This Day in Braves History: Atlanta signs Ehire Adrianza to minor league deal
By Matt Melton
A player who would have a key impact on the Atlanta Braves' run to the World Series was added to the roster on this day back in 2021. The organization made a noteworthy free agent signing on this day a few years ago, signing infielder Ehire Adrianza to a minor league deal on January 26.
This Day in Braves History: Atlanta signs Ehire Adrianza to minor league deal
An eight-year MLB veteran at the time, Adrianza was coming off one of the worst single seasons of his major league career up to that point with the Minnesota Twins, slashing .191/.287/.270 across 44 games during the 2020 season.
Coming off that season, the Braves would officially sign Adrianza to a minor league deal on January 26, 2021, as mentioned previously, which also included an invite to spring training that year.
While he did not make the MLB roster coming out of spring training, it would not take Adrianza long to make his return to the major leagues however, as the veteran infielder would be called up from Triple-A Gwinnett on March 26, 2021. This would also set the stage for what would be an exciting 2021 for Adrianza with the Braves, which was also one of the best single seasons of his MLB career overall.
A key reserve on the Braves 2021 World Series winning team, Adrianza would go on to play in 109 games at the major league level for Atlanta that season, slashing .247/.327/.401 with a .728 OPS. In addition to those numbers, Adrianza would also hit five HR with 28 RBI, as well as post a 0.4 WAR for the year.
Adrianza would also see time at six different positions during the 2021 season, a majority of which came in right field, with the veteran also seeing time during Atlanta's postseason run as well. Across 10 games where he appeared in each round (NLDS, NLCS, and WS), Adrianza would bat a combined 1-for-10 with a run scored, as well as a double.
Since, Adrianza has spent time with the Braves across each of the last two seasons, appearing in 120 games with Atlanta from 2021-23. During that span, Adrianza holds a slash line of .229/.315/.371 with five home runs, 28 RBI, and a 0.1 WAR.