Braves just snuck in one more outfield signing before start of the Winter Meetings

The Atlanta Braves have stayed busy this offseason even if the marquee moves have been few and far between. Reuniting with Raisel Iglesias was a good start and trading for Mauricio Dubon gave the Braves a fallback plan at shortstop, but the rest of their moves so far this offseason have been fringe bullpen additions and attempts to acquire cheap depth ahead of spring training.

That trend continued on Friday as Atlanta added some outfield depth in the form of Ben Gamel on a minor league deal. Financial terms are not yet known and the team has yet to confirm the signing.

Braves add Ben Gamel as outfield depth before heading off to the Winter Meetings

Now, if you are reading anything into this move when it comes to the Braves' current outfield alignment, you may want to take a breath and eat a Snickers. This is a minor league deal for a depth outfielder that has some big league experience. Gamel will have to compete for a bench role among a number of candidates and his deal is not going to force Atlanta in one direction or another.

That said, Gamel does have some value. The Braves brought in Michael Siani earlier this offseason for additional roster depth, but he does have minor league options available. Adding the veteran Gamel who has 2,320 plate appearances in the majors mostly as a part-time allows Atlanta to put Siani at Triple-A and see if they can get something out of him.

There are so many moves like this by Atlanta that have happened over the years and that has led to what is quite the motley crew of forgotten (or at least forgettable) Braves being formed. The odds are extremely high that most Braves fans will forget that he was ever under contract. However, if injuries pop up (and they clearly do more often than we would like), having a guy like Gamel around could be a huge help.