Braves Land Righty On Minor League Deal

According to MLB.com’s transaction record, the Braves have re-signed righty Jackson Stephens to a new minor league contract.

He has been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett. Stephens had previously passed waivers and declined an outright assignment in favor of free agency. Ultimately, he will remain with the club for the time being, however the new contract may include fresh opt-out wording in the future.

Stephens pitched 3 1/3 innings for Atlanta earlier this season, giving one run on five hits and a walk with two strikeouts. The 30-year-old right-hander has spent the last three seasons in the Braves system, the majority of that time in Gwinnett. Since 2022, Stephens has a 3.52 ERA in 69 big league innings (3.78 FIP, 4.13 SIERA). Stephens’ 19.7% strikeout percentage and 9.5% walk rate are less enticing than the baseline earned run average, but he has been usually efficient for the Braves. He has achieved similar mid-3.00 ERA averages with Gwinnett dating back to 2022 as well.

Stephens, an 18th-round choice by the Reds in 2012, ranks as one of Cincinnati’s best promising arms through 2018. He pitched for the franchise that picked him for two seasons, recording a 4.83 ERA in 63 1/3 innings from 2017 to 2018. Stephens spent the entire 2019 season in the minors before becoming a free agent after the Reds outrighted him after the season. He missed the abbreviated 2020 season (as well as the canceled minor league season), then spent the 2021 season with the Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos before joining the Braves in the 2021-22 summer.

Stephens was born and raised in Oxford, Alabama, about 90 miles west of Atlanta, so it’s not surprise that he feels at home in the Braves organization. He could have found a minor league deal somewhere, maybe with a club with a less-established bullpen staff in the majors, but the proximity to home and the familiarity he’d formed in the organization over three years both likely drew him in. This summer, he’ll return to Gwinnett and attempt to pitch his way back onto the major league squad.