The Braves have signed outfielder Ramón Laureano to a minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided on X. The outfielder was recently released by the Guardians and will presumably now head to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Laureano, now 29, got his major league career off to a hot start but he was cooled off by an 80-game PED suspension and hasn’t really gotten back on track since. With the Athletics from 2018 to 2021, he took 1,257 plate appearances and hit 49 home runs in that time. He batted .263/.335/.465 overall for a 119 wRC+, indicating his offense was 19% better than league average in that time. He also stole 34 bases and was considered a solid defender in the outfield.
But in 2021, as mentioned, he was dinged for testing positive for Nandrolone, a banned performance-enhancing substance. He returned to the A’s in 2022 but slashed just .211/.287/.376 that year for a wRC+ of 95. He struggled again in 2023, slashing .213/.280/.364 for the A’s before they put him on waivers.
The Guardians put in a claim and saw a bit of a bounceback late last year. In 41 games for Cleveland, Laureano hit three home runs and stole four bases, slashing .243/.342/.382 for a 106 wRC+. The Guards were evidently encouraged by that, as they tendered Laureano a contract and agreed to a salary of $5.15MM.
Unfortunately, his 2024 season has been abysmal thus far. He struck out in 38.6% of his trips to the plate with Cleveland and was hitting .143/.265/.229 when he was designated for assignment last week and eventually released.
For Atlanta, there’s essentially no risk in bringing him aboard. Since the Guardians released him, they remain on the hook for the majority of his salary. If Atlanta selects him to their roster at any point, they would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum salary for however long he holds a spot, with that amount subtracted from what Cleveland pays.
Atlanta’s outfield depth was significantly thinned this week with the news that Ronald Acuña Jr. has a torn left ACL and will miss the rest of the season. The club still has Michael Harris II in center but Jarred Kelenic and Adam Duvall are now the everyday options in the corners. J.P. Martínez has been recalled to take Acuña’s place on the roster but he’s more of a speedy bench outfielder.
Kelenic and Duvall were previously in a platoon but could wind up overexposed as everyday players in Acuña’s absence. Kelenic swings from the left side and has hit just .188/.252/.307 in his career against southpaws, with Atlanta giving him just seven appearances against them so far this year. Duvall is right-handed and better against lefties, but isn’t a total liability against righties. He has a career .235/.307/.477 batting line and 105 wRC+ with the platoon advantage, with a line of .230/.285/.468 and 95 wRC+ without it.
Similar to Duvall, Laureano is a righty with modest platoon splits. He has hit .263/.334/.440 against southpaws for a 116 wRC+ and .232/.311/.414 otherwise for a 103 wRC+. Even last year, when he didn’t hit well overall, he was able to produce a .270/.333/.460 line and 121 wRC+ against lefties.
Atlanta will get a close-up look at Laureano and see if he can get back on track. He’s been in rough form this year but, as mentioned, they have almost nothing to lose by signing this deal and seeing how it goes. If Laureano can return to his old form, perhaps that will help them bolster their outfield or at least keep lefties away from Kelenic.
They need an Outfielder. Lets see if the Braves can work more magic
Here comes AA’s dark magic that will revive Laureano’s carrer
I think the only thing that will revive his career is the thing that got him banned for 80 games before. That probably won’t be happening.
Worth a shot.
See what I did there?
So a team with their own proprietary blend of undetectable PED’s?
I’m instantly picking up in fantasy btw lol
He just won World Series MVP. Braves in 5
I knew something like this would happen
Braves were not going to trade for Hays or Mullins
feels like Luis Robert is gonna move. at the deadline but then again braves rarely do the big obvious acquisition
What’s so obvious about trading for a guy who’s only played in 58% of games over the last 3 years?
Made the most sense from the guys available
Stupid comment
All of Hotdog’s comments are stupid.
He’s a real weenie.
I don’t relish the opportunity to read them.
Educate yourself.
put that username into use and go fatten yourself up with enough hotdogs to make you realize your comments are useless
I think Marte would be a nice fit and be minimal cost.
Starling Marte? That $19,5 mill he’s making this season w/the same amount owed next season isn’t a “minimal cost.” Taking that deal on would rocket the Braves well into the 3rd luxury tax. Paying him more than Ozuna would be owed if his 2025 option’s picked up is an awful idea. Mets are stuck w/him unless they eat a ton of that money. Besides the money, Marte’s adventerous exploits in the outfield are horrifying and he’s a victim for any breaking ball. No thanks.
Braves trying to do their voodoo and turn Lauerano into a productive hitter again. It might just work too!
Duh move of the year sorry
I guess those PEDs made a difference.
Seems like just yesterday that almost every writer was calling him the next Mike Trout. Many predicting even better than that
Knew it.
This move is just as bad as bringing up Schwellenbach to start a game when he hasn’t even been past AA! These moves have caused a knee jerk reaction that quite frankly is gonna blow up in their face.
Yeah, having Harris and Strider skip AAA was awful too.
How is signing a player to a minor league deal to improve depth going to “blow up in their face”? Schwellenbach is receiving a spot start tonight because none of the AAA Quad A starters are available to pitch. Neither is his AA teammate Waldrup. Would you rather see a bullpen game? He’ll be 24 on Friday. Mature college player. It’s not like they’re bringing up a kid right out of high school. If he gets knocked around a little bit, so what? Good experience for him. He’s talented and deserves the chance more than any other pitcher they have available. It’s not going to ruin his career if things don’t go well. Plenty of young pitchers get beat up at first. Why not wait until you’ve seen him pitch. He’s pretty good—-and you gain experience by being given the opportunity to get it. I changed my regular Wednesday night fishing trip to tomorrow to watch his debut. Looking forward to this.
If Cleveland gives up on a guy with a 5 million contract it says something about the guy. Maybe he figures it out but he is a platoon player who stopped hitting left handed pitchers and that doesn’t bode well.