Braves trade for Rockies reliever and designate Enyel De Los Santos
Credit: AP
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Braves added to their bullpen Wednesday by acquiring veteran reliever Tyler Kinley from the Colorado Rockies. In exchange, the Braves sent minor leaguer Austin Smith to Colorado.
To make room for the right-handed Kinley, the team removed reliever Enyel De Los Santos from the 40-man roster and designated him for assignment.
The 34-year-old Kinley had a 5.66 ERA in 47⅔ innings with the Rockies. He had a WHIP of 1.448. Not surprisingly, he had a considerably better ERA on the road this season (4.28) than he did at Coors Field (7.52). Kinley’s contract has a club option for 2026 for $5 million. In his eight-year MLB career, he has an ERA of 5.08.
Smith, 26, has been a part of the Braves system since 2021, when he was drafted in the 18th round out of Arizona. He had pitched most of this season with Double-A Columbus, where he had a 5.40 ERA in 20 innings.
De Los Santos’ DFA followed a rough outing Tuesday night, when he gave up four hits and a walk in 1⅔ innings, giving up three runs and allowing two inherited runners to score. In 43 appearances — third most on the team — De Los Santos had a 4.53 ERA in 43⅔ innings with a 1.305 WHIP. In his final 15 appearances, his ERA was 8.16 and his WHIP was 2.023.
De Los Santos signed a one-year, $1.4 million contract with the Braves before the season.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
