The Braves made the move official Sunday, per MLB Trade Rumors: Danny Young designated for assignment, Ray Kerr selected to the active roster. It's a quiet transaction on paper, but it says a lot about where Atlanta's bullpen stands as the calendar creeps toward September.
Young's season looked fine at a glance, but the underlying numbers were flashing warning signs. He posted a sharp 2.08 ERA across 12 July appearances, but August was a disaster — 9 earned runs on 9 hits in just 3⅔ innings over 4 outings. He'd also stranded an unsustainable 95.6% of baserunners in July, the kind of number that regresses hard once the walks (he issued 8 in July, matching his strikeout total) catch up. The 32-year-old lefty was still working his way back from just 20⅔ innings pitched since 2025 following reconstructive elbow surgery, and the sample ran out before the results held up.
Because Young has under 2 years of service time, he can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if he clears waivers — though that would cost him the rest of his $925K salary for major league time on his split deal. Whether he sticks in the organization now is out of his hands until waivers play out.
Kerr's path back is the more interesting story. The 31-year-old lefty signed with the Braves in 2024, but his season ended with Tommy John surgery after a rough 5.64 ERA stretch, and he didn't pitch at all in 2025 while rehabbing. He returned to game action in mid-July, worked through 4 minor league affiliates including Triple-A Gwinnett, and posted a 3.09 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 11⅔ innings to force his way back onto Atlanta's radar. It's a full-circle moment — 2 years removed from surgery, back with the club that first brought him in.
This isn't a marquee trade or a big free-agent signing, but it's exactly the kind of margin move contending teams make in August: cutting bait on a reliever whose peripherals were about to blow up, and betting on a healthy arm with swing-and-miss stuff even in low minor league innings. The move also opens a 40-man roster spot for Atlanta, giving the front office a little more flexibility heading toward the trade deadline aftermath and the stretch run.
Watch to see if Kerr gets low-leverage work first before Brian Snitker trusts him in bigger spots, and keep an eye on the waiver wire to see whether Young lands elsewhere or bets on himself in free agency.