A big consideration that the Atlanta Braves and every other team in the league makes when constructing their big league roster is having players who still have minor league options available. Every player starts their career with three minor league options and once they are added to the 40-man roster, the first move each season that sends them to the minors for longer than 20 days will eat one of those options for good.
Minor league options represent roster flexibility, especially when it comes to rotating fresh arms in and out over the course of a long season. If a player is out of minor league options and the Braves want to sent them down, they must designate them for assignment and risk losing them on the waiver wire. Unfortunately, the Braves do have some issues at the moment with a lack of options that are likely to be exercised at any point, but spring training should provide some more clarity as time goes on.
Below, you will find the players currently on the Braves' 40-man roster that still have minor league options and how many they have available. All of the information on remaining Braves options comes from the fine folks at Fangraphs and their extremely useful Roster Resource page for the Braves, so send your angry emails to them if you disagree with the exact numbers here.
Braves players with minor league options on the 40-man roster
Which Braves players have 3 minor league options remaining?
Austin Riley, 3B
Michael Harris II, OF
Sean Murphy, C
Spencer Strider, RHP
Bryce Elder, RHP
Penn Murfee, RHP
Forrest Wall, OF
Daysbel Hernandez, RHP
As you can see, there is not a lot of options flexibility right from the start. Riley, Harris, Murphy, and Strider are pretty much locks to stay in the big leagues for the foreseeable future unless something truly tragic happens. Murfee would be a nice flexible option to have in the fold, but he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and is going to be starting the 2024 season on the injured list.
Two names to circle in this group are Bryce Elder and Daysbel Hernandez. Both are arms with multiple minor league options, so their inclusion on the big league roster would still allow the Braves to rotate them in and out as needed especially since neither has yet to truly cement their statuses. Forrest Wall having three options is also pretty helpful when it comes to having some bench flexibility over the course of the season.
Which Braves players have 2 minor league options remaining?
JP Martinez, OF
AJ Smith-Shawver, RHP
Dylan Dodd, LHP
Darius Vines, RHP
Allan Winans, RHP
Dylan Lee, LHP
This is an interesting group as none of these guys are locks to stay in the big leagues just yet. AJ Smith-Shawver may be the closest to winning a big league roster spot outright out of camp, but don't sleep on Dylan Dodd, Darius Vines, or Allan Winans as rotation choices as all saw time in the big leagues in 2023 and all have multiple minor league options still available.
The bullpen gets the short end of the stick here, but that certainly helps Dylan Lee's case for being on the big league roster. Lee has been a very productive lefty reliever for the Braves when he has been healthy. Assuming he is ready to go this spring after having a cleanup procedure on his shoulder last fall, his pair of minor league options could be appealing to the Braves.
Which Braves players have 1 minor league option remaining?
Jarred Kelenic, OF
Ian Anderson, RHP
Huascar Ynoa, RHP
Finally, we come to the Braves' 40-man players that have just one minor league option left and it is a pretty small group. Jarred Kelenic is the big name here as he is new to the Braves and clearly the 2024 season is a big one for him. Assuming he plays anywhere close to his potential, his final minor league option should remain.
Ian Anderson has one option left, but that won't come into play for a while as he will start the season on the IL while he rehabs from Tommy John. However, once he is ready to return, the Braves will have to make a decision as to whether or not to use that option or move him altogether. Huascar Ynoa is an interesting case as he could figure into the Braves' rotation or bullpen plans this year. Having just the one option left is kind of a bummer, but he would at least be a more flexible roster option than a lot of the arms the Braves have at their disposal.