Today’s the deadline for decisions to be made on player/club options and we’ve already seen the Braves make a couple of very interesting decisions on Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley, respectively. There is one choice that appears to be a no-brainer and that’s the decision to decline an $8 million team option for INF/P David Fletcher. Mark Bowman of MLB.com is reporting (well, mentioned off-handedly in a tweet thread) that the Braves will not be bringing back Fletcher to the organization on a club option next
season.
Again, this was a no-brainer. David Fletcher only made five appearances for the Braves at the major league level back in 2024 and spent the entirety of the 2025 season in Atlanta’s farm system, as he spent the vast majority of his time with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers while also playing for the Double-A Columbus Clingstones for a spell. There was a little bit of fascination with Fletcher when the Braves decided to experiment with him as a pitcher but that experiment didn’t amount to much. He put up a 6.39 ERA and a 5.92 FIP over 100 innings pitched in 2024 and followed that up with a grand total of one relief inning for the Stripers in 2025.
No matter where he was at or how he was deployed, he didn’t hit much. Fletcher hit .185/.233/.258 with a .229 wOBA, 34 wRC+ and three home runs at the minor league level this season. While he is known for being a decent defender, those paltry numbers at the plate explain why the Braves chose to keep him stashed in the minors during his time here. Fletcher was paid $6.5 million for the past two seasons, which was fantastic for Fletcher. On the flip side, the Braves will surely be happy to have that much money available to play with now instead of going to a minor leaguer.
Meanwhile, the Braves also outrighted Austin Cox, Joel Payamps, Chuckie Robinson and Carlos D. Rodriguez to Triple-A Gwinnett, so there’s that. A busy day continues.
