The Braves have picked up slugger Adam Duvall in a trade with the Marlins, as originally reported by Craig Mish of The Miami Herald (Twitter links). Catcher Alex Jackson is heading to the Marlins.
It is the second outfield trade in a matter of minutes for the Braves, who also just acquired Eddie Rosario from the Indians. Since Rosario is still on the injured list recovering from a right abdominal strain, Duvall will now immediately step into an outfield picture that has been entirely remade in the last few weeks, including the Braves’ trade with the Cubs for Joc Pederson.
Duvall is a known quantity in Atlanta, and was initially acquired by the team exactly three years ago to the day as part of another deadline deal with the Reds. Duvall didn’t perform well down the stretch in 2018, but he then hit .248/.307/.545 with 26 home runs over 339 plate appearances for the team during the 2019-20 seasons.
The Braves non-tendered Duvall last winter rather than pay him a $4MM in projected arbitration salary, opening the door for Duvall to sign a one-year deal with the Marlins worth $5MM in guaranteed money. Duvall is still owed the remainder of his $2MM salary for this season, and there is a $7MM mutual option on his services for 2022 that can be bought out for $3MM.
The 2021 season has seen Duvall continue his power-centric performance, hitting 22 homers and slugging .478 over 339 PA for Miami, though with only a .229 batting average and .277 OBP. The right-handed hitting Duvall has actually performed better against righties than lefties this season, but he has pretty even splits over his career, so the Braves will likely look to swing some of platoon system between Duvall and the left-handed hitting Pederson and Rosario.
Once Rosario is healthy, the Braves can juggle between the three veterans in the corner outfield, and Duvall could even be an option in center field, as he has held his own over 53 innings up the middle for the Marlins this year. That said, Duvall is a much more solid corner outfielder, if the Braves looked to prioritize their overall defense on the grass. Between the trio of new acquisitions and other in-house options like Guillermo Heredia, Abraham Almonte, or Cristian Pache, Atlanta has managed to fortify an outfield that lost Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna.
Jackson has only a .293 OPS over 50 career Major League plate appearances, but the 25-year-old has been consistently productive at the Triple-A level, with a .236/.320/.544 slash line and 42 home runs over 593 PA at Triple-A Gwinnett. Selected sixth overall by the Mariners in the 2014 draft, Jackson hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity at the big league level, but might find more chances for a Marlins team that is thin at catcher. Jorge Alfaro hasn’t hit well over the last two seasons, calling into question his status as the Marlins’ catcher of the future.
With Pederson and Rosario what’s the point?
Joc in center, Duvall in LF, Rosario on RF
You don’t want Joc in CF. I’d put Duvall there before Joc.
And, tonight’s lineup is just that.
That sounds like a defensive nightmare
Joc hasn’t been able to play CF for a few years. By age 26, it was hard to believe he was a 30/30 guy four years earlier in AAA. Zero mobility. I appreciate what he did for the Dodgers, but hate the idea of him embarrassing himself in CF.
Cant see any of those 3 guy in CF. That would be an awful fielding OF. Heredia probably still patrols CF. If anything happens to him, most likely Pache gets the call back up.
Your right. The corner OF will probably platoon.
There three (3) outfield positions.
@vanilla good
Obviously. But none are pure centerfielders. I’ve hear Joc is abysmal at center.
Joc cannot play CF anymore. It’s been that way for a few years. It was odd watching his fast decline defensively.
Better bench bats, platoon options. It’s not rocket science
@braves fan
It’s strange the braves would take on the rest of an 8m dollar contract to have a bench bat with a 670 OPS. It’s not “rocket science” like you say but it’s poor money management. Oh well not my money. Hope he helps
Probably a Duvall./Rosario platoon in left? That’s how they generally used Adam before
Two left fielders are better than one
One bats left, the other right (Pederson, Duvall), both are streak hitters, maybe they can offset their streaks. I was hoping they would do this. Rosario is a surprise piece, gives Braves a lot of options. Let’s hope this solves the 1-0, 2-0, 2-1 games.
@Curly
Some of us like traditional National League scores of, like you say, 1-0, 2-0, 2-1 games.
@SaltLakeBrave obviously he means we will be on the winning side of those games, instead of the losing side.
Braves adjusting on the fly… not bad
Well damn, was hoping the Rays could pick him up to mash LHP.
Eddie is taking the place of Pablo on the bench , Adam going to left
I applaud the Braves for not just rolling over and dying just because they lost Acuna. They are just as much in the mix in the East as anyone. No point in giving up just because you have a setback.
Adam Duvall has become the new Matt Adams for the Atlanta Braves
Or maybe the Kelly Johnson.
Or Adam LaRoche.
Dude! We got rid of A-Jax! Don’t you just hate it when you clean your sink with Ajax and you don’t wash an area off and the white residue dries on there?
We washed off A-Jax!
Matt Adams was just released by Colorado. He is still available. Careful what you ask for.
With the Mets playing sub 500 ball for the last 2 months, someone in the East needs to go for it.
He’ll platoon in left.
Alex Jackson going to FL maybe?
Duvall is Gallo light, which is not necessarily a bad thing…. Good fielder, power steering et al
Duvall doesn’t walk. That is not just a small difference in their profiles. That’s the difference between being a role player and an all-star. Walks win championships.
The reason the Braves aren’t in first place is back!
Pitchers that don’t know how to keep low in the zone? Brandon Drury (another former Brave) just went 7-for-9 in a 5-game series. ATL pitchers don’t learn quickly and continue making the same mistakes.
Duvall is 14-38 with 5 HRs vs the Braves this year.
Dudes will beat you sometimes when they are hot but Duvall was plain angry.
Hitting was never a problem they need pitching and a bullpen they are in the mindset of if we score 10 let’s hope the bullpen don’t give up 11
It is when you have a bunch of AAAA OFs and have a bunch of 2-1 and 1-0 games too many games of not scoring.
The Braves have lost 8 games in the last 2 months giving up only 2 or fewer runs. This week alone we have lost 2 games by a score of 2-1 and also 1-0.
Hitting was a problem even with Acuña in the line up.
Welcome back!
The Braves are hoping that Vogt, Pederson, Duvall and Rosario fuse together into Acuña
Like Voltron
To quote Billy Beane, “They are recreating him in the aggregate.”
Stir ‘em in a pot with some magic beans, a gold chain, and a gallon of Axe Body Spray and it could happen.
Merge to form Abysmal
AA has had an awful off season as GM he had a team 1 game from the World series and now hes giving prospect capital for a player we should and could have had all along. Then look at how he never addressed the bullpen and although it’s not his fault the Ozuna contract. Then you add not getting Freeman’s extension done and its been a disaster of a year for AA. And I still praise him for his previous years and deals but this year has been the craps for him.
A lot of coulda-shoulda-woulda. Not signing Duvall or Joc instead of Ozuna was a mistake. Yet they’re still within reach of the Mets with 50+ games to go. If they can get a bullpen arm or two in the next couple of hours, who knows?
Jackson isn’t a necessary piece with Atlanta’s catching depth, and when they gave up Duvall, they were counting on Ozuna. I wouldn’t blame this on AA.
He gave up Alex “couldn’t hit if the ghost of Ted Williams possessed him” Jackson. No loss.
Not a bad return for Duvall. Hopefully Jackson puts it together for Miami. Worse case he seems like a useful backup C.
What happened to all those top rated outfield prospects they refused to trade?
They’re not ready yet.
Good deal, Alex Jackson really didn’t have a future in Atlanta
Unless he learns to hit, he may not have a future anywhere.
Braves: So about that whole non-tendering thing, we’re good right?
Duvall: Umm, you tell me.
Braves: Yeah, we’re good.
Duvall: So I’m all set this offseason, right?
Braves: Sorry, got this deal with Cleveland we’re working on. Let’s talk later.
Pieces do not seem to fit together!
Duvall and Rosario platoon I would imagine
He is Back
At lease the Braves are trying and not over paying for players either. With some of our injured players getting healthy and a outfield that looks a little better now the Braves should be at least solid line up soon
Yeah, in that sense I don’t really fault them for their strategy here. They’re not throwing away resources on expensive rentals for a season that at best probably ends with an NLDS exit, but they’ve given themselves some veteran depth for cheap. Hopefully a certain NY team has the same realization….
Kirk N, the Mets season might come down to how they navigate that 13-game stretch against the Giants and Dodgers. I feel they need to be in first place heading into those games. Granted, we still don’t know what will happen with deGrom and Carrasco…and these next couple hours.
Rooting for Carrasco this weekend. Huge for the Mets’ season.
I told everyone
The Braves lineup falls off a cliff after Dansby. These two deals will lengthen it a little bit.
lengthen it a lot bit.
Watching them in those five games against the Mets, it was clear they needed to extend the lineup/bench. And they haven’t mortgaged what is still an excellent future. Pressure on the Mets to do something in a bid to put the division away. That 13-game stretch where they play only the Giants and Dodgers could be a killer.
They need some bats and they got them. I’m glad they dumped Jackson on the fish. Didn’t want to see that dude ever again
The braves stink and are wasting their fans loyalty
Kim Ng has done well with her first series of deadline moves.
Yep, she’s done a solid job. Hopefully that keeps away the peanut gallery & their Larry the Cable Guy-tier jokes.
Reminding me of the vintage Mets teams of my youth with the stockpiling of arms.
I’m all for it get Duval in the A and have him in left field immediately. Pitchers will pitch a lot different to this team knowing the power threat with Duval in the lineup. Get Travis tuned up and this can be better. Check out Rosario’s 2019 stats, I will take that production. Only thing sad is no more Panda Hugs! 🙁
Riley is looking like the second coming of Mike Schmidt. What a transformation. No more giving away at-bats. He now has a plan and looks like a professional hitter.
@Cey Hey, the anti-Riley group has been silenced, they are now looking for something else to b***h about. Constructive criticism is appreciated, ignorant complaining with no alternative solutions is dull & a waste of energy.
The Anti-Riley crowd will now go after Dansby.
@Cey Hey, I guess you don’t realize he came up 4 times combine over the weekend and in the Mets series with runners on 2nd and/or 3rd with less than 2 outs with a chance to tie or take the lead in the 7th inning or later and he either struck out or grounded out without getting the run in. He’s hit well overall with runners in scoring position and hit a lot of homers but almost every time it’s been late in the game in that situation he swings at a bad pitch. He needs to learn to be more selective in those situations and get the ball in the air when that runner is on 3rd.
@Fab:
That describes pretty much the whole lineup.
This + Rosario, nice moves. Nothing lost, and a lot to gain.
This is a “hey, we are trying to win now, come to the stadium and spend money” deal.
Not at all, I don’t think Adam Duvall is putting butts in the seats. Its really very simple. Because of all of the injuries, the Ozuna situation, etc, it is a “we want to compete but this is not a year to go all in and mortgage our future” deal. As bad as the Met’s are there is no need to throw in the towel. But as good as some other teams in the NL are there is no need to go all in.
Adam isn’t putting butts in the seats, and he will make people pause the game rather than letting the game play while they go to the kitchen.
Wondering how many games are left with the Marlins. Duvall hit 10 HRs against them last year…also hit at least 5 against the Braves this year lol
Alex Jackson always had a lot of power. His situation since he was drafted has kind of been all over the place. I would assume he’ll get a chance to get some ABs
This is exactly the crap I expected from the Braves. A team that is going for it, does not get two lame bench bats. Wish they cared!
Who else would you have traded for?
This is exactly the crap I expected from you Ian. Your negativity is up to par & very lame. I beg of you, go root for someone else.
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t you want them to sign Duvall this offseason?
No, I never said it – he is nothing more than a bench bat.
AA/other GMs on the phone:
Other GMs to the Braves: We want Acuna, Freeman, Soroka, Anderson. etc…
Other GMs to other teams: We will take your 16th and 20th ranked prospects.
Yeah, a bench bat who is 7th in NL in hrs (22)& 5th in RBI’s (68). Pass that 40 oz. over to me, I need a tug.
Braves should still sell high on Morton(for future trade capital)Yona coming back in a few weeks…Wright/Wilson could cover until then.
Due to there past history, Id bet the Braves are planning to reup Morton next year.
Morton would retire if the Braves tried to trade him unless it was back to Tampa.
Agreed. It seems Morton only came back from retirement to play for the Braves so it makes sense for him to return – probably at a slightly reduced salary. I can see him turning in another good year at 38 since there doesn’t seem to be any signs of him slowing down. His stats are similar to his time with the Rays at age 35. I’d take him back.