What are the Braves’ plans for Ray Kerr?
Ray Kerr has one option year left and six years of team control. If he can be a steady power arm out of the bullpen then his contract will set the Braves up nicely in 2025 when they have an opportunity to shed payroll with Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and AJ Minter set to become free agents. Marcell Ozuna, Travis d’Arnaud, Aaron Bummer, and Tyler Matzek all have club options.
If the Braves are gearing up to attempt to get under the luxury tax in 2025, which would reset their penalties for crossing the competitive balance threshold, then taking on extra payroll to get long-term value deals like Kelenic and Kerr makes sense.
The Braves might be incentivized to reset the tax next season since a third-straight year over the threshold will mean a base tax of 50%. If they reset it next year then the next time they cross the threshold they will only have a 20% base penalty.
Hopefully, Kerr can maintain control and provide the Braves with a large number of LHP strikeouts out of the bullpen…for the next several years.
Leave a Reply