The Braves gave veteran infielder Kyle Farmer the opportunity to return to his hometown of Atlanta. They didn't give him much of an opportunity to do much else, though, as Farmer spent most of the season on the big league roster but barely played.
The Braves brought in Kyle Farmer as a free agent in early February 2026 before releasing and then re-signing him in March. The nine-year MLB veteran had spent the 2025 season with the Colorado Rockies.
Farmer was added as an end-of-bench utility option that could provide infield depth, including shortstop. The Braves were potentially interested because of Ha-Seong Kim's injury. Farmer also gave the team some additional outfield depth and, having limited MLB experience at catcher earlier in his career, was able to serve as the de facto third catcher when on the active roster.
As a player who'd seen action in 97 or more games in every non-2020 season since 2019, Farmer seemed to be in line to see a decent amount of action as a pinch-hitter and reserve. That said, he had an awful 2025 (-1.0 fWAR in 300 PAs), which interrupted a streak of fine-if-below-average performances in 2021-2024. Put those things together and he was projected to be above replacement-ish, but nothing resembling solid bench production or anything like that.
Farmer made the Opening Day roster but saw limited action until landing on the IL in mid-May. Limited action is kind of overselling it: in about six weeks, he got 15 PAs across ten games. He returned on July 4, got one PA across two games, and then was released on the 21st of the same month. He then came back on a minor league deal and returned to the big league club when rosters expanded on September 1, getting three PAs in two games down the stretch.
Add that all up, and he appeared in only 14 games during the season, his lowest total since debuting with the Los Angles Dodgers in 2017. He mustered only 19 plate appearances, slashing .222/.211/.278 (25 wRC+) with three RBI. Defensively, he appeared at third base, second base and shortstop and didn't do anything to distinguish himself in a tiny sample. He finished 2026 with -0.1 fWAR, his second consecutive sub-replacement season.
Farmer was able to spend most of the season on the big league roster — only about six weeks was he on a minor league deal — but otherwise it was a very quiet campaign for the 36-year-old. He only started one game: April 30 at home against the Detroit Tigers, when he went 1-for-3 as the team's DH. That was the most WPA he earned on the season, too (0.03), as his second-inning single helped push across the first run of the game. If that wasn't his most notable game, then it was probably his 1-for-3 performance against Cleveland on April 12 when he doubled and knocked in two runs after pinch-hitting for DH Dom Smith.
The fact that the organization kept him on the active roster while avoiding giving him playing time likely speaks to how the team valued his off-the-field contributions.
After May 15, Farmer only appeared in four games with Atlanta — two in July and two in September. Given he only played in 10 of the team's first 45 games, the lack of playing time stands out given he'd been a regular or highly-used reserve for the prior seven seasons. He went hitless for the remainder of the season after singling on April 30. Could the Braves have found a better use for his roster spot? That's probably the biggest "what went wrong" with regard to his season, though given that the Braves won 94 games, it's not a huge concern.
WPA-wise, his worst performance came during a meaningless contest against the Marlins on September 27. Farmer replaced Ozzie Albies and went 0-for-2, including a strikeout with two out and the tying run on base in the seventh.
Atlanta has serious questions at shortstop with Kim unlikely to return after a disastrous season, and Mauricio Dubón a free agent. The team has multiple shortstop prospects, but they are all likely at least a season away. The team tends to hoard middle infielders at Gwinnett, so it isn't out of the question that Farmer might return to the organization on a minor league deal if a better opportunity doesn't come knocking, or if he doesn't retire.
Farmer could serve minor league depth or in a big league role similar to the one he had in 2026 — and one Luke Williams held for several seasons — a utility man capable of handling shortstop as a reserve and serving as an emergency catcher. That said, it's now been two years since Farmer actually provided any value to a team, and he's now a half-decade removed from his one solidly average season, so, much like 2026 — if any team rosters him, it probably isn't for what he can provide on the field.
