The Atlanta Braves have been among the league's most active teams after the trade deadline in adding players off of waivers. Claiming Joey Wentz extremely well, so the Braves have gone on to claim reliever Connor Seabold (who was called up earlier Tuesday) as well as outfielder Vidal Brujan off of waivers as well. That tradition appears to be continuing with their latest waiver wire claim.
While Brujan seems to be a popular choice for teams looking for an outfielder with a pulse, his impact with Atlanta has been minimal. The Braves clearly think that they could use some more outfield depth as they just claimed Jake Fraley off of waivers from Cincinnati.
The #Braves today claimed OF Jake Fraley off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 19, 2025
Braves' bench looking like the Island of Misfit Toys after Jake Fraley claimed off waivers
As a depth piece, Atlanta could do worse than Fraley (like by continuing to use Brujan, for example). Fraley has a mediocre, but acceptable-for-a-bench-bat .719 OPS this season and seems as though he can play defense reasonably well while drawing some walks. Fraley also has some speed to work with, although that plan could have some problems given that Fraley recently injured his knee before the Reds cut him loose.
In a vacuum, this move is fine. It is nice that the front office is remaining active and trying to improve the team even with the playoffs nothing but a shattered dream now. Atlanta's clubhouse surely appreciates the effort and perhaps that is Alex Anthopoulos' main objective right now. There is some value in that because, for better or worse, the guys in that locker room are going to be who the Braves are going to rely on in 2026 as well.
However, moves like this at this point in the season is also a reminder of how much the Braves have fallen. A couple years ago, Atlanta had more depth essentially everywhere than they knew what to do with. Now, they are having to scrap the bottom of the barrel just to field a roster through the rest of the season with all of their injuries and struggles.