The Atlanta Braves have done such a good job building their bullpen for the 2026 season. It's become a real strength for the team. They've made some big moves, bringing back Raisel Iglesias and signing flamethrower Robert Suarez.
It will be a very tough backend of the bullpen for opponents to face. There will be some interesting options to use in the middle innings as well. Spring training will help give a better idea of how things will look on Opening Day.
Regardless, there are plenty of solid choices for manager Walt Weiss to choose from. Right-hander Joel Payamps is one of those intriguing options. Payamps had a brief stint with the Braves last season, but it was too short to gauge his effectiveness.
There is, however, plenty of potential for him to become a secret weapon for the Braves. He signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract for 2026. New pitching coach Jeremy Hefner will be tasked with unlocking the old version of Payamps next year.
Joel Payamps, Nasty Sliders. 😨 pic.twitter.com/kzohbcOSu0
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 20, 2023
Joel Payamps could be a lot of fun out of the Braves bullpen if he can regain his form
Payamps was incredibly effective during the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Brewers. He had a combined 2.78 ERA over 129.2 innings. This included a walk-to-strikeout ratio of 35:136. Those numbers will certainly play at the big league level.
Unfortunately, he struggled in 2025 and only appeared in 26.1 MLB innings between Atlanta and Milwaukee. Payamps had a 6.84 ERA, a 4.54 FIP, nine walks, and 24 strikeouts. The strikeout numbers were still very good, as well as his walk rate. Payamps fastball averages close to 95 mph and he pairs that with a slider that can be wicked. It would be nice to see Payamps embarrass the NL East all season long.
Payamps simply didn't miss a lot of barrels or induce a lot of chase. He excelled in those areas in 2023 and, if he can find that success again, the Braves will be thrilled. The good thing is that because he has less than five full years of MLB service time, he would have to forfeit any remaining salary if he refused an outright assignment in favor of free agency. So this gives Atlanta plenty of flexibility and no issues if they have to cut ties.