The Braves are keeping Danny Young in the organization and clearing a roster spot by moving on from Luke Williams.
According to 680 The Fan, Atlanta selected Young from Triple-A Gwinnett and designated Williams for assignment in a corresponding move. Young had been on track to become a minor league free agent, but the Braves will instead hold onto the left-hander for now.
The 32-year-old’s path back to Atlanta has been a winding one. He first joined the Braves off waivers from the Mariners in August 2022, then appeared in nine games for the club through 2023 before being released.
Young spent the next two seasons with the Mets, where he logged a career-high 37 2/3 innings and put up a 4.54 ERA in his first year there. His 2025 season was cut short after just 8 1/3 innings and Tommy John surgery.
Still rehabbing from that procedure, Young returned to the Braves on a split contract last December. He made his season debut on July 3 and opened with a strong stretch, posting a 2.08 ERA across 12 appearances and 8 2/3 innings in July.
The catch: he struck out eight and walked eight over that span. August was a different story.
In four straight rough outings, he allowed nine earned runs on nine hits, including two home runs, over 3 2/3 innings while striking out seven and walking five.
Atlanta cut him loose on Aug. 16 and turned to fellow lefty Ray Kerr, who settled in and became one of the nicer stories from the Braves’ two-series postseason run. Young finished the year with an 8.03 ERA and 15 strikeouts against 13 walks in 12 1/3 innings, and his career major league line sits at a 4.68 ERA over 73 frames. He did, however, post 13 scoreless innings in the minors last season and showed a velocity bump on both of his main pitches, with his sinker averaging 93.7 mph and his slider 82.8 mph.
Williams is the roster casualty. The 30-year-old appeared in only two regular-season games in 2026, but Atlanta still carried him on the roster for its short NLDS series against the Dodgers.
He didn’t get into any of the four games. Since arriving with the Braves in 2023, Williams has hit .212/.272/.280 with two homers and 25 stolen bases in 350 plate appearances over 232 major league games.
He will presumably clear waivers and become a free agent.
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