The Braves announced that they had recalled the outcry Alex Verdugo From Triple-A Gwinnett. Other aerobatman Bryan de la Cruz was optionized in Gwinnett as a corresponding movement.
Verdugo, 29, next month, is a veteran with at least five years of service time for major leagues. This means that it cannot be optionized for minors without its consent. However, he agreed to accept an optional assignment because of his persistent free agency. He remained not signed until the second half of March, finally obtaining an agreement of $ 1.5 million from Atlanta. Since he had missed training in the spring, he agreed to go to the farm for a while, in fact as a delayed spring training.
His inability to obtain an agreement to his taste earlier in the offseason was surely due to his bad platform season. He had struck .282 / .338 / .430 from 2018 to 2023, production which resulted in a 106 WRC +. This means that it was only 6% above the league average, but it was always a decent production, especially since it is a solid defender of the outside field. But with the Yankees in 2024, he only struck .233 / .291 / .356 for a WRC + of 83. He was in fact quite decent until the end of May, but struck only .219 / .274 / .315 from June. He then added 56 appearances of after-season plates with a line .208 / .309 / .313.
This gave him little momentum in winter, which led to his aforementioned struggle to obtain an agreement. For Atlanta, they were probably happy that he was still there, because their outside field was not in great shape at the end of last year. Ronald Acuña Jr. torn his ACL and missed the second half, with a return expected at one point in 2025. The club took a hit Kelenic in motion Last year, which did not work because he struck .231 / .286 / .393. Michael Harris II saw its production drop for a second consecutive season after its recruit performance of the year in 2022.
The club has made a big splash to upgrade the outside field this winter, signing PROFAR JRICKSON an agreement of $ 42 million over three years. But only 11 days after signing Verdugo, it was reported that ProFar had received a suspension of 80 games for a positive PED test. Given the proximity, it is possible that Atlanta was experiencing the provar test at the time of the Verdugo agreement, but the call process having not yet taken its course.
Since the Verdugo agreement, things have largely worsened for the club. They are at a start of 5-13, their outer field being one of the main problems. Kelenic strikes. 146 / .239 / .244 so far and Harris is at .179 / .208 / .299. Before making an option today, Cruz has set up a line of .191 / .240 / .213.
We do not know what type of Verdugo production can provide, but even something like its offense decreased in 2024 would be miles in advance on what the club has received from its outside field so far. For what is worth, Verdugo struck .207 / .303 / .448 during his recent optional assignment.
Verdugo, Kelenic and Harris are all left -handed, which is probably alignment against right -handers. Even after the Cruz option, the club has some hiking championships Stuart FIRICHILD And Eli WhiteGiving the manager Brian Snitker a certain ability to sail in difficult south pirates. Ideally, Verdugo can stabilize things a little while the club tries to put the season on the right track. Acunña may soon start a rehabilitation assignment and return with the club in the coming weeks. This will reduce someone’s playing time, probably Kelenic or Verdugo, depending on what is happening by then.
Photo gracked by Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
