Breaking Down Rockies Decision to Trade Tyler Kinley to Braves

The Colorado Rockies traded relief pitcher Tyler Kinley to the Atlanta Braves for a prospect.

aJun 18, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Tyler Kinley (40) throws to the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Nationals Park. / Brad Mills-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies made a trade on Wednesday and set one of their most utilized relievers, Tyler Kinley, to the Atlanta Braves.

Thomas Harding of MLB.com was the first to report on the terms when the deal becomes official. The Rockies received Braves pitching prospect Austin Smith, who was not ranked in the Braves' Top 30 list per MLB Pipeline.

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Smith was drafted back in 2021 by the Braves in the 18th round and has yet to make his Major League debut. This season has been his best since he started his minor-league career, but he has been utilized only as a reliever.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander has finished just over 31 innings in 29 games, posting a 4.31 ERA and has held hitters to a .219 batting average.

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Kinley was having one of his better seasons with Colorado, as he posted a 5.66 ERA, his second-lowest since he joined the franchise in 2020. He struck out 51 in just over 47 innings of work prior to the trade.

Now this could just be the start of Colorado selling pieces of its bullpen in order to rebuild its pitching staff, which is posting league-worst numbers in multiple major categories.

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There are a few guys in the bullpen that the Rockies could decide to part from in order to get as much as they can for them so the Rockies can avoid a long-aterm commitment..

It wouldn't be surprising to see the organization part with any of the following by the deadline: Jake Bird, Seth Halvorsen, or Victor Vodnik. All three comes with several years of team control, which can drive up the price for the team trying to acquire any of them.

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Colorado has had issues keeping runs off the board this season. They are posting a league-worst 5.65 ERA and have allowed nearly 125 more hits than the next closest team, the Baltimore Orioles.

The main focus for the Rockies going into the deadline is to target prospects for next season and get as much value as they can out of the players they trade. Colorado could make a lot of moves in the next 24 hours.

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