Braves sign a former rival for much-needed outfield depth after Ronald Acuña Jr. injury

Losing a player of Ronald Acuña Jr.'s caliber is not something that the Atlanta Braves can simply brush aside. Even with his slow start to the 2024 campaign, he's still the reigning NL MVP winner. He's one of the best players in the sport. He simply cannot be replaced.

While that may be the case, Alex Anthopoulos can do whatever he can to still field the best possible team with Acuña out of the picture. Part of how he can do that is by adding depth.

Anthopoulos just added some much-needed outfield depth by signing a player that Braves fans are very familiar with, Brian Anderson, who will be with the team when they open their brief two-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

Braves add much-needed outfield depth by signing familiar face

At one point, it looked like Brian Anderson was going to be a big piece of the future for the Miami Marlins, rivals of Atlanta in the NL East. He finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year balloting in 2018 and followed that up with a 20-home run campaign in 2019. Unfortunately, he didn't do much after that.

Anderson wound up spending the first six seasons of his career with the Marlins before he was non-tendered by Miami. He spent last season with the Milwaukee Brewers but struggled after a hot start, posting a .678 OPS in 96 games overall.

The 31-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Mariners this past offseason and hit pretty well, slashing .270/.358/.439 with six home runs in 42 games, before opting out of his deal in search of a new opportunity. The Braves jumped at the first chance they had to sign him and did just that, inking him to an MLB deal.

With how the Braves set their lineup, there's a good chance that Anderson will rarely see the field, but he can add some versatility to their bench with the ability to play third base and the corner outfield. His best trait is his arm, as Anderson ranked in the 98th percentile in arm strength according to Baseball Savant last season. He's likely a better option than the likes of JP Martinez and Forrest Wall and replaces Chadwick Tromp on their bench.