Outfielder Lane Adams has elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment from the Braves, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). He had already cleared waivers after recently being designated for assignment.
Adams has been a useful asset for the Braves since joining the organization on a minor-league deal in advance of the 2017 season. He has carried a .264/.338/.450 slash line with six home runs in 146 total plate appearances since being called up this time last year.
Of course, that’s obviously not a terribly significant amount of playing time. It’s worth noting, too, that Adams had been more a good than a great performer in the upper minors in recent seasons. (He owns a .721 OPS in 384 Triple-A plate appearances and a .777 mark in his 1,479 cumulative trips to the dish at the Double-A level.) And teams that bypassed Adams on the waiver wire were surely turned off by the fact that the 28-year-old cannot be optioned.
Still, the Braves no doubt would have preferred to hold onto Adams, who might well have been the first man up if a need had arisen at the MLB level. That said, with Ronald Acuna ascending, there just wasn’t an immediate need. Adams obviously decided he could find greater opportunity elsewhere.
Would have rather seen the Braves hold onto Lane Adams as a backup OF to Acuna, instead of keeping Joe P0opler as a reserve outfielder.
who tf is joe poopler?
Even though he played pretty well when given the opportunity, he was never really given many opportunities. Good chance for him to shop around and find a good fit. When he signed with the Braves, he didn’t really have the luxury of being seen as a legitimate major league option. This time around there should be a few teams willing to put him on the roster right away as a 4th/5th OF. Braves fans wish him well.
Good luck to Lane Adams. I seriously believe that given an opportunity he could be a good contributor.
Small sample, but his advanced fielding metrics are below average.
I like lane adams. .793 OPS shouldnt clear waivers.
That was a serious slight DFAing him while non-contributors were still on the roster. He’s clutch and fun to watch. Hope he finds a deserving gig.
I guess the Braves will have to find a new lane.
I have always thought Lane Adams would produce if given a shot to play regularly. He’s very athletic and flexible.
He really does deserve a shot somewhere, wish we would have held onto him for a while longer instead if borjous
Lane adams is as good of a fourth outfielder as the braves have had in recent years. With camargo’s recent return i was sure culberson was gonna get the boot. If culberson was not going to get demoted or released then i thought bourjos might be next in line. No such luck. I have no confidence in culberson or bourjos pinch hitting. Bourjos is bad and culberson just looks lost. Camargo can handle the utility role and lane is a right handed bat to spell markakis and tucker. Lane is a decent base runner, and a better pinch hitter then culberson or bourjos so naturally they cut lane adams.
You do realize that Bourjas left when Acuna was called up. Even if the Braves had gotten rid of Bourjas first instead of Adams at best it would only had been a few extra days on the roster.
I like Lane Adams as a 4th outfielder, but with Acuna up he wouldn’t get much play time. Good luck to him as he attempts to continue his career elsewhere.
My point was adams was cut first when there were two options that were worse than him on the roster. Culberson became expendable on camargos return and is still on the roster so no lane could have gotten more than just a few more days on the roster.
“Laney come back…” Man, I personally hope he ends up back with the team after he’s let his emotions and frustration settle and that the Braves re-reach out to him. He’s a key piece to have and his bombs to LF are as legit to watch as anybodys; not to mention “clutch”.
“Laney come back…”
Love this guy. He’s one of those guys i just like for no apparent reason
I always liked Adams and wish him the very best!
Baltimore ought to take a look. We can use all the help we can get. Santander can come off the roster soon. Adams would be a solid replacement.