The Atlanta Braves are widely considered to be selling at this year's trade deadline and for good reason. Not only do the Braves sport one of the worst records in baseball at the moment, but their entire Opening Day rotation is on the injured list and Ronald Acuña Jr. just joined them with a scary Achilles injury. There isn't any real hope for a turnaround and most think that Atlanta will ship out many of their pending reliever agent relievers before the trade deadline. As to who will replace them, we have at least one answer now.
In a surprise move, if for no other reason being that this arm's existence may have only been known inside the state of Colorado, the Braves swung a trade with the Rockies for reliever Tyler Kinley.
The Braves have reportedly acquired RHP Tyler Kinley in a trade with the Rockies. pic.twitter.com/xJ7CxRpf0J
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 30, 2025
Braves add some needed bullpen depth with trade for unsung reliever Tyler Kinley
Kinley was not prohibitively expensive as the Braves only sent relief prospect Austin Smith to the Rockies. In addition to sporting a 5.66 ERA in 49 appearances with the Rockies, Kinley could be a free agent after the 2025 season unless the Braves decide to exercise his $5 million option for 2026. Again, this move is about surviving the rest of the season, though there is some upside to it if Kinley pitches well.
That said, Kinley's Statcast profile is not uninteresting. While his walk rate is not ideal, Kinley's breaking stuff grades out pretty well and he generally limits hard contact really well and gets batters to chase his stuff.
Again, expectations should be low here and acquiring Kinley doesn't actually change the Braves' trajectory at the deadline. Making this move backfills one of what will likely be multiple openings in their bullpen with an arm that Atlanta can keep for next year if they want to. We don't know where guys like Raisel Iglesias and potentially Pierce Johnson are going to end up, but this is the first domino to fall here.