On Sunday, the Atlanta Braves signed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. The right-handed hitter hit .233/.271/.384, 21 HR, 68 RBI, and 77 OPS+ for the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024. For his major league career, which spans parts of four seasons, he’s hit .253/.297/.407, 58 HR, 208 RBI, and 90 OPS+.
The #Braves today signed OF Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the 2025 season.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 15, 2024
Braves Sign Bryan De La Cruz
With De La Cruz’s power numbers comes plenty of baggage, however, in the form of high chase and low contact rates along with minus defense. For his career, he’s struck out in 25 percent of his plate appearances and walked in just 5.8 percent. Those numbers are trending in the wrong direction. In 2024, he had a 27.3 percent strikeout rate to go with his 4.7 percent walk rate. In the outfield, he’s been “worth” -24 Fielding Runs Above Average (FRAA) and -14 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) over his career. His -9 FRAA and -7 DRS in 2024 contributed to those figures, indicating his defense is trending the wrong way. He’s played all three outfield positions but is more suited to a corner spot.
The Pirates acquired De La Cruz at the trade deadline last year for prospects Garret Forrester and Jun-Seok Shim. The Pirates may come to regret this one. But they were still in the National League Wild Card race at the time and were desperate for power hitting. Unfortunately, after De La Cruz’s arrival, they were still desperate for power hitting. He produced a stat line of just .200/.220/.294, 3 HR, 17 RBI, and 42 OPS+ in 44 games with Pittsburgh. With De La Cruz eligible for arbitration in 2025 with a projected $4 million salary, a 421 percent raise from his 2023 pay, the Pirates non-tendered him and let him become a free agent.
With the Braves, De La Cruz is now in his fourth organization. He was first signed by the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent in 2013. He’ll surely welcome the opportunity to prove himself with a new team. With too many negatives outweighing his positives, however, one must wonder whether this is the last one.
Photo Credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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