Atlanta Braves release OF Melky Cabrera, RHP Takashi Saito - ESPN

Atlanta Braves release OF Melky Cabrera

There's something you don't see every day. Kinda weird. The Braves acquired Melky from the Yankees and played him full time - 147 games, then just released him outright. He's a decent contact hitter, rarely strikes out, and is only 26 years old. Their logic is that they would have had to go to arbitration with him, and they realized that whatever the outcome of arbitration might be, they didn't want to pay it to a guy who hits .250 with no power. They could have traded him, but they thought there was no market.