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Braves acquire Matt Adams from the Cardinals

By Brad Berreman

Apr 27, 2017; St. Louis , MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams (32) hits a RBI double off of Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Casey Lawrence (not pictured) during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2017; St. Louis , MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams (32) hits a RBI double off of Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Casey Lawrence (not pictured) during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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With Freddie Freeman out for quite a while, the Atlanta Braves have acquired Matt Adams to try to fill the void.

Heading into Saturday’s action, the Atlanta Braves are in second place in the NL East. A 17-22 record has them seven games back of the Washington Nationals though, and even at this fairly early stage the Braves don’t look like a serious Wild Card contender.

On Wednesday night, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was hit in the left arm by a pitch from Toronto Blue Jays reliever Aaron Loup. He is expected to miss at least 10 weeks with a fractured left wrist, and as the major league leader in slugging percentage (.748) when he went down (along with 14 home runs) Freeman is leaving a major void in the Braves’ lineup.

Atlanta signed James Loney to a minor league deal on Thursday, as veteran insurance. But Saturday brought another move to add an option at first base.

The Braves have acquired Matt Adams and cash considerations from the St. Lois Cardinals for minor league infielder Juan Yepez. Over 53 plate appearances, this season Adams has a .292/.340/.396 slash-line, one home run and seven RBI, as he has struggled to find playing time. For as long as Freeman is out, regular at-bats will not be an issue in Atlanta.

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Adams has been an above average defensive first baseman (4.6 Ultimate Zone Rating) and a decent power hitter (15 or more home runs in three of the last four full seasons) over his time with the Cardinals. But he has been rendered useless against left-handed pitching, with a .210/.240/.348 career slash-line, and the Braves will surely be forced to use Adams as far more than a platoon bat over the next 10 weeks or so.

There’s no replacing Freeman in the middle of the lineup, but the Braves deserve credit for taking a shot at it. Only time will tell if the 19-year old Yepez was too much to give up for Adams.

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