In 2022, Kyle Wright was a major part of the Atlanta Braves success. He led the National League in wins (21) and posted a 3.19 ERA. Unfortunately, Wright’s narrative changed in 2023.
This past season, Kyle Wright only made 9 appearances for the Braves. He started 7 games and was brought out of the bullpen twice as part of an unsuccessful experiment. After going 1-3 with a 6.97 ERA and walking 17 batters in just 31 innings, everyone knew something was not right.
It turned out that Wright was dealing with some shoulder issues. After a two-inning outing against the Miami Marlins on May 3rd, he did not see the mound again until September 11th because of this injury.
The Braves were excited to add Wright back to the starting rotation at the time and thought it would be a major boost heading into the postseason. It turned out to be quite the opposite. Kyle Wright was thrown straight into the fire upon his return as he had to face the Philadelphia Phillies lineup.
He got tagged for 6 earned runs in just 3.0 innings in that game and seemed to never recover. It turned out that a shoulder injury had a lot to do with Wright’s decline in performance. Eventually, he underwent surgery and will be sidelined for the entirety of the 2024 season.
Wright's time with the Braves came to an end as he was sent to the Kansas City Royals along with Nick Anderson in exchange for Jackson Kowar. Kowar was then flipped to the Seattle Mariners for Jarred Kelenic who will likely be the Braves every day left fielder next season.
Moving Wright was a tough decision for the Braves to make considering his contributions to the organization in recent years. However, this essentially allowed Atlanta to fill the need in left field that Eddie Rosario and Kevin Pillar vacated. We wish Kyle Wright a speedy recovery and success when he returns for the Royals.