The Braves announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Dylan Dodd, who was reported last week to have secured a rotation spot. In corresponding moves, left-hander Jared Shuster was optioned to Triple-A while outfielder Jordan Luplow was designated for assignment.
Luplow, 29, was signed by Atlanta this offseason to a one-year, $1.4MM deal. The outfielder had spent 2022 with the Diamondbacks, but limped to a .176/.274/.361 batting line on the year and a wRC+ of 78. He could have been retained via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a salary of $2MM, but Arizona designated him for assignment instead. After becoming a free agent, Luplow signed that deal with Atlanta, a bit below his arb projection.
He would have been line for a bench outfield role but the club later added some more options into the competition for that job, acquiring Eli White and signing Kevin Pillar to a minor league deal. The latter of those two eventually had his contract selected and made the roster alongside Sam Hilliard, with Luplow getting optioned to the minors. Luplow’s now lost his spot on the 40-man roster as well.
The club will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Despite recent struggles, Luplow has occasionally seemed like a viable platoon outfielder. The right-handed hitter has a career batting line of .226/.337/.505 against lefties for a wRC+ of 125, compared to a .200/.288/.355 line and 76 wRC+ against righties. That could lead to some interest around the league but it’s a fairly similar profile to Darin Ruf, who was released by the Mets today and can now be signed for the league minimum. One thing Luplow offers beyond Ruf, though, is the ability to be optioned to the minors. Luplow is also shy of five years service time and therefore can be retained for 2024 via arbitration.
If Luplow were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would have the ability to reject an outright assignment and return to free agency, though he might not do so. Since he’s shy of the five-year service mark, he would have to leave his salary on the table in order to return to the open market. Perhaps the $1.4MM would be enough to convince him to stick in Gwinnett as depth, if that comes to pass.
As for Shuster, he has been optioned but it’s possible there are some roster shenanigans going on. Pitchers optioned to the minors can’t return for 15 days, but an exception is made when another played is going on the injured list. Manager Brian Snitker has said that lefty Max Fried will be placed on the injured list, though the club hasn’t done so yet. Once they make that move official, it’s possible that Shuster gets added back to the active roster. That being said, he didn’t exactly wow in his debut, allowing four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. He walked five opponents, allowed six hits and only struck out one. Perhaps he’ll get some more work in Gwinnett and the big league club will consider giving his spot to Dodd, Bryce Elder, Ian Anderson or Michael Soroka, at least until Fried and Kyle Wright are ready to come off the injured list.