Braves ink Austin Pope to minor-league contract

According to the MLB transactions page, the Braves have signed left-handed pitcher Austin Pope to a minor-league contract.

Pope has been in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization since being selected in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB Draft. He’ll be 27 years old next season and has just one major-league appearance under his belt, tossing a couple of shutout innings with one strikeout.

The surface-level numbers aren’t much to write home about. He owns an unsightly 5.37 ERA across six minor league seasons, though his 4.60 mark this year was a bit more respectable. Still, he does a couple of things the Braves value — he strikes hitters out and avoids walks. Pope issued free passes to just 7% of the batters he faced in 2025 while striking out 27.2%.

Another noteworthy aspect is that he arrives with all of his minor-league options intact. That gives the Braves the flexibility to shuffle him between Gwinnett and Atlanta as needed. Pope likely won’t become a long-term fixture at the major-league level, but he’s quality depth the club can rely on in a pinch.