According to the team’s official MLB.com transactions log, the Braves have released Charlie Culberson. Culberson rejoined the Braves on a minor league deal back in January and was attempting to transition to pitching after 17 pro seasons (including 11 in the majors) as a utilityman.
This doesn’t appear to be the end of the line for Culberson’s career, as he told Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he will continue seeking more playing opportunities. Culberson turns 35 next month, though he indicated in another interview with Toscano last month that he wasn’t yet leaning towards retirement.
Culberson has a .248/.294/.386 slash line over 1,312 career plate appearances, and he has played for five different teams at the MLB level since making his debut with the Giants in 2012. This includes 231 games over six different stints with the Braves since Culberson has signed four separate minor league contracts with Atlanta over the last year. The Braves twice designated Culberson for assignment, and he chose free agency rather than an outright assignment, though Culberson quickly rejoined the organization on a new contract.
The transactional shuffles were part of an odd year overall for Culberson, who played in only 27 games with Triple-A Gwinnett and in exactly one game at the major league level. Despite several months on the Braves ' active roster, Atlanta’s tendency to rarely rest its star players meant that Culberson simply didn’t have much opportunity to get playing time. This made 2023 a “tough” season for Culberson, as he told Toscano, and it partially inspired his decision to try pitching as a different way of providing value to a big league roster.
Culberson has made eight mop-up appearances (totaling 7 1/3 innings) as a pitcher over the years, in addition to his much lengthier resume at all four infield positions, as a left fielder, and a handful of games in right field. He has topped 100 plate appearances in only six of his 12 major league seasons, though Culberson did get 271 PA and 90 appearances as recently as 2021 when he played for a rebuilding Rangers team.
Over three spring training appearances this year, Culberson made three appearances on the mound and was charged with six earned runs over two innings of work. Obviously, there were going to be some bumps in the road for Culberson as he pursued his new position, and it remains to be seen if he’ll continue to experiment with a pitching career or if he might return to his familiar utility role if another team needs some position-player depth. While another contract with the Braves wouldn’t be a surprise if the Georgia native wants to stay close to home, Culberson’s desire to play seems to clash with Atlanta’s loaded roster.
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