Braves stay busy adding prospect depth with trio of minor league signings

Atlanta Braves fans are eagerly (and often impatiently) anticipating what the team is going to do this offseason. The Braves hit the ground running by trading Jorge Soler to clear 2025 payroll and then saving more cash by declining Travis d'Arnaud's option along with Luke Jackson and restructuring Reynaldo Lopez and Aaron Bummer's existing deals. With Max Fried headed for free agency and a couple areas of the roster in need of an upgrade, many want to know what Alex Anthopoulos has up his sleeve.

As of Thursday afternoon, we didn't have an answer to that question just yet. However, what we did find out is that Atlanta is making sure they are combing high and low for potential depth options in the meantime as the Braves have apparently made a trio of interesting minor league signings to bolster their position player depth.

Braves News: Atlanta adds Charles LeBlanc, Yohel Pazo, and Kobe Kato on minor league deals

You are forgiven if these names are not familiar to you as this trio has a grand total of 80 big league games between them with little to show for it. However, all three players are interesting depth pieces to a degree and could provide some needed insurance in the event that another wave of injuries befalls the Braves next season (knocks on wood).

LeBlanc is an infielder by trade that can play multiple positions who has seen time in the majors with the Marlins and Angels. He also posted an .816 OPS in Triple-A last year with 12 homers, so he at least can impact the ball every now and again in addition to cover multiple spots in the dirt.

Pozo is a catcher which could help give the Braves another option after letting TdA go to the Angels. He last played in the majors in 2021 with the Rangers and did hit .281, but has bounced around a few organizations over the years. He also has put up an .826 OPS or better at the plate the last three seasons and at 27 years old, Pazo could be in the conversation for backup catcher in 2025 if Atlanta is confident that Sean Murphy can handle the bulk of the workload.

Kato is another multi-position utility guy that had to work his way back to MLB after a stint in independent ball. After joining the Mariners this past season, Kato blasted his way to Triple-A and ended 2024 with a .283/.393/.389 line in a relatively small 135 plate appearance sample.

In short, a trio of interesting minor league signings made by the Braves here. While unlikely to be earth-shattering, they each have shown upside at the plate and either have positional versatility or play at a position that currently lacks depth in the upper minors. These are the types of moves that good teams make and it's nice to see the Braves have their eyes on the entire picture.

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