The Braves introduced Thursday that they’ve signed veteran outfielder Alex Verdugo to a one-year, $1.5M contract. With Opening Day only a week away, he consented to be optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to ramp up. (Gamers can refuse an elective project as soon as they accrue 5 years of MLB service.) MVP Sports activities Group represents Verdugo.
Simply days in the past, The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty reported that Verdugo had yet to receive a formal big league offer in free company. That turned rapidly. He’ll head straight to minor league camp and spend a while in Gwinnett whereas he makes up for lacking most of spring coaching, however he’ll be an choice for Atlanta in some unspecified time in the future in April.
The 28-year-old Verdugo (29 in Might) is coming off the worst season of his large league profession however was a gentle common with the Dodgers and Purple Sox from 2019-23. Over these 5 years, he slashed a mixed .283/.338/.432 with high quality nook outfield protection. He could not have developed into the star some had hoped for when the previous second-round choose was extensively considered a top-100 prospect. Nonetheless, Verdugo was a transparent contributor to typically aggressive golf equipment.
The 2024 season began with extra of the identical. Traded to the Yankees final offseason, Verdugo got here out of the gate sizzling, batting .275/.362/.450 in his first 141 plate appearances. Nevertheless, he fell right into a deep stoop from that time forth and by no means recovered. From mid-Might by the season’s finish, Verdugo’s .221/.270/.330 line was one of many least productive in all baseball amongst certified hitters.
Final yr’s extended struggles certainly hindered Verdugo’s market. He was related to groups just like the Pirates, Angels and Astros all through the winter, however all of these golf equipment both went one other course within the outfield or didn’t make an outfield addition.
The Pirates reportedly “floated” a verbal quantity round $8M when initially speaking with him a pair months again, however no formal provide was ever offered. It’s not clear whether or not that’s as a result of Verdugo didn’t discover the worth level amenable on the time or whether or not the Pirates as an alternative determined it higher to unfold out their restricted remaining assets throughout a number of gamers; they signed Tommy Pham ($4.05M) and Andrew Heaney ($5.25M) to one-year offers not lengthy after being linked to Verdugo.
How these negotiations performed out is a moot level at this juncture. Verdugo heads to Atlanta on a lighter deal than most would’ve predicted again on the onset of free company, offering some outfield depth at a time when Ronald Acuña Jr. remains to be rehabbing final yr’s ACL tear whereas Jarred Kelenic continues to wrestle. Offseason signee Jurickson Profar has additionally been banged up in camp, because it’s now been almost two weeks since he was in an official sport. Profar injured his wrist on a diving try in left discipline; he was identified with a bone bruise, not a fracture, and is predicted to be prepared for Opening Day. Bone bruises are tough accidents, the results of which might typically linger longer than anticipated.
If the Braves can get everybody wholesome, they’ll have some choices to make. At full energy, the outfield could be Profar in left, Michael Harris II in heart and Acuña in proper. Kelenic would fill a fourth outfield position in that setup, whereas Bryan De La Cruz — additionally on the 40-man roster — would possible reside in Triple-A as a depth piece.
Verdugo’s addition to the combination most immediately threatens Kelenic’s position. Each are left-handed hitters who can deal with heart discipline however are most likely higher fitted to nook work. (Verdugo actually is.) Kelenic is a former top-10 choose and as soon as ranked as one of many sport’s 10 greatest prospects, however he’s by no means hit his stride within the majors after decimating minor-league pitching.
The Braves acquired Kelenic from the Mariners within the 2023-24 offseason through a sequence of convoluted salary-dump trades that wound up seeing Atlanta tackle round $25M in useless cash (plus almost $7M in luxurious taxes) to buy the previous high prospect. They stated from the soar that he’d obtain common enjoying time and wouldn’t be platooned, however by the top of camp, he’d struggled sufficient in opposition to lefties that the Braves re-signed Adam Duvall to platoon with him. Kelenic’s first season with Atlanta resulted in a disappointing .231/.286/.393 slash. He’s adopted that up with a .200/.282/.457 slash in 39 spring plate appearances.
Kelenic has a minor league choice remaining. If he struggles, it’s possible that Atlanta will attempt to get him on monitor in Gwinnett and change him out for Verdugo, utilizing the veteran Verdugo in that aforementioned fourth outfield position. It’s a low-cost depth gamble made attainable by Verdugo’s lack of market. There’s little hurt in opportunistically including to the depth at this value level; the Braves are actually as much as about $231M of luxurious obligations, per RosterResource, leaving them $10M shy of the tax threshold.
Jon Heyman of the New York Submit first reported that Verdugo and the Braves had agreed to a deal price $1.5M. Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reported that it was a one-year, main league contract.
