Braves betting on ex-Brewer's bounce back after latest 2026 commitment

2025 was not the season that Joel Payamps was hoping for. Coming off of back-to-back seasons as a high-leverage relief arm in Milwaukee during which he posted ERAs of 2.55 and 3.05 while making more than 68 appearances in each campaign, Payamps looked destined for another year of success in 2025. Not only that, but with Payamps becoming a free agent following the 2026 season, two strong years in '25 and '26 would have netted the right-hander a sizable contract next winter.

However, Payamps got off to a rough start in 2025 and failed to redeem himself before the end of the season. Holding a 10.64 ERA at the end of the month of April, calls came quickly for Payamps, who was out of minor league options, to be designated for assignment. Eventually, he was, but not before hanging around in the big league bullpen for nearly the entire month of May.

Payamps, who the Milwaukee Brewers acquired back in the William Contreras blockbuster in December of 2022, cleared waivers and accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A, where he joined the Nashville Sounds. In Nashville, Payamps improved slightly, returning his strikeout and walk rates to the impressive marks that they reached during the previous two seasons, but his ERA still sat at a pedestrian 4.73. Even still, the Brewers became desperate for bullpen arms down the stretch and promoted Payamps to the big league 'pen on September 3.

Five solid appearances for the Brew Crew in September preceded a second designation for assignment for Payamps when Milwaukee's injured relievers returned to the roster. This time, Payamps didn't go unclaimed, but rather was snatched up by the Atlanta Braves, who ironically were involved in the trade that landed him in Milwaukee in the first place. After making two appearances for Atlanta in the final week of the 2025 regular season, the two parties have agreed to contract for next year's campaign, one that expects Payamps to return to the pitcher he was during his first two years in Milwaukee.

Atlanta Braves sign former Brewers' set-up man Joel Payamps to one-year, $2.25 million contract for the 2026 season

It was up in the air whether or not Payamps would earn a major league deal for the 2026 season. His track record suggests that the decision was a no-brainer, but his performance in 2025 complicated things. Had he not cracked both the Brewers and Braves' 40-man roster during the month of September, it's fair to assume that Payamps would have had a tougher time finding a major league deal this offseason.

However, Payamps continues to possess an elite slider, one that not only carries 14.6 inches of horizontal break, but also grades well in regard to Stuff+, a metric that assigns a score to individual pitches based on their movement and velocity. With that elite offspeed offering and a four-seam fastball with enough movement at nearly 95 mph to keep opposing hitters off-balance, it's not hard to imagine Payamps bouncing back in 2026.

That bounce-back season is exactly what the Braves are expecting to happen after handing the 31-year-old Payamps a $2.25 million deal. Payamps earned a $2.995 million salary during his second year of arbitration in 2025, so the deal that Atlanta gives him doesn't serve as too much of a downgrade despite his shaky season. In an Atlanta bullpen that ranked 19th in baseball with a total ERA of 4.19 in 2025, Payamps should have plenty of opportunities to prove that he can be the player he once was.