Two NL East players have chosen minor league free agency, according to the MiLB.com transactions page, with catcher Payton Henry and right-hander Joel Payamps both hitting the market after brief or limited runs in their organizations.
Henry’s path has been the kind that keeps a player moving. The 29-year-old has now spent time with five different clubs in his pro career, including two separate stops with the Brewers, the organization that drafted him, and another pair with the Phillies.
His only major league game action still comes from 20 games with the Marlins in 2021-22, and while he returned to a big league roster in 2026, he never got into a game. Philadelphia selected his minor league contract in July and then sent him back to Triple-A four days later.
At Triple-A, Henry has put together a solid offensive track record, carrying a .253/.324/.402 line across 1121 career plate appearances. His brief big league work with Miami was far quieter, as he hit .186/.314/.209 over 51 Major League PA.
Payamps’ season followed a different route, but it ended in the same place. Atlanta picked him up on a waiver claim in September 2025, then brought him back on a one-year, $2.25MM deal after he was outrighted and elected free agency last winter.
His time in the majors with the Braves was rough: 8.22 ERA over 7 2/3 innings, even though his 4.18 SIERA painted a more encouraging picture. That wasn’t enough to keep him on the roster, and he was designated for assignment and outrighted again in May.
Because he accepted the outright, Payamps kept the rest of his guaranteed money and spent most of the year with Triple-A Gwinnett. There, he logged a 3.89 ERA with a 28.3% strikeout rate and a 10.2% walk rate over 39 1/3 innings. His recent MLB numbers aren’t pretty - a 7.15 ERA in 34 innings across 2025-26 - but he still carries the résumé of a reliever who was a strong bullpen piece for the Blue Jays, Royals, A’s, and especially the Brewers from 2021-24.
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Phillies Defense Just Sent A Brutal Message About This Roster
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The concern is not tied to one position or one player, either. Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, Bryce Harper and others all showed up on the wrong side of the defensive metrics, which leaves the Phillies staring at a broader roster issue rather than a single cleanup job. For a team built to contend, that kind of all-around decline invites an uncomfortable offseason conversation about how much of the current alignment can stay intact. [Read more 🡒]