The Braves announced Thursday that veteran infielder David Fletcher went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A. Fletcher entered the season with 4.168 years of service time, meaning he needed only four days to reach the five-year mark. He accomplished that during his eight-day stretch on the 40 man roster, meaning he now has the five years of service needed to reject an outright assignment and retain his salary. He’s being paid a guaranteed $6 MM this season and is still owed $6.5MM in 2025 and at least a $1.5MM buyout on a 2026 club option.
Fletcher, 29, appeared in five games with the Braves and tallied nine plate appearances, going 2 for 8 with a pair of singles. His subtraction from the 40 man roster likely signals the looming return of second baseman Ozzie Al bies, who’s been on the injured list with a fractured toe but is expected to return to the active roster for this weekend’s series.
Fletcher came to the Braves amid a series of convoluted offseason trades that saw the Mariners effectively purchase Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners. Atlanta took on the underwater contracts of both Evan White and Marco Gonzales to get Kelenic, sending back righty Jackson Kowar (on whom they’d taken a flier in a trade with the Royals) and former second-round pick Cole Phillips, who’s yet to pitch since being drafted due to injury. Gonzales was traded to the Pirates, with the Braves absorbing three quarters of his $12 MM salary. White was traded to the Halos for Fletcher and Max Stassi (on an underwater contract himself) in another financially-motivated swap; Stassi was then quickly flipped to the White Sox for a player to be named later. Atlanta covered all but the league minimum on Stassi’s remaining salary (a net of about $6.26MM for the Braves).
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