Not much activity has been logged in the Atlanta Braves transaction table this month, but Alex Anthopoulos did swing a move in the early hours of this Sunday morning. According to FanSided's Robert Murray, former Miami Marlin Garrett Cooper is heading to Atlanta on a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training. He'll be the second former Marlin to join the organization within the past week.
Braves fans should be familiar with Cooper as he manned the first base position often for the Marlins from 2018-2023. He has a career .265/.333/.427 slash line with 57 home runs and a career 3.4 bWAR in just over 1,900 plate appearances.
Braves sign first baseman Garrett Cooper to a minor league deal
Cooper had one of his best season in 2022 when he was named an All-Star after an impressive first half of baseball. However, since then Cooper's production fell to a replacement level to below replacement level type player. Cooper spent time in three organizations last season, and played in a handful of games at the Major League level with both the Red Sox and Cubs.
Overall, it was an ugly 2024 for Cooper, who slashed .206/.267/.299 and produced a negative WAR in 36 games between the two clubs. He'll come to Atlanta's spring training with the hopes of rebuilding his value enough to stick on someone's Major League roster.
Because the Braves have iron-man Matt Olson manning first base, there's pretty much zero chance Atlanta would carry another strictly first base playing backup on the Opening Day roster. Cooper could be the veteran first baseman stashed in Gwinnett Atlanta has rolled with in years past like they did with another former Marlin.
However, should Cooper play well enough in the spring expect the veteran to ask for his release and sign a big league deal with a lesser talented team. For the Braves, this marks another minor signing that gets a ton of fans upset and yelling on the internet. While a good number of impact free agents remain on the market, the time to bring them in is dwindling for Alex Anthopoulos.