The Braves announced on Monday that they had signed a veteran voltiseur Eddie Rosario to a major league contract and optionized its other voltiseur Kelenic in motion at Triple-A Gwinnett. In order to clean up a place on the list of 40 men, Atlanta designated Righty Zach Thompson For assignment.
Kelenic’s demotion comes in the middle of a calamous mediocre departure for the old best hope of 25 years. He opened the season with a shot line .167 / .231 / .300 and 23 withdrawal with massive sticks during his first 65 plates (35.4%). These difficulties come despite the Kelenic armor almost entirely from the left pitch. The Braves let him face a SouthPaw just six times in 2025. He was sure of these six plaques appearances and fell in four of them.
Atlanta has undertaken a series of underwater contracts thanks to a convoluted sequence of trades during the 2023-24 offseason, eating all this dead money effectively in order to buy Kelenic from sailors. Seattle discharged the rest of his commitments to the first basic player Evan White and left -handed Marco Gonzales in the original trade. Atlanta overturned Gonzales to the pirates for a little money and sent the white to Anaheim while taking up the unwanted contracts of David Fletcher And Max Stassi (The latter was sold to the White Sox). Atlanta has won more than $ 20 million in this sequence, and it is before taking into account the luxury tax penalties required to do so.
It was a dear gambit, and so far, he simply hasn’t paid off. Kelenic experienced an offensive production lower than the average in 2024 and has clearly taken a step back in 2025. Since his arrival in Atlanta, he transformed a withdrawal line .222 / .279 / .381 with a removal rate of 30.4%. The brave, sitting in the last place in the NL East after a surprisingly bad start, cannot afford the luxury of a more patient approach with Kelenic. They also saw Alex Verdugo And Eli White Easily Opplete Kelenic on the young season. This couple will join Michael Harris II,, Stuart FIRICHILD And the newly signed rosario in the outdoor field mixt while Kelenic hopes to benefit from a reset in Triple-A.
Rosario, 33, will go to the alignment of the Great Atlanta League for a fifth consecutive season. The Braves initially acquired it from the Guardians in a rescue contract on the 2021 trade deadline and have watched the longtime outfall capture the fire. Rosario played a major role in the race of the Braves 2021 World Series, and they rewarded it with an agreement of $ 18 million of two years to return to Atlanta this offseason. He did not pay dividends. Rosario had a brutal season of 2022 and was the average of the marble league in 2023. He signed with the Nationals as a free agent and ended up in Atlanta after Washington has deposited him.
The Braves will be the second judgment of the Grande League of Rosario this year. He very briefly played with the dodgers, going without a safe blow to four appearances before being appointed for assignment. Rosario has not had a higher season at the marble average since 2020, his last year in Minnesota. In 1521, appearances for four teams since then, he reduced .232 / .278 / .396 (82 WRC +). He could possibly peloton with the white who jumps straight in a corner place while the brave wait Ronald Acuña Jr. Back from the injured list.
As for Thompson, 31, he will now be exchanged or placed in derogation in the next five days. Derogations would be a 48 -hour process, if the brave chooses to take this path. In one week, Thompson will know the result of his DFA.
He appeared in two big league games with the Braves in 2025 and launched 3 2/3 laundering rounds. In 4 1/3 triple-A images, Thompson granted six points (three deserved) on seven strokes and three goals on balls with a pair of stick withdrawals. This is his first action on a mound since 2023. The right -hander missed the entire 2024 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon.
Thompson experienced a major league period in two other seasons. Since 2021-222, he launched 196 2/3 sleeves, working mainly as a starter, between the Marlins and the Pirates. It was clear during its beginnings in 2021 MLB with Miami, but had trouble after being exchanged in Pittsburgh in the Jacob Stallings Treat this off -season. Overall, Thompson wears an MPM of 4.36 in the majors. He attracted 18.3% of his opponents against a walking rate of 8.6%. Thompson does not launch hard, sitting only 91.2 MPH with his four runners, but he has a full list of minor league options and could have a meaning for a team looking for an affordable depth in fifth place in his rotation.
