Braves, Dylan Lee Had Arbitration Hearing to Settle 2026 Contract

The Atlanta Braves and their impact lefty reliever are working toward determining his contract for the upcoming season

Lee and the Braves will have his contract decided via an arbitrator | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves and left-handed reliever Dylan Lee are still working toward a deal for the 2026 season. According to ESPN, they had an arbitration hearing on Friday. The difference between the two parties is $200,000.

Lee is aiming for $2.2 million this season, while the Braves are aiming to bring it down to a more rounded number of $2 million. Last season, he made $1.025 million.

Lee's case was heard by Jeanne Vonhof, Paul Radvany and Margie Brogan, who are expected to issue a decision during the week of Feb. 9. This happened to align with the pitchers and catchers report to North Port for Spring Training.

This is one of over one dozen hearings that have or are expected to happen through Feb. 13 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Twelve players have hearings that remain to be heard.

What happens next for the Atlanta Braves? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Braves news delivered to your inbox daily!

Leading up to Friday, a deal could have been reached to avoid arbitration. However, that just didn't work out.

Lee is coming off another strong year in 2025. He pitched to a 3.29 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP across a career high 74 appearances. That WHIP was a career best as well. He saw a decrease in baserunners overall. However, the long ball caused him more trouble this year. His 1.7 home runs per nine innings was the highest of his career.

A rough patch over four games in August inflates his stats a bit. Remove the six earned runs over the 2 1/3 innings pitched in that span, and he has a 2.59 ERA over the remaining 66 innings of work. He was a pivotal piece of the Braves' bullpen last season, and he can be expected to be just that again.

Lee was one of five players who were tendered a contract before the deadline back in November. However, he is the only one who still has to settle. Eli White, Jose Suarez, Joey Wentz and Mauricio Dubón all had their contracts figured out quickly.

He is expected to be a key arm in the backend of the bullpen again, especially as one of the few proven lefties in the bullpen. Other pitchers who are locked in for next season include closer Raisel Iglesias, setup man Robert Suarez, Aaron Bummer and Tyler Kinley.