The Atlanta Braves traded starting pitcher Kyle Wright, who won 20 games in 2022 and was thought to be one of the top pitchers in the NL prior to a debilitating shoulder injury last year, to the Kansas City Royals.
In acquiring Wright, the Royals cashed a lottery ticket. Wright's shoulder surgery is tough to come back from and will almost certainly knock him out of the 2024 season and some of 2025.
Atlanta received Jackson Kowar in return, a former failed Royals prospect who has yet to reach his potential. He'll be a key member of a revamped bullpen for the Braves.
While the Wright trade may look like the Braves remaining cautious with an oft-injured asset, the player himself said it had quite a lot to do with payroll.
Kyle Wright warns Braves fans of looming payroll questions
"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. 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," Wright told Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Wright was far from the only Atlanta player shipped out of town. Jared Shuster, Mike Soroka and more were sent to Chicago for reliever Aaron Bummer, as well. The Braves didn't have room on their 40-man roster to protect all of their young players, and thus had to trade some away. Per MLB Trade Rumors, the Braves Competitive Balance Tax calculation comes in at around $239 million. Anthopoulos still wants to add a frontline starting pitcher, as well.
Wright did not know if the Braves were clearing payroll simply to keep the money, or spend it elsewhere, though he certainly prefers the second option.
"I hope (it's) the second," Wright told Toscano. "I think that's what the Braves should be doing, is trying to go make some big additions. I hope it's the latter. (But) I don't know exactly which one. Only Alex knows that."
Either way, Wright spilled the tea.