Jackson Stephens's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

The Atlanta Braves signed relief pitcher Jackson Stephens and catcher Sandy Leon to minor-league deals Tuesday, per The Athletic's David O'Brien. Stephens elected free agency in March after being outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves and served as a decent reliever for the Braves from 2022 through 2023. Leon should serve as catcher depth for the organization with Sean Murphy (oblique) on the injured list with an oblique injury but will not contribute much offensively. Neither of these players should factor into the fantasy landscape at this time.

Relief pitcher Jackson Stephens elected free agency on Wednesday after the Atlanta Braves outrighted him to Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday. The 29-year-old right-hander will now look to latch on with another organization with Opening Day in 2024 just one day away. The former 18th-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2012 out of high school was let go by the Braves after the signed veteran reliever Jesse Chavez just the other day. In the last two seasons with the Braves, Stephens went 3-3 with a decent 3.56 ERA (3.58 FIP), a 1.37 WHIP, two saves, 28 walks and 58 strikeouts in 65 2/3 frames over 44 appearances (one start). In his 12 Grapefruit League innings this spring, he allowed four earned runs on 13 hits while walking five and striking out 11.