The Atlanta Braves outrighted newly acquired infielder David Fletcher to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday in a procedural move.
The Braves fully intend to return Fletcher to the 40-man roster and be their primary utility infielder in 2024, The Athletic reported.
The move, which comes four days before Fletcher would have enough service time to reject the assignment, allows the Braves roster flexibility, per the report. With a $15 million price tag, the Braves were confident Fletcher would clear waivers.
The Braves acquired Fletcher last week in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels.
Fletcher, 29, had spent his entire major league career with the Angels since debuting in 2018.
Fletcher played in a career-low 33 games in 2023, batting .247 with two home runs and 12 RBIs. He is a career .277 hitter and batted .319 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he received American League MVP votes.
He has 98 doubles, 16 homers and 168 RBIs in 534 career games. Defensively, he has starting experience at second base, shortstop, third base and in the outfield.
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