The Atlanta Braves made a free-agent signing today, adding veteran outfielder and old friend Adam Duvall on a one-year deal worth $3M for the 2024 season.
President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos discussed the signing with media members present in North Port as the Braves took on the Tampa Bay Rays.
The biggest factor behind the addition of Duvall was his availability - a player of that caliber typically isn't available for that price at this point in spring training.
“You’re bringing a guy in who’s led the league in RBI, won a Gold Glove, all those kinds of things,” Anthopoulos said, as relayed by The Athletic (subscription required). “So it’s a rare opportunity. I didn’t think we’d be sitting here in the middle of March with an opportunity to get a guy like this. So this just solidifies us, because we know we’re going to have needs. Every trade deadline, it seems like we’re trying to add outfielders.”
And indeed, Atlanta has often added outfielders midseason. The Braves acquired four at the 2021 trade deadline, getting Joc Pederson, Duvall, Eddie Rosario, and Jorge Soler. That's actually the 2nd time the Braves have traded for Adam Duvall at the trade deadline, with the first coming in 2018.
Anthopoulos also confirmed that Duvall would platoon with offseason trade acquisition Jarred Kelenic in left field, but insisted that's because of what Duvall can offer and not Kelenic's struggles in spring training.
“Zero, no impact,” Anthopoulos said when asked if Kelenic's struggles contributed to the decision to sign Duvall. “This is about Adam Duvall. … Jared’s looked great, he’s looked great defensively, he’s been unbelievable playing center field, he had a nice game last night. We’re very excited about Jarred and how he’s doing. Thrilled.”
Kelenic is 3-34 in Grapefruit League action, all singles, with nine strikeouts in twelve games. He's still acclimating to some swing adjustments, including a lowered handset courtesy of hitting coach Kevin Seitzer.
And Anthopoulos also addressed Duvall's availability for the regular season, as the veteran has not been in camp and is facing an accelerated timeline to be ready for Opening Day. “He’ll work with the coaches and the training staff and he knows himself,” Anthopoulos said. “But we’ll get him as many at-bats as we can, and we even told him: you’ve got to get ready for game 3.”
The reference to game three indicates that Duvall is going to be the team's preference to face left-handed pitching, with the Philadelphia Phillies previously announcing lefthander Ranger Suarez as the starter for game three of the season.
For his career, Duvall has a 103 OPS+ against lefthanders, batting .232/.301/.469 with 45 career homers. In 2023, with the Boston Red Sox, Duvall hit .244 against lefthander pitching and .284 against lefthanded starters.
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