Braves sign Leury García and Jorge Juan to minor league contracts

The Atlanta Braves have made two depth signings, bringing on centerfielder Leury García and RHP Jorge Juan to minor league contracts per the team's transactions page. 

García, 32, was signed as an international free agent in 2007 by the Texas Rangers. Traded to the Chicago White Sox shortly after his 2013 debut, García holds a lifetime .253/.293/.350 slashline while playing in 701 games across 10 seasons in MLB. 

Originally entering the Rangers organization as a shortstop, García moved into more of a utility role during his time in the minors, playing centerfield, second base, and third base in addition to occasional run at shortstop. 

During his MLB career, he's appeared at every position on the diamond but first base and catcher, wth most of his playtime coming in centerfield. He has a .974 fielding percentage out on the grass, with only 19 errors in 3,048.2 defensive innings.   

Juan, 24, was signed as an international free agent in 2017 by the Oakland Athletics. After missing almost all of 2022 with an unspecified injury, his third run through High-A in 2023 was a success, with a 1-0 record and 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings with the Lansing Lugnuts. He stumbled to a 1-4 record and 5.66 ERA in 35 relief innings after being promoted to the AA Midland RockHounds in mid-May, and elected free agency after the season.  

The 6-8, 200-lb Juan is listed by MLB as assigned to Atlanta's AA roster and reportedly throws a mid-90s fastball that can touch 99 with a mid-80s power slider with unique break. His control's been an issue throughout his career, however, with 6.4 walks per nine innings across his 173 career minor league innings. 

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