The Braves have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Kyle Farmer, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The BHSC client will be in camp as a non-roster player this spring, where he’ll compete for a bench job.
Farmer, 35, was the Reds’ starting shortstop in 2021-22 and had a nice 2023 showing with the Twins. Across those three seasons, he slashed a collective .258/.316/.402 (94 wRC+) while playing solid defense at shortstop, third base and second base (the latter two more so in Minnesota than in Cincinnati). He’s never been great against right-handed pitching but sports a career .279/.341/.464 batting line (117 wRC+) in 792 plate appearances against lefties.
The past two seasons haven’t gone nearly as well for Farmer. He hit .214/.293/.353 during his second season with Minnesota in 2024, prompting the Twins to decline an option and make him a free agent. Farmer signed a big league deal with the Rockies last offsseason but slashed just .227/.280/.365 despite the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field.
Even coming off a pair of down seasons, he’s a sensible pickup for a Braves club that thought it had its shortstop situation settled when re-signing Ha-Seong Kim on a one-year, $20MM contract. Kim suffered a freak injury last month when he slipped on some ice, landed on his hand and suffered a torn tendon, however. That injury required surgery that could keep him out for the first couple months of the season. Atlanta quickly pivoted to bring Jorge Mateo in on a one-year deal, and Farmer now joins the infield group on as a non-roster invitee.
The Braves have Mauricio Dubon lined up to start at shortstop in Kim’s absence, though the versatile Dubon can play all over the diamond and could spell free agent signee Mike Yastrzemski in the outfield against lefties. On those days — or when Yastrzemski is lifted for a pinch-hitter — Farmer could step into shortstop as Dubon slides to the outfield.
Of course, Farmer will have to play well enough this spring to break camp with the club. The presence of Mateo already gives Atlanta at least one shortstop alternative to Dubon, Mateo can play multiple positions, including the outfield, but like Farmer he’s a righty-swinging veteran who can’t be optioned, so the two of them could be seen as redundant when the Braves are making their final roster decisions. For now anyway, Farmer provides some depth and would seem to have a real chance to make the club.