The Braves have decided to part ways with left-hander Kyle Nelson, as indicated by the latest transactions on MLB.com. Nelson, who joined Atlanta on a non-roster deal, was seen as a potential depth option for the team.
Nelson's track record includes a respectable 4.34 ERA over 116 major league innings since 2020. He's managed to strike out 23.1% of batters faced, though his walk rate sits at 9.0%.
His standout year was 2023 with the Diamondbacks, where he pitched a career-high 56 innings and posted a 4.18 ERA. However, outside of that season, his strikeout rate has dipped below 20%.
After a challenging 2024 season spent recovering from thoracic outlet surgery, Nelson returned in 2025 but was designated for assignment by July and moved to Triple-A. He only appeared in two innings over three games with Arizona that year before opting for free agency.
During his brief stint with the Braves' big-league camp, Nelson made just one appearance, surrendering one earned run in an inning against the Red Sox on March 17. Breaking into the Braves' bullpen was always going to be a tough task.
The team is relying on Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez for the late innings, with Dylan Lee, Aaron Bummer, and Jose Suarez handling the middle innings and long relief. Lee has been stellar with a 2.74 ERA and a 23.9% K-BB rate over the past two seasons.
Bummer is a groundball specialist, and Jose Suarez impressed with a 1.86 ERA in limited action last year.
Nelson now re-enters the market, seeking a team willing to add him as minor-league depth. Despite being in the league since 2020, he's still under 30 and remains controllable through 2028 via arbitration. If he can make it back to the majors, he offers roster flexibility with one option year left.