Wright, 30, came from the Braves two years ago in exchange for a fellow change-of-scenery first-rounder, Jackson Kowar. At the time, he was just one month removed from surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his right shoulder. Kansas City knew he wouldn’t pitch in 2024, but hoped he could bounce back for the 2025 season. That didn’t happen. Wright’s recovery stalled until 2025, and he was pulled from a minor league rehab stint in May due to fatigue in his surgically repaired shoulder. He also eventually suffered an oblique injury, which set him back even further.
Although he was a member of the Royals organization for two years, Wright never pitched in the majors with Kansas City. He was expected to get the same $1.8 million salary as in 2025, but the Royals didn’t feel comfortable making any kind of commitment after two losing seasons. Maybe another club will roll the dice — Atlanta has brought back several old friends as depth options in the past year — but if not, he’ll become a free agent and sign a minor league deal somewhere.
Prior to his injury, Wright appeared to have broken out. It took a while for the former No. 5 overall draft pick to do this, but in 2022 he pitched 180 1/3 innings with a 3.19 ERA, 23.6% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate for Atlanta. Whether he can ever return to that form is an open question. Wright hasn’t pitched in the Majors in more than two years, and his once-average fastball of 90.1 mph was flat at 93 mph during his limited Triple-A work in 2025. There’s little harm in a team taking a flier on a minor league deal if and when he clears waivers, but right now he’s a pure depth option.
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