Braves switch up their outfield ahead of series versus Twins

With the way the Braves outfield has been performing, it felt like they had no choice but to turn to Alex Verdugo. The only question is who would go down.

The answer is Bryan De La Cruz, who really struggled to begin this season, hitting just .191 with a .493 OPS. Given he’s also a defensive liability, he really wasn’t offering anything to the team. With Eli White coming off his best game of the season, it’s not too much of a surprise the Braves decided to keep him up.

Jarred Kelenic also seemed like a candidate that could be sent down. He hasn’t been anymore productive than Bryan De La Cruz and also has options. However, Kelenic does have some upside, and the Braves also invested a ton into him last offseason. It appears they aren’t quite ready to give up on that experiment just yet.

Alex Verdugo might not be an All-Star, but he should be a significant upgrade over what the Braves have gotten so far out of their outfielders. While 2024 was a year to forget, he accrued 11.0 WAR over 599 games from 2019-2023, posting a .770 OPS with a 106 OPS+ (6% above league average). If he can be anything close to that guy, he’s going to see a lot of playing time for the Braves this season.