The Atlanta Braves acquired infielder Hoy Park from the Boston Red Sox today, the club announced on Twitter.
Hoy Park had been designated for assignment earlier in the week to make room for former Braves closer, Kenley Jansen. The 26-year-old’s tenure with the Red Sox ended after less than a month, as he had been picked up by Boston back in November.
The #Braves today acquired INF Hoy Park from Boston in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 16, 2022
What to expect from Hoy Park
Park, initially signed as an amateur international free agent by the Yankees out of South Korea in 2014, the infielder made his debut for the major league club in 2021. He only received one AB for the Yankees, however, before being traded midseason along with Diego Castillo to the Pirates in exchange for reliever Clay Holmes.
He would receive 150 PAs between the two clubs that season, hitting .195/.297/.336 (72 wRC+). good for a 0.0 fWAR. Last season was marginally better with the bat, as he hit .216/.276/.373 in 60 PAs with Pittsburgh, bouncing between AAA and the majors, but worse overall as his defense dragged his fWAR into the negative (-0.5).
The infielder was designated for assignment in November and picked up by the Red Sox in a trade. However, this stint in the organization was brief, as he was DFA’d following Boston’s signing of Kenley Jansen.
Like today’s signings of Ehire Adrianza and Mitchell Tolman, the addition of Hoy Park should be seen as no more than purely depth. Park’s performance in the majors up to this point has been poor, and his play in AAA last season was less than inspiring as well (.225/.332/.354, 86 wRC+). He’s played all over the diamond in his short time in the majors, playing every position aside from pitcher, catcher, and first base, but has primarily played at second.
Park has had past offensive success in the minors, aside from last season. Prior to his promotion to New York in 2021, he had hit .327/.475/.567 (180 wRC+) in AAA. While this is a lofty goal, the Braves are no doubt hoping they can unlock more of what he was doing in the Yankees organization and less of what he was doing with Pittsburgh’s.
This is a low-cost move, overall, as the Braves are either giving up cash or a player to be named later.