Atlanta Braves outright David Fletcher

6:09pm: According to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via X), Fletcher’s pact includes an advance consent clause that authorizes Atlanta to send him to the minors. Even though he has served more than five years, if he chooses free agency, he will forfeit any remaining income. He’ll thus report to Gwinnett and attempt to make his way back to the majors.

1:50pm: The Braves confirmed Thursday that veteran infielder David Fletcher was unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A. Fletcher began the season with 4.168 years of service time, which meant he just needed four days to hit the five-year milestone. He did this during his eight-day stint on the 40-man roster, thus he now has the five years of service required to reject an outright assignment and keep his salary. He is guaranteed $6MM this season, with another $6.5MM owed in 2025 and at least a $1.5MM buyout on a 2026 club option.

Fletcher, 29, appeared in five games for the Braves and made nine plate appearances, going 2-for-8 with two singles. His removal from the 40-man roster presumably heralds the impending return of second baseman Ozzie Albies, who has been on the injured list with a fractured toe but is scheduled to rejoin the active roster for this weekend’s games.

Fletcher joined the Braves after a series of confusing offseason trades that resulted in them effectively purchasing Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners. Atlanta took on the underwater contracts of Evan White and Marco Gonzales in order to acquire Kelenic, returning righty Jackson Kowar (on whom they had taken a chance in a deal with the Royals) and former second-round choice Cole Phillips, who has yet to throw since being drafted due to injury. Gonzales was transferred to the Pirates, with the Braves absorbing three-quarters of his $12 million contract. In another financially motivated move, White was traded to the Halos for Fletcher and Max Stassi (who was also on an underwater contract); Stassi was quickly traded to the White Sox for an unnamed player. Atlanta covered all but the league minimum on Stassi’s remaining salary (a net of about $6.26MM for the Braves).

After all of this, Fletcher may simply go on. The Braves initially planned to deploy the versatile, defensive-minded veteran as their primary utility infielder. However, Atlanta eventually signed Luis Guillorme to replace that position later in the offseason. Guillorme will return to the bench after replacing Albies at second base, leaving Fletcher with no apparent path to playing time. If he rejects the assignment, other teams in need of infield help may choose Fletcher, who will only be owed the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be deducted from what the Braves owed him.

Fletcher signed a five-year, $26MM extension with the Angels on the heels of a .298/.356/.395 showing from 2019-20 — a productive stretch at the plate during which he fanned at a tiny 10.1% clip and played superb defense between three infield spots (second base, third base, shortstop). He’s since floundered at the dish, however, batting just .259/.295/.326 in 999 plate appearances. Fletcher’s bat-to-ball skills have actually improved (8.6% strikeout rate), but his quality of contact has plummeted and rendered him an unimpactful player in the batter’s box.