Report: Atlanta Braves close to deal to acquire Ryan Doumit from Minnesota Twins
By Brad Rowland
UPDATE: There is now a reported player for the Braves to send to Minnesota, as highly-pedigreed lefty Sean Gilmartin (the team’s #7 ranked prospect by Keith Law before 2013) would be heading to Minnesota.
Source: #Twins get LHP Sean Gilmartin from #Braves for C/OF Ryan Doumit. Doumit to ATL first reported by @Jeffpassan.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 18, 2013
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It has been a very quiet off-season for the Atlanta Braves, as the only “significant” move thus far has been the acquisition of (injured) free agent pitcher Gavin Floyd. However, in the stillness of it all, it appears as if Frank Wren has pulled off a move out of nowhere.
Source: Atlanta finalizing deal to acquire catcher/outfielder Ryan Doumit from Minnesota.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 18, 2013
Yahoo’s Jeff Passan is reporting that the Braves are finalizing a deal to bring Ryan Doumit to Atlanta from the Twins, and that would be a major lift for Atlanta. Obviously, details of the potential move are sketchy at best (i.e. we don’t know what Atlanta is sending out), but in Doumit, they would grab some significant positional flexibility.
The Braves lost Brian McCann to free agency, and while they presumably have Evan Gattis slated as their everyday guy behind the plate, Doumit can catch as well as play an adequate (enough) outfield to get things done. His bat is quite solid as well, as he is a career .268/.329/.438 hitter with some power (32 home runs over the past 2 seasons).
Atlanta was in desperate need of outfield help once the wheels fell off for BJ Upton last season, and with Doumit, they could have an insurance policy for both Upton and Gattis, who has never carried the full workload of being an everyday catcher.
Stay tuned for more details as they emerge.