Tyler Kinley comes back from the IL

This move was to make room for AJ Smith-Shawver on the active roster, but they didn’t need to clear a spot on their 40-man for such. Kinley has a palatable 4.01 ERA and fastball that can still sit near 95 mph, despite trending in the wrong direction over the last few years. It’s plausible that another team would pick the 35-year-old righty up off waivers.

Kinley will head back to his role in middle relief. He remains off fantasy radars.

Kinley, 35, will be away from the team for up to three days. The right-hander will go handle bigger things than baseball while James Karinchak takes his spot in the bullpen.

Kinley has been a solid reliever for the Braves this season, posting a 3.18 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 31/10 K/BB ratio in 28 1/3 innings. There’s no word yet on how long he may be sidelined.

The deal, which is now official, includes a $1.25 million buyout, which guarantees Kinley at least $4.25 million to return to Atlanta’s high-leverage mix just a few weeks after the club declined his $5.5 million option for 2026. The 34-year-old veteran reliever finished last season with a respectable 3.96 ERA — 3.69 FIP — 1.18 WHIP and 73/33 K/BB ratio across a career-high 72 2/3 innings split between the Rockies and Braves. He’ll help bridge the gap to Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias along with new high-priced setup man Robert Suarez.

Feinsand adds that the deal includes a $5.5 million club option for 2027 that carries a $1.25 million buyout. Kinley returns to Atlanta’s high-leverage mix just a few weeks after the club declined his $5.5 million option for 2026. The 34-year-old veteran reliever finished last season with a respectable 3.96 ERA — 3.69 FIP — 1.18 WHIP and 73/33 K/BB ratio across a career-high 72 2/3 innings split between the Rockies and Braves. He’ll help bridge the gap to Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias along with new high-priced setup man Robert Suarez.

Now official. This feels like two years ago when the Braves made a similarly odd decision to decline a $5.75 million option on Kirby Yates, giving him a $1.25 million buyout instead. Kinley, who gets a $750,000 buyout, probably won’t have a 2026 like Yates did with the Rangers in 2024, but it seemed like a pretty easy call to bring him back after his great finish in Atlanta; he had a 0.72 ERA in 25 innings after being acquired from the Rockies.

This is quite the surprise, and one would think they still might be able to flip him for a minor prospect or at least get out of paying his $750,000 buyout. If not, he’ll become a free agent. Freed from Colorado at the deadline, Kinley went on to allow just two runs in 25 innings out of the Braves pen.

Entering Wednesday night’s game, Kinley had a 0.41 ERA and 0.73 WHIP in 22 appearances with Atlanta. “Needless to say, the Braves are planning to exercise a $5 million option on Kinley’s contract for 2026 rather than pay the $750,000 buyout.” The 34-year-old could be a key reliever at the back end of the bullpen next season.

Kinley has been pitching well as of late, with a 1.98 ERA over his last 13 appearances. It’s still a little surprising to see Atlanta as buyers since they’re 16 games out of the NL East lead. It’s worth noting Kinley’s club option for 2026 is only $5 million with a $750,000 buyout, so this is more of an audition to see if Kinley can help the team in 2026 than anything.