The Atlanta Braves' offseason of adding depth continued on Friday afternoon as the club announced they had claimed right-handed pitcher Amos Willingham from their division rivals, the Washington Nationals. To make room for the 26-year-old on the 40-man roster, the Braves opted to designate Allan Winans for assignment
Willingham had been designated for assignment after the Nationals signed Jorge Lopez on January 17.
The #Braves today claimed RHP Amos Willingham off waivers from the Washington Nationals and designated RHP Allan Winans for assignment.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) January 17, 2025
Why the Braves swapped out starting depth for Amos Willingham
At first glance, Amos Willingham's resumé is unimpressive, aside from his 80-grade name. The 26-year-old has appeared in 19 games over the past two seasons for the Nationals, with all but one of those innings coming in 2023.
The Georgia native has a 7.11 ERA in his 25.1 big league innings and an even worse 7.79 FIP. In the majors, he's struggled with the long ball and punching out hitters. However, his minor league performance is a little more promising. In his two seasons in AAA, the righty has a 3.47 ERA and has been much better about keeping the ball in the ballpark with his 0.6 HR/9, as well as punching out batters, with a 9.0 K/9 across 93.1 AAA innings.
Willingham's pitch arsenal contains a 97.7 MPH fastball, a 94.1 MPH cutter, and a 86.3 MPH slider. Unlike Allan Winans, who turns 30 during the 2025 season, Willingham' velocity gives Atlanta a little more to play around with.
Winans originally joined the Braves organization in the 2021-2022 offseason in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. While he had pitched well in AAA to the tune of a 3.06 ERA across 241 innings oveer the last two seasons, things in the majors hadn't gone as well.
Winans 90.1 MPH fastball velocity registered in the 4th percentile in 2024, according to Baseball Savant. While his command likely plays well in AAA, he struggled in his eight career MLB starts with the Braves, as he got lit up for 32 runs in 40 innings (7.20 ERA).
Of course, Winans could remain in the organization if he goes unclaimed, providing another starter option along with Ian Anderson, AJ Smith-Shawver, Hursten Waldrep, Bryce Elder, and Grant Holmes.
WIllingham will likely serve as AAA depth for the Braves, which will give them a little more bullpen flexibility than they've had in recent years, as the righty still has one option remaining.