Braves Add Familiar Infielder Back to Roster Before Free Agency

The Atlanta Braves are already working on next season's roster, and on Thursday they selected the contract of second baseman Brett Wisely from Triple-A Gwinnett.

To make room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta sent outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. outright to Gwinnett, according to the official MLB transaction log.

Wisely has been on and off this roster a few times over the past year, since the Braves claimed him off waivers from the San Francisco Giants in September 2025, and then traded him and left-handed pitcher Ken Waldichuk to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash in January.

Tampa Bay designated him for assignment a few weeks later and sent him back to Atlanta for cash in February, and the Braves outrighted him to Gwinnett on April 1.

Atlanta made this move now because of minor league free agency, as MLB Trade Rumors pointed out when it broke down the roster move, because players with seven or more years of minor league experience can elect free agency if they are not on the 40-man roster.

Wisely was a 15th-round pick by the Rays in 2019, so leaving him off would have let him walk.

Atlanta did the same thing last Friday with left-handed reliever Danny Young, and that move cost shortstop Luke Williams his roster spot.

Williams was outrighted to Gwinnett on Wednesday and elected free agency on Thursday.

Wisely put together a strong season in Triple-A to earn this spot, as he hit .281 with a .399 on-base percentage, 11 home runs, 65 RBIs and 29 stolen bases over 125 games.

He moved around the field too, with 78 games at second base, 29 at shortstop and 9 at third base.

Keirsey stole 40 bases for Gwinnett, but he hit just .247 with a .303 on-base percentage, and went 1-for-5 with the Braves this season.

MLB Trade Rumors noted that Atlanta would apparently rather let him hit the market.

The Braves won the National League East at 94-68 and beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series, but the Los Angeles Dodgers knocked them out of the NL Division Series in four games.

That loss ended their season on Oct. 7 and pushed the front office into a winter full of decisions, including the question of keeping a versatile utility man around for another year.

Wisely gives Atlanta a cheap fallback in that spot as a left-handed hitter who can handle three infield positions.

His numbers in the big leagues have not matched his Triple-A work, though, as he hit .238 in 91 games with the Giants in 2024, so I see him as a depth piece, especially with bigger calls still waiting on the position player side.

The club is also working on a plan for its rotation, and this move keeps a useful bat in the building at almost no cost.

I like the move, because a player who got on base and stole bags like that in Triple-A is worth keeping for one roster spot that Keirsey was holding.

I expect Wisely to push for a bench job in spring training and give the Braves another option when injuries hit.