His tenure with the Braves was short-lived, as 33-year-old first baseman Yonder Alonso was involved in a trade with the Padres on Tuesday night in exchange for cash.
Padres Acquire Yonder Alonso https://t.co/zc4FGvkgzh pic.twitter.com/03nbBESSQQ
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) August 12, 2020
Once in San Diego, Alonso will join the Padres’ taxi squad, where he’ll continue to look for his first big league AB of the 2020 season.
The Braves signed the 10-year veteran to a minor league contract back in February of this year. However, once MLB resumed last month, he never reported to the team’s alternate site in Gwinnett, thus earning a place on the Braves’ restricted list (where he has been all season). And although there were somewhat optimistic expectations surrounding his signing this past winter, thanks primarily to his power at the plate, Alonso failed to impress during Spring Training, going just 2 for 28 (.071 AVG) with six strikeouts in 13 exhibition games as a Brave.
Given Alonso’s inability to play anywhere other than first base, and the fact that his bat has declined too drastically to be featured as a DH, there wasn’t much room on the Braves’ roster this season for the lefty-hitting Cuban. At least this way, Alonso will now join his brother-in-law, Padres’ third baseman Manny Machado, and return to a team he once played for from 2012-15.
The Braves’ first base situation will go unimpacted. So far this season, the team has used four different players at first base, giving Freddie Freeman the majority of the playing time as he has started 16 games there, followed by Charlie Culberson (3 G), Matt Adams (2 G) and Austin Riley (1 G). Considering every season Freeman is hellbent on starting all 162; it’s highly doubtful — unless there’s an injury — that he’s taken out of the lineup during this shortened season for any reason other than routine rest.
Alonso will immediately report to the University of San Diego, home of the Padres’ alternate site this season.
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