The Braves have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent first baseman Yonder Alonso, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Presumably, the MVP Sports client will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.
Alonso, 33 in April, scuffled through perhaps the worst season of his MLB career in 2019, slashing just .199/.296/.346 with 10 homers and 13 doubles through 335 plate appearances between the White Sox and the Rockies. Prior to that, he hit a combined .257/.340/.458 with 51 homers in 1095 plate appearances between Oakland, Seattle and Cleveland.
The Braves, of course, don’t have an immediate opening for Alonso, given the presence of Freddie Freeman and the absence of a designated hitter in the National League. However, if he’s able to return to form, Alonso would make a formidable bench bat and a quality Plan B in the event of a Freeman injury. It’s also possible that he’ll simply look to get at-bats with the Atlanta organization this spring in hopes of garnering attention from another club with a more acute need for a player of his skill set. That’s relatively common practice for this type of veteran in Spring Training.
Oh,ok.
Doesn’t seem like best place for a 1b/dh type to go.
Seems like a perfect place for a PH type to go.
He’s got more than 6 years service time, which means he gets an automatic opt out clause for June 1 (and a 100k bonus) if he’s not released or fostered by opening day. Meaning, likely this is a case of “we’ll bring you in for the spring, and if a better opportunity comes up for you, you can do that”.
Freeman? ??? uh???
Depth? ??? uh???
How is this truly depth though? We have plenty of guys who can play 1st and hit worlds better… not exactly a good decision on the Braves part as it’s a little bit of money wasted…. but for him to sign here makes absolutely no sense…. seems his major league odds would be better elsewhere
This late in the off-season it’s sometimes take what you can get. May have an unspoken clause that he will get to showcase in ST but if there’s no spot for him they’ll let him go to sign elsewhere. Sometimes just getting spring ABs is currently for these guys.
Currency *
It’s only a minors deal, so there’s no real risk here. He’s got a little pop in his bat, so what’s the harm? Depth is never bad. If he stinks up the joint, he’s an easy release.
I’m never a fan of this “no real risk” because it’s a minor league deal. Thing is, throughout the year we will make a bunch of moves like this. Those cost add up, so it seems like the Braves should be wise in every decision. Especially when money is the # one excuse to why guys like JD aren’t signed…. every dime counts, don’t just waste it to waste it. Needs to make sense, and honestly we have a ton of other better options who play the bench and 1B better
perhaps a big move is coming and they wanted to shore up resources. I can dream right?
Just message their site and tell them you need to speak to a manager
Hey braves fan. I’ll let AA know that you know more details than he does. That you know the financials and all the behind the scenes dealings.
There financials are public knowledge because they are a publicly run company. Lol it may take a few months to get qtr #’s but it’s pretty easy to find. When you have that knowledge, any basic business person can understand what is and what isn’t a waste of money. Ie hiring a washed up 1b for change that likely includes an mlb incentive, doesn’t make sense when you have a hundred other better options you’re already paying. He’s not even trade bait at this point unless he goes on a tear in the minors. AA is nothing more than you and I. The only difference is he had the connections and drive to go get the current job he has. Sure he’s had some success/luck in there to maintain it. But at the end of the day, knowledge isn’t necessarily different because he’s in that position… he’s just had a different career path than you and I. Now behind the scenes dealings… sure we don’t know until it’s told to us. But we do know that this signing is kinda dumb and doesn’t make basic sense
Royal oil!
He is one of the thiccest baseball players I’ve seen.
*Pablo SandOVAL has entered the chat*
Ray King, Bartolo Colon, Mo Vaughn, John Kruk, David Wells, and…..Babe Ruth would all like to talk.
Ray King! Those other dudes are no doubt big boys but damn if Ray couldn’t smuggle a couch into a movie theatre.
How can you guys not see the motive here? The Braves are obviously just setting the table for a Manny Machado deal. 🙂
Beat me to it! Ha
while I get the sarcasm .. who would you say goes back lol
Ron Fowler would want your two best prospects, an MLB-ready starter, and would require that ATL pay at least half of Wil Myers’s salary as well.
If this is who ends up having to play first in 2020 we are effed.
Good thing we got Freeman…
I am aware. I was saying if everybody got hurt leading to a point where we would have to start Yonder we would be in trouble lol
Fans are actually freaking out about this minor deal? Smh
Are you new to the internet? This is what ATL fans do. The fans who are complaining about JD not getting signed are the same fans who were complaining about the JD signing last spring when he was struggling. As a Braves fan myself, they embarrass the hell out of me.
Haha, definitely not new but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell the intentions of this signing . As if the article doesn’t tell you point blank already? Haha. I agree with you though. Braves fans can be mind boggling.
Looks like a Freeman trade is in the works.
It’ll be tough but adding Trout and Rendon with the Angels paying both contracts is well worth it IMO.
Braves making a run at Machado
Lol yup
Dumpster must be almost empty.
I would’ve preferred Travis Hafner, but ok.
I would have preferred Travis Fryman, but ok.
I would have preferred Travis Ishikawa, but ok.
I would have preferred Travis Tritt, but ok.
I would of preferred Travis D’Arn.. Oh wait..
Laughable that anyone is justifying this move by Alonso. Out of all the teams to choose from he picks a place where first base is clearly covered by a stud. At least pick an American League team for DH possibilities. Alonso had Mariners, Tigers, Orioles and Royals written all over him.
I tend to look at these situations as the agent and player aren’t stupid, so this is probably the best decision that makes sense for Alonso based on where his market was and what he wanted.
He’s from Cuba and raised in Miami, so the location, Braves’ status as contenders, and their willingness to sign him to a deal likely are what drove things. Even if he spends most of his time in Gwinnett, he’s still close by.
Sure, other teams made more sense on paper, but we don’t know his market (which likely didn’t include any starting MLB jobs) or what he wants as he moves into his mid-30’s.
I tend to look at this situation as a stupid signing. But you may be correct; you laid out a strong case that Alonso doesn’t see himself as major league material and Gwinnett is his favorite place in America.
Miami Marlins is closer to his home. So are every affiliate in Florida. So I do not buy the close to home narrative.
Yeah, way more “no MLB jobs” than location here imo. But there’s a decent chance he spends some time in the ATL and *could* be a good power piece off the bench in a short playoff series. It’s a quicker trip to fly the fam from Miami to Atlanta than other places on the U.S. either way good pickup by the Braves
Don’t forget that Freeman played some games at third base in 2017 and looked pretty good there. If Riley and Camargo don’t get out of the gate strong then Freddie might fill in at third for a few games if for no other reason than to remind them that they are not the only option!
I’m not saying a move to third is likely but it gives them another option in a pinch!
Coming off the elbow, I’d say there’s as close to a 0 percent chance as you can get of seeing Freeman at 3B. It’s just not worth the gamble. If 3B becomes an issue, I think you’d likely see the Braves either make a trade for a dependable vet, or try some low cost signing options there.
Yeah! Your probably right. I forgot about the elbow issue last season!
I believe One or the other of Riley and Camargo will take a giant step this year!
This year’s ‘Lucas Duda’ for ATL. Veteran LHH with pop as a potential bench piece.
Good signing for Braves, low risk, was a Reds draft yrs ago, he could his bat back if healthy