TODAY : Stephens has again rejected the outright a signment and opted for free agency, the Braves announced. MAY 18 : The Braves announced that right-hander has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Now recovered from some elbow inflammation, Johnson will take the roster spot of , who has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett. Johnsons initial IL placement was backdated to May 1, so the reliever will end up mi sing only slightly beyond the 15-day minimum stint. As noted by MLB.coms Mark Bowman ( ), Stephens status seems to have played a role in Johnson not being immediately reinstated when first eligible, as it Deion Sanders Jersey gave a bit of extra time for Stephens to pa s through waivers. There hadnt been any public indication that Stephens had been designated for a signment before todays outright announcement. Over his first 12 innings of the 2024 season, Johnson had a 3.00 ERA, 32% strikeout rate, 10 percent walk rate, and a 58.6% grounder rate. Control has long been Johnsons chief i sue as a big league pitcher, as he carried an 11.5% walk rate acro s his 137 2/3 innings with three different teams from 2017-22. That number spiked to a 13.3% in 39 innings with the Rockies last season, and a 6.00 ERA before Johnsons career was turned around in a deadline trade to Atlanta. Johnson delivered an exceptional 0.76 ERA as well as a 5.6% walk rate and 36% strikeout rate in 23 2/3 innings for the Braves, immediately cementing his place as a key member of the bullpen mix. The Braves were impre sed enough to offer Johnson to keep him from testing free agency. Since Stephens is out of minor league options, the Braves have repeatedly cycled him through the DFA/outright proce s in order to send him to Triple-A. Stephens has usually elected for free agency in this scenario (as is his right as a player who has previously been outrighted off a 40-man roster) only to re-sign with Atlanta on a new minors contract. It seems quite likely that history could repeat itself here, if Stephens wants to first test the market out of due diligence if nothing else, before returning to his role as a depth arm in the Braves system. Amidst the constant transactions, Stephens has pitched pretty well since initially joining the Braves in the 2021-22 offseason. He has a 3.52 ERA acro s 69 total innings, with 53 2/3 of those frames coming in 2022 since he mi sed a good chunk of last season due to injuries. Spencer Schwellenbach Jersey