Atlanta Braves outfield overhaul is complete
By David Hill
The Atlanta Braves needed to completely revamp their outfield on the fly. Between Ronald Acuna Jr. being lost for the year due to injury, and the injury and leave for Marcell Ozuna, the Braves outfield was a mess. They had already added one piece in Joc Pederson, but were not done.
In the hours before the trade deadline, they continued to revamp the outfield. In separate deals, they acquired Eddie Rosario and brought Adam Duvall back, with Pablo Sandoval heading to Cleveland and catcher Alex Jackson going to the Marlins.
Atlanta Braves complete outfield overhaul
In theory, Rosario and Duvall will help. The Braves outfield has literally been a collection of castoffs and backups since those injuries, especially as Cristian Pache has not looked ready for the majors with the bat.
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Duvall had spent the previous two and a half seasons in Atlanta before signing in Miami during the offseason. This year, he has produced a solid .229/.277/.478 batting line in his 339 plate appearances, hitting 22 homers and ten doubles. Rosario, meanwhile, has a .254/.296/.389 batting line in his 306 plate appearances, hitting seven homers and 15 doubles while stealing nine bases.
The exchange to land both outfield was reasonable. Sandoval is not expected to have much of a role in Cleveland, as they were mainly looking to dump his salary elsewhere. Jackson had once been a well regarded catching prospect, but has not done much of anything in the majors, with just three hits and 22 strikeouts in 50 major league plate appearances. However, at 25 years old, there is a chance he can develop into something more.
As the Braves are still just four games out in the NL East despite being a game under .500, it makes sense that they would be looking to add. The cost for both players is negligible, so their future is not affected whatsoever. Neither move may be earth shaking, but the Braves are now a better team than they were at the beginning of the day.
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The Atlanta Braves have completely remade their outfield. While Eddie Rosario and Adam Duvall may not be game changers, the Braves are better than they were.