Atlanta Braves decline Darren O’Day contract option

Atlanta Braves opt for money-saving path with the lone option they had to mull this off-season.

With all the money potentially coming off the books, and the potential loss of two key bullpen members, you’d think that the Atlanta Braves might have chosen differently for Darren O’Day.

At least that was the expectation from here.

Instead, as reported by beat writer David O’Brien this afternoon:

O’Day — who indeed is now 38 years old — nonetheless turned in one of his better seasonal performances of his 13-year career in 2020 (albeit an abbreviated season).

His 2.76 ERA was bested only by a 2.49 in 2015 and last year’s 2.09.  His WHIP number was essentially as good as 2019’s 0.75, which has continued to lower his career average to 1.020.

Over O’Day’s career, his strikeout rates continue to climb… starting from the 6’s (per innings) in 2008 and rising to the 12’s… with 2020 just missing a career-best at 12.1.

He certainly gave right-handed hitters a unique sidewinding look from the bullpen, and he clearly was helpful to the cause of the Atlanta Braves after finally being healthy for the first full season since acquiring him from Baltimore.

No Reason Given

So why decline the option?  We may not get a direct answer, but there’s a few possible reasons:

• Age… though he seems to be continuing to get better in his late 30’s.
• The money… though $3.5 million for a reliable veteran reliever is hardly an exorbitant figure.  This seems most likely… which is a bit scary going forward, if so.
• Something happened that was held behind closed doors?  That’s pure speculation, but there’s got to be some reason the Braves let O’Day walk.

So now there’s the real possibility of seeing three major bullpen pieces — Shane Greene, Mark Melancon, and O’Day — leave the team.  The former pair are already free agents; O’Day has just been given his $500K severance package to become one.

Sure: Atlanta can choose to reach out to these players in the hopes of re-signing each one — presumably to lower dollar figures.

That’s not terribly likely (especially for Greene), but it’s at least possible.

Regardless, O’Day’s departure now means that the Atlanta Braves will have to replace yet another of the arms that they relied upon as part of the best bullpen in the National League for 2020.

At this point, he will also leave behind more questions than answers.