Braves had a really good reason for adding former World Series champion

Alex Anthopoulos knows what he is doing. Very, very rarely does he make a bad move in building the Atlanta Braves. As one of the best general managers in all of baseball, Anthopoulos routinely signs players who are either undervalued, or extends homegrown talents well before they hit arbitration. The method to the madness is working, as Atlanta has been one of the better teams for a decade.

All the while, we have arrived at another head-scratching move made by Anthopoulos that we don't quite fully understand. He traded for a feast-or-famine hitter in Jarred Kelenic from the Seattle Mariners this past offseason. The idea is that he would be the starting left fielder in the same Atlanta outfield that features Michael Harris II in center and Ronald Acuña Jr. in right. Perfect scenario, right?

Well, Kelenic has been nothing short of terrible at the plate during spring training. Not since Marcell Ozuna went on his two-year swoon have we seen a hitter struggle this much in the batter's box for the Braves. To counterbalance a potential bottleneck in his well-crafted lineup, Anthopoulos signed a familiar face in Adam Duvall to a one-year deal. He will platoon with Kelenic in left field for the Braves.

However, this Braves signing is more about what Duvall can do, rather than what Kelenic cannot do.

Why Atlanta Braves signed Adam Duvall when they had Jarred Kelenic

The absolute last thing Anthopoulos and manager Brian Snitker want is a walking out in their lineup. While Duvall is an incredibly streaky hitter as well, he does provide many other attributes that can get the Braves out of a funk, so to speak. He plays great defense anywhere you put him in the outfield. If Harris or Acuña went down, he could fill in for them. He also has tremendous power and good speed.

Of course, Duvall will strike out a ton and will run you out of an inning on the base paths. This is who he is. More importanly, he is well-liked in the Atlanta clubhouse. You cannot have enough good guys in the locker room when the going gets tough. As far as the tough times are concerned, they will get going for Kelenic at some point. He was a top prospect in the Mariners and New York Mets systems.

Overall, this is not the season to just sit back and let life happen to you. Atlanta was the best team all of last year, and then totally blew it in the postseason to the hated Philadelphia Phillies again. Not to say it should be World Series or bust for the Braves this year, but that is a realistic expectation this juggernaut baseball team will try to achieve. All I know is that signing Duvall makes this team better.

Kelenic will have his opportunity to prove Anthopoulos right, we just have no idea when that will be,