Braves outfielder Adam Duvall has declined his half of his $7MM mutual option, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald (via Twitter). He’ll receive a $3MM buyout. However, because Duvall has fewer than six years of Major League service time, he’ll remain with the Braves as an arbitration-eligible player — should they wish to tender him a contract. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $9.1MM salary for the veteran slugger.
Duvall signed that one-year deal with the Marlins last winter, after being non-tendered by a Braves team that ultimately reacquired him prior to the trade deadline. The 33-year-old Duvall has long been a strong defender with a perilously low OBP and plenty of power, but he dialed that skill set up to new heights in 2021. Duvall slugged a career-best 38 home runs and posted a whopping 19 Defensive Runs Saved (in addition to a 9.9 UZR and 5 Outs Above Average), but he also turned in a .281 OBP that tied him for the second-worst mark among all qualified hitters in Major League Baseball. The bottom-of-the-barrel OBP was enough for weighted metrics like wRC+ and OPS+ to peg his overall offense at just two to three percent better than the league average.
Still, a 30-homer bat with plus defense in the outfield corners is a plenty useful player, even if Duvall perennially ranks near the bottom of the league in on-base percentage. The projected $9.1MM price point is plenty reasonable for a player who posted 3.1 bWAR and 2.4 fWAR on the season, but it bears repeating that the Braves non-tendered Duvall not even one year ago, when he carried a smaller arbitration projection and was coming off a similar season. In 209 plate appearances with Atlanta in 2020, Duvall hit .237/.301/.532 with 16 home runs — a pace that falls pretty closely in line with this year’s .228/.281/.491 output.
Of course, the Braves have less certainty in their outfield than they did last year — and their World Series win likely gives them some additional resources. A good chunk of that extra cash has to be earmarked for a hopeful Freddie Freeman extension, but the Braves can clearly afford to keep Duvall in the fold if they so choose. And with each of Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler and Joc Pederson set to hit free agency, plus Ronald Acuna Jr. on the mend from an ACL tear and Marcell Ozuna’s status up in the air following an alleged domestic assault, Atlanta could well decide place a premium on the certainty that’d come from tendering a contract to Duvall.
They’ll have until Dec. 2 to make that call, although with the collective bargaining agreement set to expire one day earlier, on Dec. 1, it’s best not to assume anything transaction-wise from that point forth.
My guess is the Braves offer him arbitration or work out another deal. AA already said he regrets letting him go last season. I doubt they will just let him walk away for nothing. $9.1 million for 1 year is a pretty steep price for Duvall though.
I’d imagine AA would jump at 1/9.1M, if that’s what it is. He doesn’t like multi-year deals, and with Acuña missing the first few months, Duvall being a RBI champ, and proving himself consistently in CF (protection if Pache/Waters in CF goes south) – it’s a good insurance package that wants to be there and meshes with the current team extremely well.
@rundmc. I agree AA does love the 1 year contracts and Duvall will be needed.
The Braves will keep Duvall. Some people really don’t like him because of his OBP, lack of walks, so many strikeouts and the fact he goes into prolonged slumps sometimes. He can also carry your team on his back for weeks. A 1 year deal can’t hurt you much even if it does go bad. The power and defense seem like they will always be there. The only question is can he keep hitting like this with men on base. If the home runs start turning into solo shots and his strikeouts start happening with men on base he is going to produce a lot fewer runs. He’s been doing it so far though so no reason to mess with a good thing.
I like him because he was 2nd in hrs (38), & 1st in RBI’s 113 & he loves being a Brave. His defense is much better then everyone wants to believe.
How much did Mil pay for JBJ?
No comparison, sign Duvall – pay him
Agreed, but this team has got to get more OBP into the lineup for Duvall to have those RBI opps. Rosario was a god during the playoffs, not only because he was hitting everything, but also because of plate discipline, working counts to get his pitch, etc. Not everyone can have the swing-first mentality that has defined most of the lineup (inc. Swanson, Albies, Acuña up until this season). That’s why Rosario needs to come back. And I can’t wait for Michael Harris, not soon enough!
“$9.1 million for 1 year is a pretty steep price for Duvall though.”
Not at all, that’s cheap for the value. Duvall’s OBP skills suck, but he’s good at everything else, and has been a prorated 2-3 WAR value player every year since 2016, with only his 2018 stint in Atlanta a negative.
Knowing that Acuna may not be ready to start the season and Ozuna might not be eligible at all, spending $9mm on a ~2 WAR outfielder who actually can offer neutral-to-plus defense at all three positions seems like a very good call.
He won’t sign for one year.
He is arbitration eligible. Braves will make an offer and if he declines they are arbitration bound if i am reading the story correctly. He is getting a 3 million buyout plus whatever he either negotiates or gets via arbitration.
9.1 mm plus the 3 mm buyout.
That’s a nice double dip for a player who hasn’t reached free agency yet
i was about to question this scenario. Seems not right. i kinda feel like if you opt out and get a buy out during arb then you are giving up your arb year(s).
It really shows the reach of team control
This is what I was thinking. He only has to get 5 mil to increase his overall earnings with the buyout. If he doesnt get nontendered and goes through arb, you could clear $10m total.
Do the Braves or Marlins owe the $3M buyout?
The Braves owe them buyout
Braves since they traded for him and took on all of the responsibility for the remainder of Duvall’s contract
Buyout counts against this year’s payroll, yes? Probably best for all concerned. They may have an agreement for 1/8 or something for next year.
Yeah. The buyout portion only hurts the year that’s already over im terms of luxury tax. It won’t really matter though unless the Braves plan on spending over $207 million on next seasons payroll. That kind of stuff only matters to teams who come close to hitting the $210 million limit. It’d be nice to see the Braves jump up to $209M or so. Take a defending World Champion. Increase payroll by over $60 million. Still don’t even become a first time luxury tax offender. Nice place to be in financially. In the meantime the Yankees cam let guys like Rizzo and Kluber walk without replacing them or anyone else and still be $12 million over the luxury tax next season. They break the luxury tax even if they get worse. Same with the Dodgers but unlike the Yankees I don’t think the Dodgers care one bit about the luxury tax.
I would think at that price would been a steal 38 home runs lead the league in RBI and played a playable center field.
I am sure he returns to Atlanta as they will render him a contract.
I thought the guess from Mets missed war was a good one. Ghosthen if you have the time to spew that much hate, maybe you need a job?
You should learn to spell you slimey troll
I may be crazy, but I was under the assumption that the buyout only takes effect if the club declined the option. I don’t think the player declining triggers a buyout.
Dustkemp;
It was a mutual option so the buyout was written in like that. It would be a bigger buy out if Atlanta declined.
Do you have a source to confirm that? I don’t believe it is correct, but I may be mistaken. There is no bigger buyout referenced anywhere. My read was he gets the $3 million if Atlanta declines, he gets no buyout if he declines.
Yes this article. It’s above if you read it.
Thanks :), my point was I think the article may be wrong.
I found this on ESPN from 5 years ago regarding mutual options:
“We’ve kept a bit of information from you so far. There are four ways a mutual option can work: (1) No buyout at all. This is rare. (2) A buyout regardless of who declines the option. (3) A buyout only if the club declines the option. (4) Each side’s option is at a different price. So the club might have an option to pay the player $10 million, while the player might have an option to play at $8 million.
Nobody could give a definitive answer, but based on our review of public information about the 100 mutual options, it appears that the second type — a buyout regardless, such as in Bautista’s new deal — is the most common. But the third and fourth types do exist, and in those cases, there is a narrow sliver of salary where both sides can make a rational decision even if they disagree about what the player is worth.”
So it seems MLBTR is using the assumption that unless it is reported otherwise, the mutual option is type #2, but I don’t know that you can say that for sure.
The buyout was part of the guaranteed money on Duvall’s contract.
The article is right. The Braves non-tendered Duvall before last season so he was a free agent but would still be controlled by whichever team picked him up the season after that. The deal the Marlins gave him had the mutual option with the buyout. My guess is that’s a big reason they traded him. They didn’t want to pay him $3 million to leave so the Braves picked that up for them.
Dustkemp;
I misread some articles I believe buyout was the same price no matter what. Sorry for wrong information
Duvall might not be a great hitter, but he’s good enough and makes up for it with very good defense at all three OF positions.
I thought Duvall would be tendered last year so who knows. I expect them to keep 2 of Rosario/Soler/Duvall and Adam makes sense with his positional flexibility. My gut says he’s back at a slightly lower number (1/7.5?) and Rosario at a similar rate.
Duvall won the National League’s RBI title and came just short of 40 homers, so I expect he’ll be able to go a lot higher in arbitration than $7.5mm. I can see him in the 9-10 million range.
I think if they keep another one of those three outfielders, it’ll be Rosario. Soler’s really a DH, and Atlanta’s still got Ozuna under contract for another three years, so not a great fit there.
What of Ozuna? They need to decide soon.
They sure as heck can’t count on Ozuna playing, even if they want him. Rosario, Duvall, Acuna, Soler isn’t a bad way to start 2022. If they get an NL DH it’s even better.
Rosario has huge fan popularity right now as well…
Winning the championship (including the addt revenue that comes with that) without Ozuna makes it less likely for him to return, even if that means writing him off. They’ve found his replacement in either Rosario and/or Soler, unless Freeman isn’t re-signed – depending more on in-house mid-order bats.
Ozuna is a question mark for multiple reasons, which the Braves themselves can’t answer. First, the issue of a (possible? likely?) suspension from MLB means they don’t even know if he’ll be on the 2022 roster or not. He might miss the entire season, or he might miss no time at all; he was kept on administrative leave for some of 2021, which MLB might consider as ‘time served’ if Ozuna completes his diversion program and all charges are dropped.
Second is the possibility of the NL committing to the Designated Hitter. If the NL does not adopt the rule and Ozuna plays, he’s the regular left fielder, but if the league *does* make the change, he becomes the Braves’ DH and now Atlanta needs someone else who can start in left every day (hence our discussion about Duvall).
Third is the question of what a potential suspension does with Atlanta’s 2022 payroll. If Ozuna is benched the whole year, that presumably gives Anthopoulos an extra $16 million to spend, which is a massive chunk of change. But that’s money AA can’t simply commit elsewhere until MLB determines Ozuna’s eligibility. If they drag it out, many of the players that money could be spent on will likely be off the market. It might be that AA just pockets any Ozuna savings for use with deadline acquisitions, but even that’s just a guess.
You’re not wrong, I’m just not sure the Braves go that high on a guy that strikes out that much. AA might have a trade or another FA center fielder in mind. They were reportedly interested in the Pittsburgh kid at the deadline. Something’s gotta give with the glut of pitching and the 40 man roster crunch that’s coming.
I’d say Duvall goes, but keep Rosario and Soler. With Acura coming back, he’s the CF. However you never know with the NL getting the DH, all may come back next year.
With 113 reg season RBI’s and 38 HR’s Duvall is still the best Hitter of the bunch He is just not as good VS LH pitching
Frank Reid
Acuna coming back from leg issues center fielder probably not the spot.
Plus Duvall is only that we have under control for 1 year. Rosario: Soler going take a multi year agreement as their values are really high right now
Id like to keep Rosario and if there is a DH keep Soler. Ozuna probable wont play till after a long suspension, Also keep Chavez and Freddie. We Will need some Bullpen Help, And maybe Adrianza?
Braves don’t need to decide right away whether to tender Duvall a contract. They can negotiate with him, Rosario, Soler and others and see where things stand at the non-tender deadline. Which I think is the same day the CBA expires, December 1?
If they keep Duvall- and I believe they will- I think Pederson or Rosario is the way to go as a LH bat in the order.
I’d like Soler back but I think he gets a huge offer anyway, and keeping Freddie is a must, so…
So, he will be getting around 12mil next season or is it 9 with the buyout included? Either way, a lot more than 6 lol
The $9mm salary and $3mm buyout are separate. Also, unless the contract language defers the buyout money, I think Atlanta accounts for the buyout expense this year, and then they just have the Arb3 salary on the books next year.
This is correct.
Damn, I way rather keep Rosario and Soler but Duvall was looking decent in CF and I know both of their defenses are what keep them from getting bigger contracts. Rosario has such consistent stats
Also Pederson will be getting bought out, theres no way he gets 10m. Pederson used to be such a patient hitter when he was younger, He has to rediscover that walkrate he used to have, Otherwise he swings at everything and hits .200
Solid RBI hitter and reliable defender, plus excellent bench presence. $9MM/year seems right on the money.
Jorge soler lead the American League in home runs in 2019 with 48 home runs and he has shown his strength he is getting more than 9 million and probably 4-5 years. He is probably getting 60 million over 4 years or more especially if the national league gets the DH
Hopefully, he is out of ATL.
Keep him
I wouldn’t mind Rosario on the Yankees. The Yankees could use another lefty bat and a player with some speed. Definitely a upgrade over Gardy next year. If not hopefully the Yankees still consider Greg Allen. I really liked the intangibles for the short time he played.
Yes, they should retain him on arbitration, a no-brainer.. Soler, Rosario, Pederson will be offered multi-year deals by other clubs. Pache and Waters are not ready. Freeman will stay but be expensive. Duvall joins Acuna in 2022.
I think they tender a contract to Duvall. The $3M is a sunk cost. To pay the estimated $9.1M for his power, positional flexibility (all 3 OF positions plus 1B), excellent OF defense is a relative bargain. Wish he hit for a better average.
Quietly his game has become similar to Gallo’s, excellent defense, power, and his higher BA partially makes up for lower OBP. A bargain compared to Gallo however. His BA was barely under league average.
If it’s Soler or Duvall I’ll take Soler Everytime. Even Rosario. DuvaL doesn’t hit good pitching.
Soler is the better hitter, but his defense is awful. With Acuna likely missing time to start the year and no certainty that Pache or Waters is ready, Atlanta needs guys who can play nine innings in the field every day. For the Braves, the fact that Duvall can give plus defense in all three outfield spots is probably more valuable than anything he does with the bat.
If Atlanta wasn’t stuck with Ozuna the next three years, I’d be up for Soler as the DH (assuming that happens), but Duvall makes more sense right now.
38 homers and Led Leauge in RBIS for 9M? No brainer. Re-sign the dude! No certainty in any outfield spots.
Duval will receive a 3Mil buyout regardless. I’m sure the budgeting folks factored that in already. Give him another 6Mil regardless and call it done.
The $3MM is effectively part of his 2021 salary. He signed a $5MM deal, but $3MM of it was pushed off in the form of this option buyout. His projected arbitration salary is in addition to the buyout he received today.
Duvall is the only one of the group that can handle center field; I think endless Ozuna is suspended all of 2022 that Soler is the least likely of the bunch to re – signed as Acuna will most likely take right field and if Ozuna hasn’t have a hug suspension time Ozuna would be left field.
My opinion Pederson the most likely to return as with his contract and the buy out it’s only a $7,500,000 contract which in baseball terms is not expensive
I find that unbelievable that Duvall had 113 RBI while accumulating a total of 117 hits!
What’s the saying: walk never and carry a big stick?
Phillies
Its a good problem to have. If the Braves go into 2022 with this same team, it may not get hot like it did the postseason. The Braves need to improve in CF. I wouldn’t be surprised if Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Solar and Joc Peterson move on. Freddie Freeman and pitching is the priority. Marcell Ozuna is signed until 2025. I think the Braves go for youth.
This is a wild situation. So if I understand right, he will basically get ballpark of $12 mil after arbitration is determined (9mil salary plus the 3 mil buyout)? Or is the 3 mil baked into the possible 9 mil salary ???
Bravesfan;
The 3 million is Duvalls no matter what happens to him.
Atlanta caused this last year by not tendering Duvall a contract they were hoping to get him cheaper. Marlins stepped in and signed him so he got to set up a contract. If he was a free agent he would most likely get well paid with his production and power numbers a d the fact that he can play a playable center field.
For Duvalls production of home runs; RBI’S it was well worth it. Had Duvall batted 25 points higher with his defense people be all over him for MVP and longer contract. He was the most productive player Atlanta traded for. Atlanta will get very lucky to see if he can produce again at a high level with only a one year contract to worry about should be fail.
Pederson; Rosario and Soler didn’t put regular season numbers up anywhere close to his. Soler was .200 batting average guy yet nobody is giving the love on this page to Duvall. Had atlanta had a starter in game 5 and not a bullpen Duvall would been the hero with his grand slam.
I Agree.
Retain Duvall, since Acuna will not be ready for Opening Day. Obviously the Freeman extension is first priority. It seems doubtful that they retain everyone, but one of Soler, Rosario, or Pederson would be a good signing.
Help me baby Jesus if the off-season is going to be as dumb as the replies here are.
No brainer! tender Him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!