With Jorge Soler and Ramon Laureano off the roster and Ronald Acuna Jr. likely not available on Opening Day, the Braves bolstered the outfield depth in mid-December with a former Marlin. The Braves signed Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year deal, adding some pop and depth for next season.
A Look at De La Cruz
Former Marlin outfielder Bryan De La Cruz became a valuable bat in Miami after the former Astro prospect practically hit his way out of the organization. De La Cruz hit .320 (.880 OPS) in Triple-A Sugar Land in 2021 before a trade that saw the Marlins trade Yimi Garcia and Austin Pruitt to Houston for the outfielder.
Now 28 years old, De La Cruz didn’t have a spot in the Astros’ organization. He did with Miami, as De La Cruz turned into a valuable bat for the Marlins in 2022-24. De La Cruz hit a career-high 19 home runs for the Marlins‘ postseason-bound team in 2023, then 18 more with Miami in 2024.
The Marlins traded De La Cruz in July 2024 for infielder Garret Forrester and pitcher Jun-Seok Shim.
De La Cruz, however, was not the bat the Pirates were looking for last summer, nor was he hitting at all in the second half. He hit .200/.220/.294 with the Pirates and his .568 OPS over the second half was ninth-worst (min. 175 PA) in baseball. And among outfielders, De La Cruz ranked third-worst, behind only Jake Meyers (.526) and Luis Robert Jr. (.555).
At his core. De La Cruz is a good power hitter with a penchant of squaring up baseballs. De La Cruz ranked above-average in Barrel% in each of the last three seasons, all while making enough contact to be a valuable contact hitters.
He possesses a natural power swing: some length, good bat speed, and swing loft.
Additionally, De La Cruz doesn’t have problems catching up to fastballs. In particular, the 28-year-old’s been known in the past to beat up on two-seamers in the zone. During the 2023 season, De La Cruz hit .330 with five home runs off sinkers.
He is, however, a habitual chaser and De La Cruz doesn’t walk much. De La Cruz’s walk rate in each of his four MLB seasons has ranked below the league average and his career-high in OBP over a full season is .304 (.2023).
Defensively, De La Cruz played primarily left field in Miami but did see some time in right field. He played often in center in his first two seasons in the Majors. With Pittsburgh, De La Cruz slotted in as the team’s right fielder with Bryan Reynolds in place. His arm strength (88th percentile in baseball) fits well in right, although his range (-17 career Outs Above Average) has never been great.
Per the team, the Braves signed Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal.
Analysis
There’s virtually little risk for the Braves with this deal. De La Cruz won’t be on a guaranteed MLB deal heading into Spring Training and because he has options and hasn’t accrued five seasons in the Majors, can easily be sent to the Minors if he has a poor spring.
It’s a gamble for De La Cruz himself. But, it is one where he’ll have opportunity to crack the Braves’ Opening Day roster.
Atlanta does need outfield help, specifically a right-handed bat. The Braves traded OF/DH Jorge Soler to the Angels in a salary dump, then non-tendered outfielder Ramon Laureano — in his final year of arbitration — before he likely would have commanded a raise from the $5.15MM he netted in his third run through arbitration.
The Braves’ front office confirmed in November star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. won’t be ready for Opening Day, leaving the door open for De La Cruz to make the team out of camp. And even when Acuna Jr. ultimately comes back, he may be asked to get regular time in left field anyway, especially with Jarred Kelenic‘s playing time in question.
Over 49 second-half games, Kelenic only picked up 152 plate appearances.