Braves old friend Kyle Wright’s return leaves a lot to be desired

The Braves have always had an uncanny ability to know which players to hang on to and which players to trade away under Alex Anthopoulos. Outside of William Contreras, there really isn’t a single notable player that the Braves’ President of Baseball Operations has traded away that has gone on to make the club possibly regret it.

Most recently, old friend Kyle Wright returned from the injured list, but the Royals optioned him to Triple-A Omaha. If you remember, the Braves traded him to the Royals ahead of the 2024 campaign, even though Kansas City knew he was going to miss the entire season last year.

Wright was a top five pick way back in 2017 but didn’t realize his immense potential until he led all of baseball in wins to go with a 3.19 ERA en route to a top 10 finish in the Cy Young voting in 2022. Unfortunately, like so many great young arms in this league, shoulder issues developed, and Wright ended up posting a 6.97 ERA in seven starts the following season.

Eventually, he underwent surgery, and instead of the Braves tendering him a contract, they moved him to the Royals. The hope for KC was that Wright could join the rotation in 2025 and 2026 after recovering from shoulder surgery, but that hasn’t been the case.

Wright started that rehab assignment on May 25th and has since made six starts, two at Double-A and four at Triple-A. In the latter four, he pitched to the tune of a 6.23 ERA with an ugly 14.8% walk rate. Though, he did strike out 23% of the batters he faced, averaging around 92 mph on his fastball, down from 95 mph during his breakout 2022 campaign.

Honestly, 2025 was probably a pipe dream for Kyle Wright. Recovering from shoulder surgery is an uphill battle, and sometimes, pitchers never fully recover. If he is to contribute, it was always going to be in 2026.

I hope he can regain some of the form he showed with the Braves, but it’s a situation that fans in Atlanta have become all too familiar with. Mike Soroka broke out as one of the game’s best young arms, then tore his Achilles twice and was never the same for the Braves. Then, it was Ian Anderson, who boasts an absurd 1.26 postseason ERA. Then, it was Kyle Wright. Most recently, A.J. Smith-Shawver finally broke out, only to tear his UCL.

Staying healthy as a pitcher is half the battle. Michael Soroka was eventually able to work his way back into the league after several failed stints, and hopefully, Wright can do the same in due time.