The Atlanta Braves signed OF Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed split contract on Sunday. If De La Cruz is unable to make the big-league roster out of spring training, the Braves can option De La Cruz to the Triple-A.

Bryan De La Cruz turned 28 today, so happy birthday to Bryan and welcome to the Braves.

De La Cruz debuted with the Miami Marlins in 2021. He played with the Marlins until last season when Miami traded him to the Pirates at the trade deadline for Garrett Forrester and Jun-Seok Shim. He was non-tendered by the Pirates in November.

Financial terms of his deal with the Braves have not been disclosed, but De La Cruz made $768,000 last year.

Bryan De La Cruz Statistics

In 1,822 career PAs, De La Cruz has a triple slash line of .253/.297/.407 (.704 OPS). That equates to an OPS+ of 90 (10% below league average).

De La Cruz has a 162-game average of 60 runs, 29 doubles, one triple, 20 home runs, 71 runs batted in, five stolen bases, and one caught stealing.

He has exceeded the 20-homer mark once in his career when he hit 21 last season. He racked up 18 homers with the Marlins in 105 games in 2024 but only hit three more in 44 games with the Pirates to end the year.

De La Cruz had -8 Outs Above Average (OAA) in 2024 and has -24 defensive runs saved in the outfield over his career (-19 of those came in CF). His arm strength rates in the 88th percentile. He’s a corner outfielder who lacks range and has a good arm. Sounds a little like Acuna but with a well below-average bat… Oh, that’s not good.

Atlanta Braves 2025 Outfield Options

The Braves have three major needs to address this offseason, the starting rotation, shortstop, and left field. As of now, the Braves have Michael Harris II, Jarred Kelenic, Eli White, Luke Williams and now Bryan De La Cruz.

It’s possible the Opening Day outfield (as the roster is structured now) could have Michael Harris II, Jarred Kelenic, and Bryan De La Cruz. Jarred Kelenic had an 87 OPS+ in 2024 while De La Cruz posted a 77 OPS+.

Yikes.

That’s not the look you want to rollout for a team that hopes to content for the NL East title.

Bryan De La Cruz Might Be Outfield Depth

The Braves need some bodies to fill in while Acuna finishes his recovery. De La Cruz is not the probably not the solution, unless the Anthopoulos is content with a below-average player in every way. If anything, it is more likely this move is just to provide a little depth in the outfield.

Even though the Braves are expecting Acuna to return in the first couple months of the season, there are a lot of question marks surrounding how much he’ll be able to play the field. There are also a lot of questions regarding Jarred Kelenic’s production, as well.

The Upside: If De La Cruz can show more discipline at the plate (7th percentile in walk rate and 22nd percentile in chase rate), he might be able to convert some of his raw power into plus metrics. He’s definitely an intriguing piece to get a minimal cost to see what sort of improvement the Braves organization can get.

This organization knows when they see something they like. Afterall, they had the foresight of signing Reynaldo Lopez before last season and successfully converting him back into a starter.

To recap, here are a couple possible outcomes following the De La Cruz signing.

1. De La Cruz serves as depth in the minor leagues and improves his patience to eventually become a valued role player for the club at a steep discount.
2. De La Cruz was signed to be an expendable warm body in the outfield until Acuna returns because the Braves think they have enough firepower elsewhere in the lineup to make up for the below-average hitting from the corners of the outfield to start the year.
3. They actually believe he’s capable of improving to a league-average level bat and is a capable fill-in until Acuna returns.

What do you expect from Bryan De La Cruz this season? Let us know in the comments.