2:23pm: The contract should be worth around $750K, per Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
12:57pm: The two sides have agreed to a major league deal, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
12:36pm: The Braves are attempting to sign free-agent utilityman Ryan Flaherty, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. It’s unclear whether he’d get a major league contract, but Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported earlier Sunday that Flaherty is set to sign an MLB pact with someone. That may prove to be Atlanta.
The 31-year-old Flaherty was previously with one of the Braves’ NL East rivals, the Phillies, who added him on a minor league deal in the offseason. Flaherty ultimately decided to opt out of that contract on Thursday.
To this point, Flaherty has spent his entire major league career in Baltimore, where the left-handed hitter failed to pose a threat offensively (.215/.284/.355) over 1,270 plate appearances. He was versatile with the Orioles on the defensive side, though, as he lined up at every infield position (primarily second base) and also saw some time in the outfield.
Given the presence of rising star Ozzie Albies, the Braves are all set at the keystone, but Flaherty could back up him and shortstop Dansby Swanson. He could also function as depth at third base, where starter Johan Camargo will begin the season on the disabled list. For now, the Braves’ top reserve infielder is the out-of-options Charlie Culberson (depth chart).