The Atlanta Braves have added a former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder to bolster their depth.
Atlanta reached an agreement with outfielder Bryan De La Cruz on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal on Sunday. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports that this is a split deal, allowing De La Cruz to play in Triple-A for the Braves if he doesn’t make the major league club out of spring training. The 28-year-old outfielder will return to the National League East on the deal after spending the beginning of his career with the Miami Marlins.
The Pirates had acquired De La Cruz at the MLB Trade Deadline for minor leaguers pitcher Jun-Seok Shim and infielder Garret Forrester. Unfortunately for both De La Cruz and Pittsburgh, the marriage between the two teams didn’t work out much in the regular season — which resulted in the Pirates non-tendering the outfielder once the season concluded.
De La Cruz hit 21 home runs in his 2024 campaign but struggled in his time with Pittsburgh. Overall, the outfielder played in 44 games for the Pirates — hitting .200 with just three home runs, 17 RBIs, and a rough .514 OPS.
He will look to try and make the Braves’ Opening Day roster with a strong camp.
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