The Braves announced they have signed the right-hander Connor Gillispie on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. Financial details were not disclosed. They have several open spots on their 40-man roster and don't need to make a corresponding move. Bob Nightengale of USA Today (X Link) reported on the deal before the official announcement.
Gillispie, 27, just made his major league debut in 2024. Although he was drafted by the Orioles in 2019 and was with them through the 2023 season, the Guardians nabbed him in the minor league phase of last year's Rule 5 draft. Cleveland selected him to the big league roster in August and he pitched eight innings for them, allowing two earned runs. Last week the Guardians added four players to their squad to protect them from this year's Rule 5, with Gillispie earmarked as a one-place replacement.
He later went non-tendered and became a free agent without being placed on waivers. Atlanta quickly offered him a roster spot to take him off the market. The brief major league debut didn't amount to much, so Atlanta was probably attracted to his minor league work. Gillispie threw 113 1/3 Triple-A innings in a swing role this year, making 15 starts and 12 relief appearances. He allowed 4.05 earned runs per nine innings, struck out 25% of opponents with a 10.1% walk rate and gave up 22 home runs.
This is somewhat similar to the work he did in the Orioles system. From 2021 to 2023, he pitched 292 2/3 innings in the minors, starting 50 of his 73 appearances. He had a 4.15 ERA, a 23.8% strikeout rate, a 9.3% walk rate and allowed 48 long balls during that time.
Perhaps Atlanta will look to bring Gillispie into the bullpen on a more permanent basis, as he posted a 4.68 ERA as a starter this year but posted a 2.63 mark in relief. Whatever the case, Gillispie still has options and just a few days of service time, meaning he can theoretically be kept inexpensively into the future if he continues to hold onto his roster spot. Atlanta's pitching staff just lost Max Fried, Charlie Morton, AJ Minter, Jesse Chavez And John Brebbia to the ability to act freely, while Joe Jimenez recently underwent knee surgery and could miss the entire 2025 season.
