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Atlanta Braves: Why Eddie Rosario is a Better Option than 2 Big-Name Free Agents in 2024

We compare Eddie Rosario to two of the top outfield free agents in 2024.

By Seth Carter |
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The Atlanta Braves have a decision to make in left field this offseason. While pretty much every other position is locked in, Rosario has a $9,000,000 team option. There are some enticing free agents that will be on the open market as potential replacements.

Eddie Rosario is forever a Braves legend thanks to his performance after the trade deadline in 2021. Rosario posted a .903 OPS in 33 games with seven homers and 16 RBI. Then, of course, he won the NLCS MVP with three homers over the six-game set against the Dodgers.

Why wouldn't the Braves pick up Rosario's 2024 option?

Eddie has his flaws. His chase rate is among the worst in the league (bottom two percent). His career on-base percentage is .306. During his time with the Braves, his OBP has been a mere .296. He has walked more than 30 times in a season just twice.

Rosario was plagued by vision issues last season but he appears to be back to himself in 2023. He is playing league-average defense. His .263 batting average is in line with his career .270 average. His .313 OBP is in line with his .306 career OBP. His .489 slugging percentage is a little higher than his career .465, but it's in the ballpark.

We know what Eddie Rosario is. He's a player with decent power and a decent average with an impatient approach at the plate. His higher slugging percentage helps offset the low on-base to give him an above-average OPS. A career 105 OPS+ shows he has the ability to be better than average and when he has a power drought he offers very little on offense.

There are a few names we recently covered that would be suitable replacements or even upgrades. Now I provide you the counterarguments as to why Eddie Rosario is a better option for the Braves than two big-name free agents in 2024.

Atlanta Braves: Why Eddie Rosario is a Better Option Than Tommy Pham in 2024

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Tommy Pham will be entering his age-36 season. While he gets on base more than Rosario, he is significantly older. Pham has also had severe and prolonged power outages in his career.

In fact, the three seasons prior to 2023 were just awful. It looked like Pham was toast. Over the course of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons, Pham slashed .231/.324/.372. A .372 slugging percentage is nothing to overlook. How bad is that? In 2021 with the White Sox, Billy Hamilton posted a .378 slugging percentage.

During that span, Pham hit just 35 homers over those three seasons.

He does offer a speed element that Rosario does not have, but at age 36, will he still have 20 steals in him? Same with his defense. The metrics show that Pham is about the same sort of player on defense as Rosario. Give me the younger guy.

While Pham has Rosario beat in the ability to get on base. A power drought from Pham could have fans longing for Rosario. If Pham takes 60 or 70 walks, will anyone really care when he's hitting .211 with seven homers?

Considering the price tags should be around the same range, I think it's an obvious choice for the Braves to keep Rosario in left field over Pham.

Atlanta Braves: Why Eddie Rosario is a Better Option Than Jorge Soler in 2024

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While Jorge Soler is having a resurgent season in 2023, he wouldn't be the right fit to replace Eddie Rosario on the Braves in 2024. Soler is playing on a $15 million player option this season. Next year, that option drops to just $9 million. Considering he is having one of the better years of his career, he isn't taking that option.

Soler is primarily a DH this season but he is not a stranger to the outfield. He is also not a stranger to negative defensive runs saved. There is no doubt that Rosario, who is average to above average (depending on which metric you look at), is vastly better defensively. Rosario actually ranks in the 70th percentile in OAA, which measures his ability to get to balls compared to other outfielders.

Don't let the few memorable eyesores fool you. Rosario is not that bad on defense! Soler is, though. Over 10 seasons in the big leagues, Soler has accumulated -55 defensive runs saved. As he gets older, that number is not getting better. The big man is in the 33rd percentile in spring speed. Give me Rosario's glove out there.

Soler is a strikeout machine. In the one year he played all 162 games, he led the league in strikeouts. Granted, he also led the league with 48 homers... but there's the tradeoff. Despite having a solid season in 2023, and leaving Braves fans with fond memories in '21, his career has been waves of inconsistency.

If I asked you who the better power hitter was, the quick and easy answer would be Soler. However, throughout their careers, Rosario and Soler have the exact same slugging percentage of .465. Soler has been violently streaky and many times he has been just flat-out bad.

He was bad as recently as all of 2022. You can also rewind to the first half of 2021 when he hit .192 with the Royals before being traded to the Braves. Soler could end up with a price tag that's double that of Eddie Rosario but it doesn't appear we would be getting double the player.

Eddie Rosario's $9 million option is the best deal on the market for the Braves in 2024.

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