The Atlanta Braves seemed to have figured out their plan for the outfield for Opening Day. Right now, the plan had been to platoon Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz in one of the corner outfield spots. The other two spots would be occupied by Jurickson Profar and Michael Harris II.
Ronald Acuna Jr. will return about a month into the season and that would have relegated De La Cruz or Kelenic into a bench role. However, it seems the Braves had other plans as they surprised everyone on Thursday with the addition of outfielder Alex Verdugo.
Braves surprise everyone with addition of former Yankee's outfielder Alex Verdugo
According to MLB expert Jon Heyman, Verdugo was added on a one-year contract worth $1.5 million. The contract is a major league contract and changes a few things for the Braves. This now means De La Cruz or Kelenic may be at risk of not making the Opening Day Roster.
Alex Verdugo to Braves. $1.5M.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 20, 2025
Verdugo has been on the market for a while and it seemed like no one was going to give him a shot. He has talent but he did struggle with the Yankees last season. He hit .233 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs in 130 games with an 83 OPS+. It was recently reported that despite a pretty decent track record outside of last season, Verdugo had not received a single formal big league offer this offseason.
The lefty is a career .272 hitter with 70 HR, 316 RBI, and a 101 OPS+. He has potential to be an excellent bat in the Braves lineup as he doesn't strikeout a lot and he's an incredible defender. Verdugo had 8 defensive runs saved last season and a 2 outs above average. He also has incredible arm strength and arm value ratings.
Verdugo could be a fantastic addition to an already talented Braves roster, but it does create some questions on the future of some current bats on the roster. Verdugo has already been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett which buys the Braves some time as to what to do with him and it will be interesting to see what plans the front office has.