According to the Braves transaction page, they made a quiet, yet significant move, inking the slugging Jesús Aguilar to a minor-league pact.
Aguilar’s best season came in 2018 with the Brewers, when he hit a career-high 35 homers and recorded an .890 OPS, leading to All-Star honors and a 16th finish in the NL MVP race. He also had some pretty productive numbers with the Fish more recently, hitting 30 homers combined between 2020 and 2021 while recording a more than respectable .794 OPS.
Those numbers have come down significantly over the last two seasons, however. He posted a paltry .661 OPS over 129 games in 2022, and after signing with the A’s this offseason, he was designated for assignment after hitting .221 with a .665 OPS.
Aguilar is nothing more than organizational depth for now, but he does have some upside and a lot of major-league experience. If the Braves need a DH in a pinch, or even a first baseman, he will likely be the first one called up.
I imagine this signing might have had something to do with Marcell Ozuna being hit on the hand in Monday night’s contest versus the Tigers. Had he been forced to miss significant time, the Braves likely would have been scrambling the waiver wire for additional options. Now, they have a backup plan in case somebody goes down with an injury.
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Photographer: Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire
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