Brewers officially part ways with volatile reliever after Braves' latest roster move

What will you tell your kids about the Joel Payamps era in Milwaukee?

Will it be a story of a dominant reliever who provided unexpected coverage of high-leverage situations for multiple seasons? Or will it be the story of his 2024 postseason, when a single failure to cover first base resulted in five runs that shouldn't have scored and a Milwaukee Brewers' loss to the New York Mets in game one of the Wild Card Series? Or will it be the story of how his Brewers tenure came to an end in uninspiring fashion during a 2025 season he would soon like to forget?

However you choose to tell it, be sure to give Payamps his deserved credit for the integral role that he played in the Brewers' first-ever back-to-back division titles in 2023 and 2024. Sure, his production may have fallen off significantly this season, but do not soon forget just how dominant Payamps and his slider were for two seasons at the back-end of the Brewers' bullpen. Without his presence in what was a feared Brewers bullpen, the Crew would not have enjoyed the same level of success that they did during the previous two campaigns.

Now, after a year of turmoil that has already seen Payamps be designated for assignment on two occasions, the 31-year-old right-hander is officially moving on from Milwaukee, as the Atlanta Braves claimed him off waivers on Monday afternoon.

Atlanta Braves claim Joel Payamps off waivers

Payamps joined the Brewers back in December of 2022, as an overlooked part of the three-team blockbuster trade that landed William Contreras in Milwaukee. Payamps, who had just completed his second full professional season, came to the Brewers by way of the then-Oakland Athletics, but had already pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, and Kansas City Royals in his short major league career. Despite bouncing around to four different teams in four years, Payamps was an effective reliever, posting at least 37 appearances and an ERA of 3.40 or better in each of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. With strong underlying metrics, it was clear to see the potential that the Brewers saw in Payamps.

He allowed a home run to Patrick Wisdom in his first outing in a Brewers uniform, but after that, Payamps quickly made it clear that he was a force to be reckoned with in the late innings. He posted a 2.05 ERA through his first five months with the team, and despite a shaky month of September, finished the 2023 campaign with a career best 2.55 ERA. With more strikeouts than innings pitched, a feat he hadn't accomplished in a season up to that point, the Brewers had refined Payamps' intriguing arsenal into a lethal combination of pitches.

Payamps got off to a rough start in 2024, but by season's end he was the same lights-out reliever that he had been in 2023. After not allowing a single run in 10 appearances last September, Payamps once again finished the season with an excellent ERA of 3.05.

However, the same patience that the Brewers exercised with Payamps during the beginning of the 2024 campaign did not pay off when they once again opted for it in 2025. Despite being given opportunities throughout the first two months of the season, Payamps could not find success, and when the team elected to designate him for assignment back on May 22, he was holding an 8.35 ERA with a WHIP of 1.69.

He remained with the organization after clearing waivers and worked his way all the way back to the big league bullpen, where he displayed a much more effective arsenal in five appearances since the beginning of the month. However, with the team's need for multi-inning arms and the recent injuries to Brandon Woodruff and José Quintana, Payamps' spot on the team was becoming less of a priority, and the Brewers elected to designate him for assignment once again on Saturday afternoon.

Payamps joins a Braves team that is nowhere near a postseason spot, but is desperate for arms down the stretch. Should he string together a few strong outings in Atlanta, his track record could land him a major league contract during the offseason. Just because his chapter in Milwaukee may have come to a close, the book of Joel Payamps' major league career is not yet over.