With Ronald Acuña Jr. tearing up the minor leagues during his rehab assignment, it's only a matter of time before the Atlanta Braves bring him back to the MLB roster. The Braves current roster construction will require the club to designate one of their bats for assignment, but the obvious choice might not come from the bench.
Although Alex Verdugo has been anchoring the leadoff spot since he joined the Braves on April 17, but his performance with the team has been subpar, at best, and with Acuña coming back, his place on the team is looking more and more uncertain by the day.
Why the Braves should cut Alex Verdugo when Ronald Acuña Jr. returns
Verdugo's first week in a Braves uniform was refreshing. After getting next to no production from left field, the 29-year-old came up and instantly made a difference. In his first eight games, the lefty was hitting .333/.368/.472 with a 133 wRC+, thanks in part to two four-hit games in a span of a week.
While the Braves certainly didn't expect Verdugo to be hitting a career-high pace, the hope was that he'd be a league average bat, which would be leagues above what they were getting.
Instead, the left fielder has provided the team with mostly negative production, walk-off aside. Since his last four-hit game, Verdugo has slashed .219/.288/.260, good for a 56 wRC+. This wRC+ places him as the 13th-worst qualified hitter in baseball since April 28.
While the Braves most likely move will be to cut Luke Williams, cutting Verdugo could actually provide the team with most versatility. Verdugo has been one of the worst defenders in left field at -3 OAA, and has provided no power at the plate or speed on the base paths.
While Eli White hasn't hit as well as he did in first week as a full-time regular, White still has a wRC+ nearly 40 points higher than Verdugo since the beginning of May, and offers much more in the speed and defense categories. White has also hit much better against righties, making hard to justify a left/right platoon in left field.
If White does keep the full-time starter role as he deserves, Verdugo's skills hardly warrant a bench role, either. Verdugo wouldn't even be the first option as a left-handed pinch hitter on days when Baldwin is on the bench, he doesn't offer the speed and defense of Stuart Fairchild, and he doesn't have the speed or positional versatility Luke Williams does.
While Verdugo provided the spark the Braves needed in April, it's becoming increasingly difficult to justify his spot on the team when Ronald Acuña Jr. returns.