Alex Anthopoulos wastes Braves time by taking gamble on a former rival

The Atlanta Braves have signed a former Miami Marlins outfielder with some pop. Stop me if you've heard this story before.

The Marlins are one of the rare NL East rivals the Braves seem willing to pilfer from, as if Miami if their minor-league affiliate. Marcell Ozuna and Jorge Soler – the latter of which is now in San Francisco – are both former Marlins. The next in line is apparently Bryan De La Cruz.

De La Cruz is a high-upside bat, albeit one that does more harm than good defensively.

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Why did the Atlanta Braves sign Bryan De La Cruz?

De La Cruz was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the MLB trade deadline last season. He struggled in the Steel City, and overall amounted to a -1.5 WAR in 2024 despite hitting over 20 home runs.

Atlanta needs corner outfield depth, and on the surface De La Cruz provides just that. The Braves are expected to get Ronald Acuña Jr. back by next summer, which should help matters immensely, as their outfield depth was tested last season once the former NL MVP went down.

It's been a tumultuous offseason for the Braves so far. Homegrown ace Max Fried signed with the New York Yankees during the winter meetings on an eight-year, $218 million contract Atlanta never came close to matching. Now down one of the best pitchers in baseball, the Braves must respond accordingly in positions of need.

The outfield, shortstop and rotation are those positions. Braves fans had something a little bigger in mind than De La Cruz to address the outfield void, but it's a start.