Braves Jordan Weems Agree To Minor League Dea

The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with free agent righty , per MLBTRs Tim Dierkes. Hell be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee in spring training. Weems is represented by OConnell Sports Management. Weems, who just turned 32, has spent the past three seasons with the Nationals, for whom hes totaled 136 innings with a 5.03 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate out of the Dustin Peterson Jersey bullpen. Hes averaged 96.4 mph on his heater during that time, primarily coupling the pitch with a slider thats averaged 87.7 mph in that same span. Washington pa sed Weems through waivers back in August, and he became a free agent following the season, as was his right as an outrighted player with three-plus years of big league service time. Weems most effective season came with the Nats in 2023, when he pitched a career-high 54 2/3 big league innings with a 3.62 ERA and 25.9% strikeout rate. That solid showing was bookended by a pair of rough years with ERAs north of 5.00, however. During his three years with the Nationals organization, hes also pitched to a 3.27 earned run average in 77 Triple-A frames. The Braves have clearly been operating on a tight budget this winter, looking to stockpile depth in the outfield and bullpen on low-cost deals. Weems joins and as non-roster invitees whove signed in the wake of s , which will cost the righty most and po sibly all of the 2025 season. (Kerr is recovering from Tommy John surgery and will be out until the summer as well.) Atlanta has also inked outfielder and righty to split (non-guaranteed) major league contracts with low salaries. At present, the Braves for a $201MM payroll with just over $217MM of luxury obligations. That places Atlanta about $30MM shy of where it ended the 2024 season in terms of payroll and nearly $60MM shy of last years luxury tax ledger. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said earlier this month that his club for what would be a third consecutive season, but to this point anyhow, most of Atlantas transactions have centered around scaling back spending and compiling affordable depth. That doesnt preclude an eventual free agent strike of note and/or an impactful trade, but theres been little to no inkling of such talks for Atlanta so far in the offseason. Alex Faedo Jersey