Was payroll the reason the Braves traded Kyle Wright?

To this point, the most shocking move of the offseason was the Braves decision to trade Kyle Wright to the Royals.

A 21-game winner in 2022 that also delivered one of the most memorable postseason starts for the Braves in recent memory, Wright battled shoulder injuries in 2023 and was eventually shut down for the season. It was later revealed he would need shoulder surgery and will miss most, if not all of 2024 as well. That was a brutal blow to the Braves’ starting pitching depth, but I don’t think anybody believed he was going to be traded for a pitcher with a 9.12 ERA in 39 appearances this offseason.

The only reason I can think of for the trade is that his shoulder is completely broken, and the Braves feel like it will be almost impossible for him to be the same pitcher he was a year ago. Maybe we’ll learn that is the case in the future, but right now, I still can’t wrap my head around the decision, and it seems neither can Kyle Wright.

“I was definitely caught off guard, that’s for sure, and wasn’t expecting it,” Wright said, via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “But it is what it is.”

“I think a lot of different emotions all at once. Frustrated, sad. And I think after I got off the phone, you kind of get excited about the future. I think that is the one thing, is you gotta be careful not to look back too much, and gotta look forward with it. But I think I was definitely upset and pretty beat up about it for a little bit. I grew up a Braves fan, so being able to wear the Braves jersey was a big deal to me. Just made a lot of great friends. (I had) great coaches, training staff – just a lot of good people in the (organization). But that’s probably what I was most bummed about, is that I wouldn’t be with those guys every day anymore.”

Wright may be unavailable for 2024, but he is under contract through 2026 and is only projected to make $1-2 million in arbitration this year. It’s not like the Braves saved a bunch of money by moving him, but according to Wright, Anthopoulos told him the decision came down to dollars and cents.

“Pretty much that he had a number that he was given from up top, and that’s what he had to work with. I definitely wasn’t the only one,” Wright said. “There were a lot of guys that were moved on from. That was the main thing, at least from what he told me, was just trying to clear out as much cap space as possible to get that number. He’s gotta do a job, too, try to improve the team however he can. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a part of it. But it is what it is sometimes.”

Hearing this from Wright, I think I’m actually more confused than I was when the trade originally occurred. Perhaps Anthopoulos didn’t want to tell him, ‘Hey man, your shoulder is ripped to shreds. We don’t think you’re ever going to be the same guy again, so we’re not even going to pay you a couple of million bucks to see this thing through.’

A couple of million dollars was never going to impact what the Braves do this offseason. They are once again going to go over the luxury tax threshold, and we know they were one of the most aggressive teams in pursuit of Aaron Nola, who took less money and signed a seven-year, $172 million deal with the Phillies.

There are also tons of reports tying the Braves to Sonny Gray, and there are even some suggesting the Braves will be “in on” Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who will likely garner more than $200 million in free agency.

All signs point to the Braves having plenty of money at their disposal, yet they didn’t want to pay $1-2 million to see if Kyle Wright could bounce back from shoulder surgery. That’s pretty telling about the state of the injury.

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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire