The Atlanta Braves initially signed outfielder Mike Yastrzemski to provide them with a platoon option in the outfield. Jurickson Profar was slated to be the designated hitter at the start of the season. Unfortunately, Profar screwed that up when he was suspended for a second straight season due to PEDs. That forced Yastrzemski into an everyday role once Profar was suspended and Ha-Seong Kim injured his finger.
Mauricio Dubon slid in as the everyday shortstop, and Yaz ended up playing the outfield much more frequently. It started well over the first week of the season. However, that changed pretty quickly. Yastrzemski provides good defense, but the offense hasn't quite been there for the lefty. Yaz has a .200/.264/.252 slash line with 29 hits, including one triple, four doubles, six RBI, eight walks, and a whopping 31 strikeouts.
Those are not great numbers in the slightest. Atlanta desperately needs him to get on a hot streak very soon, and for a couple of reasons.
The Braves need Mike Yastrzemski to turn things around before it's too late
One, it would make an already dangerous lineup even harder to navigate. Two, it would drastically improve his trade stock ahead of this summer's trade deadline.
Yastrzemski is currently signed to a two-year, $23 million contract with $9 million owed in 2026. Not a bad rate for an outfielder who has had success in the past. Unfortunately for the Braves, he has a lot of work to do before teams would even entertain that. It's doubtful any team would take him right now unless Atlanta ate the entirety of his contract. That's not something they're looking to do right now.
The one good thing he is providing right now is solid outfield defense. Yastrzemski's arm value and range have been very impressive, with his arm value being in the 96th percentile and his range above average in the 69th percentile.
Offensively, Yastrzemski has been pretty terrible in every metric outside of squared-up percentage, which sits above average at 26.6% (62nd percentile). Yaz needs to improve his strikeout rate and get on base more often, or the Braves will be stuck with him while dealing with buyer's remorse.
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