The Braves introduced that outfielder Bryan De La Cruz has been signed to a non-guaranteed deal for the 2025 season. De La Cruz turned a free agent after he was non-tendered by the Pirates final month.
No stranger to the NL East, De La Cruz spent broke into the majors with the Marlins in 2021 and spent components of the subsequent 4 seasons within the Miami outfield. A component-time function become primarily on a regular basis obligation by the top of the 2022 marketing campaign, and De La Cruz hit .263/.311/.420 with 37 homers over 1200 plate appearances for the Fish in the course of the 2021-23 seasons.
Sadly, the manufacturing trended downward, from a 111 wRC+ in 219 PA in De La Cruz’s rookie season to a 99 in 2022, then a 90 in 2023, and right down to a 77 wRC+ in 2024. De La Cruz hit 21 homers this previous season however solely with a .233/.271/.384 slash line in 622 mixed PA with the Marlins and Pirates. The majority of the struggles got here after Pittsburgh acquired De La Cruz on the commerce deadline, as De La Cruz hit solely .200/.220/.294 in 168 PA along with his new crew.
The dropoff was so drastic that the Pirates opted to non-tender De La Cruz relatively than pay him a projected $4MM wage within the first of three arbitration-eligible seasons. Given these three years of management and the truth that the Bucs gave up two prospects for De La Cruz on the deadline, it might’ve been comprehensible if the Pirates had saved De La Cruz round for an additional look, but the $4MM price ticket and his sub-replacement degree play made the non-tender a justifiable name.
De La Cruz has primarily been a power-only participant thus far in his profession, and he has had constantly strong hard-contact numbers. Nevertheless, making contact has been a wrestle since De La Cruz has a 25% profession strikeout price, and he doesn’t usually take walks. De La Cruz has expertise in any respect three outfield positions and he has a very good throwing arm however is taken into account a middling defender at finest.
Extra to come back…
