably decent given the nature of split deals and the Braves wanting to keep him around as depth. From that lens, Young could go either way between sticking around on his current deal or testing free agency if he clears waivers.
With Young off the 40-man roster, the 31-year-old Kerr will take his spot in the bullpen for now. Kerr has been with the Braves organization since 2024. He put up a 5.64 ERA in 22 1/3 innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery in the middle of the season. He did not pitch in 2025 while rehabbing from that procedure. After a few rehab appearances in July, Kerr was activated off the minor league IL on July 29th. He’d recently been pitching at Triple-A Gwinnett, allowing two earned runs in four innings across three appearances.
The Braves’ bullpen has struggled a bit in the second half. The group’s 4.89 ERA since the All-Star break ranks fifth-worst in the league, with closer Raisel Iglesias allowing runs in three of his five most recent appearances. The lefties, aside from Young, have generally been better in that stretch. Dylan Dodd has a sharp 1.50 ERA in his last 12 innings. Dylan Lee has a 3.65 ERA in his last 12 1/3 frames, and Brent Suter has been serviceable since coming over at the trade deadline. Kerr gives Atlanta a lefty option for lower leverage spots, though he could conceivably be designated for assignment and rotated out for another fresh arm, given his minimal recent track record.
Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images
Braves Release Jorge Mateo
The Braves have released infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment by the club last week. He is now free to sign with any team.
Mateo, 31, signed with Atlanta in January on a one-year deal with a $1MM guarantee. It probably wasn’t a coincidence that the Mateo signing broke one day after the news that Ha-Seong Kim had fallen on some ice and suffered a torn tendon in his right middle finger. He required surgery and was set for a timeline of four to five months, meaning he would be on the injured list well into the season.
It was hoped that Kim would take over as the club’s everyday shortstop but that was no longer going to be possible, at least to start the year. Mateo was brought in to shore up the position alongside Mauricio Dubón.
Mateo has generally been a light-hitting guy whose main contributions are in the speed and defense departments. That was how things played out with Atlanta. He hit .240/.285/.380 for a wRC+ of 80, with all of those numbers being roughly in line with his career marks. He stole ten bases and got solid grades for his shortstop defense while also occasionally chipping in at second base and in left field.
Kim came off the IL in May and Mateo hung around in a bench role. Continued issues in his finger put Kim back on the IL in July. During that second IL stint, Jim Jarvis seemingly leapfrogged Mateo on the depth chart. Jarvis got more playing time than Mateo throughout July. When Kim returned from the IL last week, Mateo got bumped off the roster.
Once he was designated for assignment, a release was the most likely outcome for Mateo. He was designated for assignment after the deadline, so a trade wasn’t possible. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment while also keeping his salary obligations in place. Atlanta skipped that formality and simply released him.
The club remains on the hook for the remainder of his salary. Another team could sign him and would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what Atlanta pays. As mentioned, Mateo has generally been a light hitter throughout his career but has wheels and also has experience at every position on the diamond except for first base and catcher, so he’s a fine bench player.
Photo courtesy of Joe Puetz, Imagn Images
Details On Tarik Skubal Trade Discussions
It was a week ago today that Tarik Skubal was dealt to the Dodgers in a blockbuster move, with the Tigers receiving right-hander River Ryan and two prospects (outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-hander Brady Smith) in return for the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner. ESPN’s Jeff Passan and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal shared some interesting tidbits about the trade, including the Tigers’ motivations in making the deal last Saturday night, instead of closer to the 5pm CT trade deadline on Monday.
The reports that emerged about George Kirby‘s possible availability factored into Detroit’s thinking, as per Passan. The Tigers “feared if they waited too long, their best options could opt for a pitcher like Kirby with multiple years of control and potentially collapse the Skubal market,” Passan writes. As it turned out, Kirby remained in Seattle, and one M’s official told Rosenthal that trade talks about Kirby “never advanced past the 50-yard line.”
Though it seems like the Kirby trade talks may have been exploratory in nature, the ripple effect was immense, as the Tigers were motivated to tell interested clubs last Saturday to submit their final offers for Skubal. Both Passan and Rosenthal report that the Tigers were looking for the best players possible in a Skubal trade package, though Rosenthal notes that Detroit generally preferred young players who were closer to big league readiness and had a slight preference to adding pitchers to a position-player heavy farm system.
The Dodgers met the brief by offering Ryan (who made his MLB debut with four starts in 2024 before undergoing a Tommy John surgery), Hope (who is tearing up Double-A pitching and is likely going to be promoted to Triple-A before season’s end) and a bit more of a lottery-ticket type of pitcher in Smith. The offer of outfield and pitching help just checked off more boxes for the Tigers than the best package floated by the Brewers, who were seemingly the runners-up in the Skubal market.
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reported earlier this week that the Brewers offered shortstop Luis Pena as the headliner in a three-prospect package that involved two other position players, one of whom was another top-100 type. Rosenthal writes that this was one of multiple trade packages Milwaukee offered for Skubal, with such names as Alexander Frias and Jett Williams also involved along with Pina. The only real untouchables among the Brewers’ core of prospects and recently-promoted rookies were (according to Passan) Jesus Made, Logan Henderson, Cooper Pratt, and Luis Lara.
The Dodgers and Brewers have two of the deeper and more highly-regarded farm systems in baseball, which gave those teams some extra flexibility in meeting the Tigers’ demands. Other teams in on Skubal were more hesitant about giving up a top-tier prospect for a rental player, even one of Skubal’s caliber. Yankees GM Brian Cashman heavily implied earlier this week that Detroit wanted George Lombard Jr. for Skubal, while Passan writes that the Rays were similarly unwilling to include Theo Gillen.
Other suitors like the Braves and Cubs “made virtually all of their young players available” for Skubal, according to Rosenthal, but “never got close to a deal.” Chicago instead addressed its pitching needs by acquiring Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, Ryan Zeferjahn, and Braxton Garrett on deadline day, while Atlanta added Tyler Mahle in less of a headline-grabbing move.
It seems like the Braves saved their biggest pitching-related swing for trying to land Jacob deGrom from the Rangers, but deGrom used his no-trade clause to block a move. Rosenthal also reports that the Braves’ other explorations into the starter market included some talks with the Angels about Jose Soriano, who was instead moved to the Blue Jays.
Atlanta’s Deadline Whiff
With the trade deadline now passed, it’s time for Monday morning quarterbacking. My colleague Anthony Franco already took a look at the Rangers’ underwhelming deadline, in a post for Front Office subscribers.
While I agree with Anthony that the lack of moves out of Texas was disappointing, it was almost understandable for me, given their in-between status. The Rangers were in contention but more due to the weak standings than anything inspiring the players had done. Investing prospect capital in a middling team and waving the white flag on a viable division winner are both unappealing choices, so it’s not too shocking the front office seemingly suffered a bit of option paralysis.
For me, a far more egregious deadline took place in Atlanta. This wasn’t a club that was in a borderline position. They were very clearly buyers. They have had a commanding lead in the National League East for essentially the entire season. Making the postseason is almost guaranteed. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs and the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus give them a 99.7% chance of making it in.
Despite the strong win-loss record, there were clear holes to address on the roster. Shortstop has been an issue all year. A complementary right-handed-hitting outfielder made sense. The bullpen was in good shape but any club can add an extra arm or two. They mostly ticked these boxes. They didn’t get a shortstop but there also weren’t really any available. They added Lane Thomas to the outfield and Brent Suter to the bullpen.
But the clearest area for the club to make a meaningful upgrade was the rotation. Atlanta’s success this year has come in spite of a number of injuries to starting pitching, leading them to patch things together with misfit toys. To their credit, they made it work and put themselves in playoff position. But once they got there, they were looking at a postseason rotation of Chris Sale and then a steep drop-off to their other options. Adding a playoff-caliber starter, or two, seemed like a no-brainer. There were many available. They didn’t get one.
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MLBTR Podcast: Trade Deadline Recap
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 and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Dodgers acquiring Tarik Skubal from the Tigers (1:20)
- Should the Brewers or Rays have beaten the Skubal package? (14:50)
- The Tigers also trading Casey Mize to the Padres but otherwise standing pat (22:40)
- The Orioles trading Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox, among other moves (31:45)
- The Red Sox getting Rutschman and also sending Marcelo Mayer to the Giants for Erik Miller (40:55)
- The Rays acquiring Freddy Peralta from the Mets, Liam Hicks from the Marlins and Tyler Wells from the Orioles (49:25)
- The Angels trading José Soriano to the Blue Jays, Ryan Zeferjahn to the Cubs and Jo Adell to the Guardians but holding Reid Detmers and Zach Neto (55:15)
- The Blue Jays getting Soriano while trading Kevin Gausman to the Cubs, Daulton Varsho to the Astros and Jeff Hoffman to the Twins (1:05:30)
- The Reds not selling as much as expected (1:16:00)
- The Rangers not doing much of anything (1:18:10)
- The Yankees getting Heliot Ramos from Giants and Luis García Jr. from the Nationals (1:19:40)
- The Astros, Mariners and Rangers all have mild deadlines (1:25:30)
- The Braves not getting a big rotation upgrade (1:26:30)
- The White Sox getting Luis Castillo from the Mariners, Huascar Brazobán from the Mets, Brenton Doyle from the Rockies and Joey Bart from the Braves (1:27:40)
- The Cardinals’ and Cubs’ and Brewers’ deadlines (1:30:00)
Check out our past episodes!
- Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
- Chase Burns And Kyle Bradish Extended, The Reds’ Selling Strategy, And Some Pre-Deadline Trades – listen here
- JJ Wetherholt’s Extension, The Pirates Without Griffin, And Exciting Times For The White Sox And Marlins – 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 Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Braves Release McCutchen, Gomber, Gamel
The Braves released a trio of veterans from their Triple-A affiliate yesterday, per the transaction log at MiLB.com: outfielder/designated hitter Andrew McCutchen, left-hander Austin Gomber and outfielder Ben Gamel. All three are free agents who can sign with any team now. They all have ample big league experience and could find new minor league opportunities with clubs looking to load up on some post-deadline depth.
McCutchen, 39, is obviously the biggest name of the bunch. The former NL MVP signed a minor league deal with the Rangers this past offseason and broke camp with the club on Opening Day. He didn’t hit much in a short sample with Texas, batting just .192/.277/.260 in 83 trips to the plate before being cut loose. Cutch’s MVP days are obviously well behind him, but he was a league-average bat in Pittsburgh from 2024-25 and could latch on with a club seeking some help against lefties. He went 10-for-30 with three doubles and a homer in 32 plate appearances with the Braves’ Gwinnett club (.333/.375/.533).
Gomber hasn’t pitched in the majors yet this season — the first time since 2019 he hasn’t logged at least some big league action. He also signed a minor league deal with Texas before being cut loose and making his way to the Braves organization. The 32-year-old southpaw was hit hard with the Rangers’ top affiliate (7.75 ERA in 32 2/3 innings) but has been a better in Gwinnett, pitching 48 2/3 frames with a 4.81 ERA, 16.7% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. Gomber posted fifth starter results in four years with the Rockies (5.08 ERA, 17.7 K%, 6.7 BB% in 544 innings) and is a depth option for clubs looking to stash an experienced arm in Triple-A.
Another veteran with more than six years of service, Gamel hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2024. He’s a career .252/.334/.381 hitter who has pretty neutral splits against lefties and righties. Gamel doesn’t walk much or play great defense, but he’s drawn walks and put the ball in play at just high enough levels to have roughly league-average offensive output despite a lack of power. He’s had a tough run in Triple-A this season, however, hitting only .210/.333/.328 with a nearly 32% strikeout rate in 225 trips to the plate.
Braves Designate Jorge Mateo For Assignment
The Braves are designating shortstop Jorge Mateo for assignment, relays Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That’ll open a roster spot for Ha-Seong Kim, who’ll be on the active roster tomorrow as a utility player. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos also confirmed they’ll reinstate catcher Sean Murphy from the 60-day injured list (via Mark Bowman of MLB.com).
Murphy’s return was the impetus for Atlanta trading Joey Bart to the White Sox this afternoon. They brought back a depth reliever in Duncan Davitt while going back to Murphy and Drake Baldwin as their catching tandem. Murphy has been out since mid-May after sustaining a left middle finger fracture on a catcher’s interference. He has been limited to four games this year, as his rehab from last fall’s hip surgery cost him the first month of the regular season.
Kim has been limited to 27 games by a finger injury of his own. He hasn’t hit at all in his 82 plate appearances and accordingly lost his hold on the starting shortstop job. Anthopoulos confirmed that rookie Jim Jarvis will remain the starting shortstop with Kim on hand as a backup infielder. Mauricio Dubón is slated for a super utility role but should remain in the lineup somewhere on the diamond most days.
That squeezes Mateo off the roster. He has more than five years of service time and can refuse a minor league assignment while retaining his $1MM salary. That makes it very likely he’ll be released. Mateo got some run as the everyday shortstop before Jarvis came up from Triple-A. The veteran infielder has mostly been in a utility role and hit .240/.285/.380 with four home runs across 137 plate appearances. He stole 10 bases in 11 tries.
Atlanta has subtracted some speed from its bench between the Mateo DFA and trading Eli White to the Red Sox. They’re mostly counting on Kim and Murphy to be solid depth pieces, while Lane Thomas should provide more offense in a platoon outfield role than White did. Dominic Smith is the only player from the position player bench whose role is unchanged, as he’ll remain a left-handed complement who could get some work at designated hitter.
