The Atlanta Braves signed RHP Penn Murfee and RHP Jackson Stephens to one-year, non-guaranteed split contracts for the 2024 season on Wednesday.

A split contract means the player would be paid at differing rates for time spent in the majors versus Triple-A. Both pitchers rejoin the Braves' 40-man roster.

Murfee and Stephens were each dropped from the roster within the past few weeks. The Braves had cut Murfee at the non-tender deadline. Stephens hit the open market after going unclaimed on waivers.

Stephens, 29, has spent the past two seasons in the Braves organization. The righty logged more big-league action in 2022, when he turned in a 3.69 ERA through 53 2/3 innings pitched. He didn’t see as much time this past season, accumulating only 12 MLB innings over five appearances in September.

Stephens worked to a 3.28 ERA in 24 2/3 innings with Triple-A Gwinnett.

Since he is out of minor league options, Stephens will have to open next season on the active roster or again be exposed to waivers.

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The Braves had just claimed Murfee off waivers a few days before cutting him loose. The 29-year-old right hander has 80 games of major league experience, all of which were with the Seattle Mariners over the past two seasons. Using primarily a slider, Murfee has posted strong numbers. He has a 2.70 ERA in 83 1/3 innings, striking out nearly 28% of the hitters he's faced.

Murfee’s season was unfortunately cut short in June as the 29-year-old underwent surgery to repair a UCL tear in his elbow. He’ll miss a good chunk of next season as a result. There’s no injured list during the offseason, explaining the Mariners' decision to move on despite his strong body of work.

The Braves have enough roster space to give Murfee a spot, at least for the time being. If he sticks on the roster for the rest of the offseason, they could place him on the 60-day injured list whenever they need a 40-man spot from the start of Spring Training onward.

Expect the Braves to continue building the roster after these two moves.