Braves re-sign pitcher Joel Payamps

The Atlanta Braves announced that they have signed right-hander Joel Payamps to a one-year, $2.2M deal.  Payamps is represented by Equity Baseball.

After Payamps was designated for assignment by the Brewers in September, Atlanta stepped in to claim the righty on waivers, and Payamps logged two appearances and 2 2/3 innings with his new team before the season’s end.  The Braves then outrighted Payamps off their 40-man roster and (since he has been previously outrighted in his career) he elected free agency rather than accept the assignment.

The move was essentially an early non-tender on the Braves’ part, as Payamps was projected to earn $3.4M in his second trip through the arbitration process.  This new contract brings Payamps back into the fold on a lower price tag, and a number that the Braves were surely more comfortable paying in the wake of a disappointing 2025 season for the veteran reliever.

Payamps posted okay but unremarkable numbers over his first four big league seasons before taking things up a notch as a member of Milwaukee’s bullpen in 2023-24.  The reliever posted a 2.78 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate, and 6.7% walk rate over 129 2/3 innings, emerging as a trusted setup man in front of closer Devin Williams.

In 2025, however, Payamps’ effectiveness suddenly went south, with a 6.84 ERA, 20.5 K%, and a 7.7 BB% over 26 1/3 combined innings with the Brewers and Braves.  While his 4.16 SIERA was nothing special, it at least reflected some of the misfortune (such as a .346 BABIP and a 60.4% strand rate) that went into Payamps’ performance.

The Braves are investing $2.25M in the idea that Payamps can regain his old form with a change of scenery.  Payamps is out of minor league options and thus can’t be sent to Triple-A without first being designated for assignment, though his guaranteed contract provides leverage for the team.  Because Payamps has less than five full years of MLB service time, he would have to forfeit any remaining guaranteed salary if he refused another outright assignment in favor of free agency.  The added salary might also act as a bit of a deterrent for other teams who might otherwise be interested in claiming Payamps off waivers following a DFA.

Payamps was one of several arb-eligible players (along with the likes of Alek Manoah, Vidal Brujan, and Jake Fraley) picked up later in the season by the Braves, as the club was basically getting an early start on its offseason by auditioning some intriguing depth candidates.  Manoah was non-tendered and Fraley was waived, but Brujan agreed to an arbitration-avoiding contract and now Payamps is back in the mix.

If the 2023-24 version of Payamps resurfaces, Atlanta has added a solid bullpen arm at a budget price.  The Braves also re-signed Raisel Iglesias to return as closer, and more relief additions seem likely given the continued uncertainty over Joe Jimenez’s health status.  It is possible Iglesias could be the priciest of the Braves’ bullpen adds, as the team might prefer to save its larger dollars for the other needs and aim for less-expensive hidden gems on the relief front.