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Joel Payamps $2.25M Deal Was A Costly Mistake For Braves
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- Joel Payamps $2.25M Deal Was A Costly Mistake For Braves
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Saying "I told you so" feels good until you realize the bad thing happened anyway. That is exactly how it feels looking at Joel Payamps and the Atlanta Braves. In the offseason, a guaranteed contract at non-league minimum was offered to this journeyman right-hander by the team. It was a $2.25 million contract. The Braves felt confident enough to hand over that cash. Payamps barely made it to May before they cut bait. No other team bothered to claim him once he hit the market. It would have been better if they went in another direction from the start.
The Costly Bet On A Journeyman
The path to this mistake started when the moribund 2025 Braves claimed Payamps on waivers. They were in the middle of a horrible season at that time. He could have stayed, but the team removed him from the 40-man roster in November. Payamps elected free agency. Approximately two weeks afterward, the Braves presented him with a one-year, $2.25 million agreement. Per Battery Power , the expectations were murky for a 32-year-old from the Dominican Republic. He has been well-traveled as a relief arm. He started with the Rockies, then moved to the Diamondbacks. He faced DFA limbo with the Red Sox and Blue Jays. He got traded to the Royals and claimed by the Athletics. He even ended up in the trade that sent Sean Murphy to Atlanta and William Contreras to Milwaukee. Payamps went from Oakland to Milwaukee in that deal.
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The Brewers kept him for a few seasons and saw a breakout. But they moved on late in 2025. A transaction log like Payamps suggests interest but not enough for a team to fight to keep him. His career stats back this up. Entering the 2026 season, he possessed 2.2 fWAR accumulated over 269 career innings. His ERA-, FIP-, and xFIP- line sat at 81/95/100. That is a solid line for a low-leverage arm, yet no one was invested in employing him long-term. Over half of his 2.2 fWAR came in a 2023 breakout. He threw 70 2/3 innings that year with 1.5 fWAR. The 2024 season was worse but still okay. Milwaukee released him in September because performance finally improved during 2025.
Projections Were Right All Along
When you put the pieces together, Payamps was projected for replacement level by Steamer. ZiPS saw him as playable but below average. The reasons behind the Braves' decision to offer him a guaranteed major league deal remain unknown to me. The numbers did not scream starter. The history did not scream reliability. He was a high-risk throwaway piece that somehow got a paycheck. The Brewers held him during his best years, and even they let him go. The Braves thought they could squeeze more value out of a pitcher everyone else had already used up. That logic failed fast. He was cut by May, and the market ignored him completely.
It is hard to defend a $2.25 million spend on a player who lasted four months. The money could have gone to a younger arm with upside. It could have gone to a veteran with a proven track record. Instead, it went to a guy who bounced from seven teams in a few years. The "I told you so" moment is real, but the pain of the wasted cash is worse. The Braves need to stop trusting players who have already been discarded by their peers. A journeyman log like Payamps is a warning sign, not a green light. The season is done, and this specific experiment ended in a quick release.
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The next major event for the franchise comes in November. The MLB Awards will be announced on November 11 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. That night's ceremony presents the Relievers of the Year awards for Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman. The team will also see the All-MLB First and Second Teams selections. Those are the dates that matter now. The Payamps chapter is closed, and the money is gone.
