A month into the 2025 season, here’s a look at how ex-Braves are doing across the big leagues.
A month has passed in the 2025 season, and after a rocky start, the Atlanta Braves seem to be finding their mojo again. As with every season, the Braves are finding a new normal after saying goodbye to a number of long-time members of the big league roster after the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.
How are those guys doing with their new teams in 2025? And what of other notable ex-Braves?
Through April 25, here’s how some of Atlanta’s former players are fairing in the big leagues so far this year.
Max Fried
The New York Yankees gave Max Fried one of the largest free agent contracts for a starting pitcher with they inked him this past offseason. It’s early, but he has rewarded them with 0.8 fWAR and a 4-0 record in five starts with a 1.42 ERA in 31.2 innings. With a 3.56 xERA and 3.55 xFIP, he’s outperforming some metrics, but so far, he’s been a similar version of who he was with the Braves last year.
A.J. Minter
Like Fried, A.J. Minter headed to New York this offseason, but Minter stayed in the National League signing with the Mets. There were questions about his hip given he had surgery causing him to miss the end of the 2024 season, but so far, so good, for the left-hander reliever. He has a 0.3 fWAR in 12 games and 10.2 innings pitched. He’s struck out 13 batters and walked four. (Note: Minter landed on the 15-day IL on Sunday after leaving Saturday’s contest with a left lat strain.)
Griffin Canning
Okay, so Canning may not be a notable ex-Brave given he only made an offseason pit stop with Atlanta after he was swapped for Jorge Soler, but the Braves opting to not keep Canning in the fold for 2025 looks like a misstep so far. The right-handed starter has been effective in five starts with the New York Mets with a 3.66 xERA and 3.43 xFIP wihile striking out nine batters per nine innings in 26 innings.
Sean Newcomb
Its only been five starts, but Sean Newcomb has been a solid back-end starter for the Boston Red Sox after winning a spot in the team’s rotation in Spring Training. The comeback, of sorts, for the left-hander has seen him pitch 22.1 innings in the most starts he’s made in the big leagues in a single season since 2018 when he started 30 games for the Braves. With a 3.76 xERA and 3.55 xFIP and 0.6 fWAR, signs are positive for the 31 year-old.
Kevin Gausman
He only made 26 starts with Atlanta across two seasons, but Kevin Gausman is still an anchor of the Toronto Blue Jays rotation. With 0.5 fWAR in five starts and 31.1 innings, he continues to be a much better pitcher than he was with the Braves.
Lucas Sims
It’s been quite-a-while since Sims was a somewhat notable pitching prospect with the Braves, but after shifting to the bullpen, Sims had his moments with the Cincinnati Reds. Now with the Washington Nationals, Sims has struggled with a 15.22 ERA in 12 games.
Michael Soroka
Many Braves watchers have a soft-spot for Michael Soroka, whose struggles with injuries are well chronicled. Unfortunately, Soroka left his first start of the season with the Nationals with an injury. He’s still only 27, but it has been a rough five years injury-wise for the Canadian.
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Charlie Morton
The Braves and Charlie Morton, 41, didn’t seek a reunion this offseason and the right-hander moved up to the mid-Atlantic joining the Baltimore Orioles. Morton has gotten off to an awful start allowing 25 earned runs in 20.2 innings in five starts. He’s walked a staggering 15 batters so far. His xERA is much better than his actual ERA but still worse than any other season since the stat was tracked going back in 2015.
Ramon Laureano
Ramon Laureano help stabilize the Braves outfield last season. Despite his effectiveness in Atlanta, the Braves didn’t bring him back and he ended up with Baltimore. In 15 games, he’s hit three home runs with 0.4 fWAR despite a .176 BABIP.
Drew Waters
Drew Waters hasn’t been able to stick in the big leagues with the Kansas City Royals after the Braves traded the outfielder while he was still a prospect. He’s had a nice start to the season in 13 games but his number are being propped up by an unsustainable .444 BABP.
Bryse Wilson
Bryse Wilson continues to find jobs in the low-leverage side of bullpens. He’s pitching with the Chicago White Sox and putting up middling numbers. This is his eight big league season, despite starting the season at age 27.
Dansby Swanson
This is his third season with the Chicago Cubs, and despite the struggles the Braves have at shortstop, they are likley not regretting the decision to let Swanson leave via free agency. He’s still a good defender but so far he has a 75 wRC+ and is striking out more than 29-percent of the time. He is who he is at this point offensively, so he’ll likely see some improvement within the season, but he’s still a league-average offensive player.
William Contreras
William Contreras, 27, is now in his third season with the Milwaukee Brewers. He got off to a slow start and has a 99 wRC+. After back-to-back season of being a 5+ fWAR player, the Brewers hope their starting catcher gets back to that status quickly. He’s striking out only 18-percent of the time and walking 13-percent of his plate appearances his slugging percentage is only .367 which is .099 lower than last season.
Joc Pederson
Before signing with the Texas Rangers, a reunion with Atlanta was occasionally mentioned for the left-handed outfielder who was a hero of the 2021 postseason. Pederson is hitting an unfathomable .078 in 22 games with the Rangers with a -6 wRC+. He has five hits on the season and has gone through one of the worst hit-less droughts in this millennium.
Luke Jackson
The Luke Jackson experience returned to where it started when Jackson returned to the team that drafted him, joining several other former Braves in the Rangers bullpen. Not only did Jackson make the team’s pitching staff, but he has taken over as closer and has eight saves in 12 appearances. Despite a strike-out rate of less than seven batters per nine innings, he’s pitching to his advanced metrics. It will be interesting how things progress for Jackson as the season heads toward summer.
Chris Martin
Another member of the Texas bullpen, this might be Chris Martin’s final season. The 39-year-old continues to be one of the more effective right-handed relievers in the game, putting up strong number across-the-board in 13 games and 12.2 innings pitched.
Jacob Webb
The right-handed reliever is also a member of the bullpen in Texas. He’s pitched in 11 games and has been slightly below average with a -0.1 fWAR but has allowed three home runs in 13.1 innings, impacting his outcome in the young season.
Gabe Speier
It has been a decade since Speier arrived in the Braves organization via a trade and then left via another trade, so failing to realize he has ties to Atlanta shouldn’t be too surprising. He’s become an effective reliever with the Seattle Mariners and trend that has continued in 2025. In 12 games he has a sub-1.00 ERA and is striking out 33.3-percent of the batters he has faced.
Shea Langeliers
One of several catchers who went from top prospects to trade chips is Athletics backstop Shea Langeliers, who is now in his fourth season as the team’s starting catcher. He’s provided the team with 0.7 fWAR and hit five home runs. He pounded 29 round-trippers last season and hit 22 in 2023.
Victor Caratini
Victor Caratini was a second round draft choice for the Braves in 2013 but was traded the following season. Caratini is in his ninth season as a big league back-up catcher, now with the Houston Astros. He’s producing at a similar level as he has for most of his career and looks to be one of those guys who will stick around as a big leaguer for 10 or more seasons given he’s only 31.
Jorge Soler
After a return to the Braves last year, Atlanta sent Jorge Soler to Braves-west this offseason in what amounted to a salary dump. The Los Angels Angels have welcomed Soler and his 111 wRC+ to their line-up. He’s walking only 4.9-percent of the time but does have 10 extra-base hits in 25 games.
Travis d’Arnaud
The Braves opting to move on from catcher Travis d’Arnaud was one of the more surprising moves after the end of the 2024 season. The veteran catcher, and clubhouse leader, landed with the Angels as a back-up. He has had a miserably slow start to 2025 with a -9 wRC+ and a .339 OPS. He’s managed only four hits in 30 plate appearances with a walk and one extra-base hit.
Kenley Jansen
Another ex-Braves now with the fightin’ Ron Washington’s in LA is closer Kenley Jansen. The 16-year veteran continues to ascend the All-time Saves list only 25 saves out of third place. The current active saves leader has picked up six saves in eight games and has yet to allow a run.
Jason Heyward
Suddenly, Jason Heyward is in the twilight of his career. After a rookie season in Atlanta in 2010 that seemed to be the start of stellar career, Heyward has yet to appear in an All-Star game after his rookie season. He will go down as one of the best defensive outfielders of his generation but his offensive game and injuries kept him from reaching the height it seemed he might 15 years ago. He’s played in 17 games with the San Diego Padres this season and struggled before hitting the IL.
Freddie Freeman
Freddie Freeman’s 2025 has seen the Dodger first baseman miss time with various aliments. He’s played in only 15 games but does have nine extra-base hits – including four home runs. With 61.5 career fWAR, he’s working to continue a streak of posting 3.0 fWAR or higher in every season going back to 2012.
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Kirby Yates
Toward the end of the 2023 season with Atlanta, Kirby Yates was looking like the All-Star closer he had been in 2019 until injuries derailed his career. The Braves let him walk as a free agent and Yates landed in Texas and became the team’s closer, saving 33 games in an All-Star campaign. Yates signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2025 and has dominated in 14 games – striking out 48.9-percent of the batters he has faced while walking only 8.5-percent. The Dodgers are so deep that Yates isn’t even the team’s best reliever.
Evan Phillips
Evan Phillips was a 17th round draft choice of the Braves back in 2015 and made his debut with Atlanta before bouncing around the league. He’s pitched in only three games this season with the Dodgers, but picked up 42 saves for them across the last two seasons.
Shelby Miller
Shelby Miller has been an All-Star once during his 13-year big league career – a decade ago during his single season with the Braves. He led the league in starts and losses in that awful rebuilding year in Atlanta. Injuries hampered him for years but he’s found a second wind as a reliever. Now with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he’s yet to allow a run in 10 appearances, with 12 strikeouts in 10.2 innings.
This isn’t all the ex-Braves who’ve seen action this season. Ian Anderson left but is back. Jesse Chavez left, came back, is on the DFA roller coaster. Victor Vodnik has pitched in nine games with the Colorado Rockies and Nicky Lopez and Nick Ahmed are still bouncing around. Here’s to all of them for keeping on keeping on after leaving Atlanta.