The Atlanta Braves got better with the signing of Adam Duvall on Thursday.
But did they also make a divisional rival better in the process?
Veteran outfielder Jordan Luplow, who was released after Duvall's signing, immediately agreed to a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies and is expected to be in their spring training camp today.
Luplow, 30, has the most experience of Atlanta's backup outfielder options in camp, having 361 games and 1060 plate appearances in the majors. But the signing of Duvall made him redundant, and Atlanta announced they were releasing him on Thursday night "to allow him to pursue other opportunities."
About that.
If there was a weakness on this Philadelphia roster, it was in the outfield. With Bryce Harper's move to first base being permanent, the outfield depth for Philly was lacking behind starters Nick Castellanos (right), Brandon Marsh (left), and youngster Johan Rojas (center), with only former Braves prospect Cristian Pache and 35-year-old utilityman Whit Merrifield as fallback options.
And even the starters haven't been that much of a sure thing - Marsh just finally returned to limited game action after having an arthroscopic procedure on his knee early in camp, while Rojas has only 149 at-bats in the majors after being promoted out of Double-A Reading out of necessity last season.
And so adding Luplow, provided he makes the team over the offensively-challenged Pache, adds veteran experience and platoon insurance for Philly. Luplow's having a good spring, batting .276/.364/.621 in Grapefruit League action with three home runs in twelve games.
He's always mashed lefty pitching, with 33 homers in just under one season of plate appearances against lefthanders (565) in his career. He's probably not more than a short-side platoon mate, with a career .197/.283/.343 line against righties, but he allows Philly to improve the late-game defense, can start against lefties, and will undoubtedly be good for a clutch homer or two when the Phillies need it the most.
Let's just hope it's not against the Braves.
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