Atlanta Braves: A look at Adam Duvall’s free agency case

Atlanta Braves outfielder Adam Duval quietly had a solid year in 2020. What will his trek through free agency look like?

Free agency has been slower than a turtle racing a snail. Forgive the poor pun, but the truth is not many of the premier free agents have signed. DJ LeMahieu. Trevor Bauer. George Springer. Marcell Ozuna. They are going to get paid. There’s no question. I don’t want to focus on them. One of the under the radar guys I’m curious about is Atlanta Braves outfielder Adam Duvall.

The 32-year old outfielder hit 16 homers and drove in 33 runs for the Braves last season. He was tied for the third-most homers in the National League, trailing only teammate Ozuna (18) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (17).

Remember Duvall went on an absolute tear in September. Over an eight-game span from September 2-to-9, Duvall slashed .414/.452/1.345 with eight home runs and 16 RBI. In case you were wondering, that’s an OPS of nearly 1.800. This stretch also included a pair of multi-three homer games. He became the first National League player with multiple three-homer games in a single season since Albert Pujols in 2006.

Duvall comes as a cost-effective option for clubs seeking a power bat. His defense is average, depending on what metric you use. He had a -0.2 dWAR last season and 0 DRS, but as recently as 2018, he had +16 DRS in the outfield.

The Marlins are reportedly interested in the former All-Star. That would be an intriguing move for Miami. They miraculously made the postseason last year. If he signed, Duvall would join former All-Stars and Gold Glove winners, Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte, in the outfield. Plus, if the National League adopts the designated hitter again in 2021, this would only increase his market.

I know everyone’s interested in the “big names.” I am too. Don’t forget the other pieces of the pie though. Adam Duvall’s not a big slice, but is a good piece nonetheless.