Sound the horns as the Atlanta Braves have finally made another offseason move. After weeks of silence and torture for fans as they watched talent find new homes, the Braves signed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year non-guaranteed contract this morning.
De La Cruz should be a familiar name to Braves fans as he's spent the past four seasons with Atlanta's NL East rival the Miami Marlins. Last summer De La Cruz was traded to Pittsburgh at the deadline where he struggled to finish out the season.
Because of his struggles in Pittsburgh to finish out 2024, De La Cruz was non-tendered by the Pirates ahead of the deadline a few weeks ago. For his career De La Cruz owns a .253/.297/.407 slash line with 58 homers and 90 wRC+.
The #Braves today signed OF Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the 2025 season.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 15, 2024
Braves sign Bryan De La Cruz to non-guaranteed contract for 2025 season
De La Cruz slashed .233/.271/.384 with 21 homers, 77 wRC+, and -1.2 fWAR last season. De La Cruz has seen his average exit velocity and other offensive numbers decline each of the past three seasons. Partner that with his abysmal defense (14th percentile in Fielding Run Value) he will likely serve as a depth outfield piece in Atlanta.
De La Cruz could be a candidate to platoon with Jarred Kelenic for the start of next season while superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. recovers from his knee injury. However, there is no guarantee De La Cruz earns a roster spot and could begin the year with Gwinnett since he still has minor league options. In fact, the best projection for De La Cruz at this point as a depth piece that has a bit of upside unless Atlanta has some sort of secret formula to unlocking a lot more from him.
This signing shouldn't prevent the Braves from making a push to acquire another outfielder who can slide into an everyday role in left field. Should De La Cruz rediscover some of that hard-hitting offensive prowess then this could be a buy-low move that pays big dividends. So long as this isn't the only outfield move they make this winter, this move has to be viewed as another savvy reclamation project by Anthopoulos.