"Going into the season, outfield depth looked like it was a strength for the Atlanta Braves, at least in the number of somewhat-recognizable names you could list off beyond the starting trio. The Braves had an outfield full of All-Star level talent once Ronald Acuña Jr. came back, especially since they addressed left field with Jurickson Profar. They also had Jarred Kelenic as depth, Alex Verdugo, and Eli White could play all over the field. Bryan De La Cruz was another one of those names."
"Because of said depth, they offered Bryan De La Cruz a one-year, non-guaranteed contract in the middle of December 2024. Given the eventual injury and suspension woes in the outfield, this signing had the potential to be, if not brilliant, then at least inspired - provided that De La Cruz ended up being useful. What were the expectations? Considering his contract was non-guaranteed, it pretty much goes without saying that the expectations were low. He was purely depth. Any positive value he brought was icing on the cake, if you will."
"De La Cruz was productive with the bat as recently as 2022, with a .252/.294/.432 power-oriented line that was good for a 99 wRC+ in Miami's cavernous ballpark across 355 PAs. He substantially underhit his xwOBA that year (.355 xwOBA, .313 wOBA), and then did so again next year (.331 xwOBA, .309 wOBA) in a sub-replacement full-season performance."
The Atlanta Braves entered the season with significant outfield depth beyond their starters, including Ronald Acuña Jr., Jurickson Profar, Jarred Kelenic, Alex Verdugo, Eli White, and Bryan De La Cruz. The Braves signed De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract in December 2024 strictly as depth, with low expectations. De La Cruz produced a .252/.294/.432 line and 99 wRC+ in 2022 but underhit his xwOBA. His underlying metrics and results declined across 2023 and 2024, with a severe drop after a Trade Deadline move to Pittsburgh that led to a non-tender decision.
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