Braves Add Blue Jays Veteran After He Was Cut By Division Rivals

After taking a harsh step back in World Series contention last season thanks to some persistent injuries, the Atlanta Braves have yet to see their luck turn.

Shortly after re-signing former Gold Glove Award winner Ha-Seong Kim to a one-year, $20 million contract to serve as the team’s everyday shortstop, he slipped on some ice in his native South Korea and is now expected to miss at least four months of next season. And the Braves quickly pivoted to bring in a replacement.

“Free agent Jorge Mateo and the Atlanta Braves agreed Monday to a $1 million, one-year contract,” the Associated Press reported. “Mateo plays outfield and infield, and the Braves announced the deal one day after the team said shortstop Ha-Seong Kim is expected to miss four to five months following surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right middle finger.”

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But that addition, while important, might be overshadowing a new minor league deal that Braves pulled off to acquire a veteran pitcher with some potential upside.

Shortly after the Braves acquired Mateo, news that the team had signed Sean Reid-Foley surfaced as well when the transaction was added to his official player profile. Reid-Foley spent three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays before joining the Braves’ division rival New York Mets for four seasons.

In 2024, he endured some shoulder problems and the Mets placed him on outright waivers just before last season began, then moved him to the minors after he went unclaimed. He joined the Arizona Diamondbacks organization before being released again and has landed with the Braves.

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Now Reid-Foley will look to build on some of his more promising seasons in the majors and break back into the big leagues with the Braves. He has a career 4.10 ERA with 151 strikeouts across 131.2 total innings in the majors with the Blue Jays and Mets, so he has had a taste of success at the highest level.

He was also a highly touted prospect with the Blue Jays.

“Reid-Foley, 30, was a consensus Top-100 prospect in baseball when he was a Toronto Blue Jays minor leaguer in 2017. The Jays selected him in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of high school. By 2018, he had reached the big leagues,” Jon Paul Hoornstra wrote for Newsweek. “If Reid-Foley intends to help, he’ll need to cut down on the high walk rate (33 in 28 Triple-A innings) he showed in the minors last year. So far, so good: in 14 games in the Mexican Winter League, Reid-Foley has allowed five walks while striking out 18 batters for Hermosillo.”