A lot of guys got cups of coffee with the Braves this year, including some true cups of coffee (just one appearance). Hunter Stratton added some nuance: not only did he get a true Braves cup of coffee, but he was part of two trades following that.
How Acquired
Stratton was a midseason trade acquisition by the Braves in 2025, acquired for minor league outfielder Titus Dumitru and cash on July 1, after the Pirates designated him for assignment in late June of that year.
The moribund Braves had him ride the shuttle
quite heavily that year, as he was recalled five times in the span if two months.
What were the expectations?
Stratton had a nice-ish 2024 (0.7 fWAR in 37 2/3 innings, 84 ERA-, 80 FIP-, 98 xFIP-), but his season abruptly ended when he ruptured his patellar tendon running to cover home plate after a wild pitch. Given his injury status, the Pirates non-tendered him and re-signed him to a minor league deal; he was still working his way back from the injury with just (awful) appearances in 2025 when the Pirates sent him to the Braves.
Stratton worked 16 1/3 innings with the Braves down the stretch in 2025, but aside from a low ERA, he didn’t really offer anything of interest (52 ERA-, 102 FIP-, 110 xFIP-). His story in Triple-A was the same: an undeservedly low ERA and nothing else particularly great. However, he was on the 40-man roster, which meant he’d be yo-yo-level depth for the Braves in 2026, unless they needed his 40-man roster spot. Stratton was projected to be perhaps a below-average reliever, but not one the Braves were going to devote a dedicated bullpen spot to.
2026 Results
Stratton spent the first month of the season at Gwinnett; the Braves called him up on May 1. He got into one game: May 2, against the Rockies, where he threw the top of the ninth in a blowout win (strikeout, single, double play). The Braves optioned him to Gwinnett the next day; he spent another six-ish weeks there before the Braves decided they did need his 40-man roster spot, and designated him for assignment.
In a twist of fate, the next day, the Braves traded him for former teammate Joey Bart, who was the guy who couldn’t corral the wild pitch that led to Stratton’s season-ending injury in 2024 and may have altered the course of his career.
Then, things got a bit weird: the Pirates basically activated him from the minors to pitch two times in three games against the Braves, and then sent him down again. Basically, Stratton made three MLB appearances in 2026, and all three involved the Braves. At the Trade Deadline, the Pirates then traded him again, this time for the Padres’ Andrew Moore, a very fringy relief prospect. The Padres didn’t call up Stratton over the course of the season, but he remains on their 40-man roster.
All in all, Stratton’s three-appearance 2026 was kind of the reverse of his recent appearance, in a tiny sample: he had 0.1 fWAR, but with a 125 ERA-, 31 FIP-, and 42 xFIP-.
What went right?
Well, he actually pitched pretty well in two of his three outings, and actually earned a shutdown in a losing effort against the Braves in his final MLB appearance of the year. He came in with a four-run deficit and more on base and benefited from a fielder’s choice to end that frame. Then, after the Pirates scored two in the next frame, he shut the Braves down with a couple of strikeouts — but the Braves later turned it into a blowout anyway.
Plus, amid all the moves, Stratton retains his 40-man roster spot, so he seems likely-ish to pitch in the majors again in 2027, provided that there’s a 2027 season and he actually keeps said 40-man roster spot.
What went wrong?
For a second consecutive year, no one really seemed interested in giving Stratton a lot of runway at the MLB level. Part of it is that he just hasn’t done enough in the minors since his knee injury to make him an exciting callup. In 2026 at Triple-A, he had an ERA and estimators all in the 4.00s for the Braves; they were good in a few games with Triple-A Indianapolis (Pirates) but, with the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres), all he could muster was another low ERA, poor estimators line.
Another issue for Stratton is just that his arsenal doesn’t make him an appealing add. His fastball is hard but lacks the “rise” you’d expect given its velocity, and the fact that deadens any fade on it means that it ends up looking very similar to his hard cutter. His slider has great shape and maybe he’d benefit from throwing a billion of them and nothing else, but there’s also a command issue there. Until he straightens some stuff out (but not literally; that fastball is straight enough), yo-yo guy might be Stratton’s role.
2027 Outlook
The Padres have a pretty top-heavy bullpen at this point, led by best-reliever-in-baseball Mason Miller, but they don’t have a lot of interesting depth, such that Stratton currently projects to have a decent workload at replacement level. Of course, the Padres will probably make some additions, which will cost Stratton his presumed spot if they happen. That said, there are many worse bullpens out there, so someone could probably use him to eat innings, whether he figures out how to be more effective or not, a la the Braves in 2025. But, given the way team control works in MLB, he’s not guaranteed to stick with a team like that, unless the Padres decide to move on.
