Braves strike supremely odd trade with the Rays as offseason hits fever pitch

We are finally starting to get a lot of movement this offseason. Now that the posting windows for Japanese players like Tatsuya Imai and Munetaka Murakami have resolved themselves and we also had the Cubs mercifully take Alex Bregman off the market, it feels like there are fewer and fewer non-Boras impediments to the market really getting moving. However, the Atlanta Braves decided to not jump back into the chaos and took...an alternative path on Monday.

Managing one's roster can be tricky especially with as many minor moves and waiver claims as the Braves have made. Obviously not everyone was even going to survive heading into spring training, but those sorts of moves usually come via designating guys for assignment.

Instead, the Braves jettisoned two guys most fans have never heard of in Ken Waldichuk and Brett Wisely in a less conventional way by trading both of them to the Rays for what amounts to a mystery box.

Braves trade Ken Waldichuk and Brett Wisely in curiously timed roster management move

You are forgiven if you were not familiar with Waldichuk or Wisely. Wisely had a grand total of nine plate appearances for the Braves in 2025 and was strictly a minor league depth piece. As for Waldichuk, the Braves only claimed him off of waivers a few days ago and they already found a new home for him.

The Rays get a couple of somewhat interesting players for basically nothing unless the cash/player to be named later is much more substantial than is expected, but what is in it for Atlanta other than a little more spending money in their pocket. Well, making this trade now gives the Braves two more roster spots to play with and there may be other guys out there that interest them more. One can hope that includes a big move, but the more logical explanation is that some minor targets are on their radar and they wanted the space to add them if they so chose.

In short, this feels like the move the Braves would make before they made a more substantial one even if it only amounts to minor upgrades. What those moves will actually be (or if there is an alternative explanation) should become apparent in the coming days or weeks.