Braves bring back World Series hero in perfect role: Grading the deal

The Atlanta Braves won the 2021 World Series thanks in large part to an Alex Anthopoulos masterclass at that trade deadline. Atlanta acquired players like Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, and Adam Duvall who all played huge roles down the stretch and in the playoffs to help the Braves go all the way.

Duvall in particular excelled in Atlanta, hitting 16 home runs in 55 regular season games and hitting some huge home runs in the playoffs including a World Series Grand Slam.

The 35-year-old left Atlanta after a down year in 2022 but rejuvenated his career with the Red Sox ahead of this offseason. Unfortunately for Duvall, for whatever reason, teams around the league did not seem to value his big year. That gave Anthopoulos a chance to strike and re-acquire Duvall who signed a one-year deal with the Braves on Wednesday according to FanSided's Robert Murray.

Adam Duvall contract details and grade after signing with Braves

The terms of the deal seem too good to be true. The Braves brought Duvall back on a one-year deal worth $3 million. Yes, Duvall is somehow making less than half of the amount he made last season despite having a great year with Boston.

Duvall was limited to just 92 games due to injury but he was dominant when he played, slashing .247/.303/.531 with 21 home runs and 58 RBI. Duvall had a 119 OPS+ proving he was well above-average at the dish while also playing in all three outfield spots.

The Braves have a set outfield with Jarred Kelenic, Michael Harris II, and Ronald Acuña Jr. lining up left to right, but they were without a clear fourth outfielder. Forrest Wall is in the midst of an excellent spring and was probably the front-runner, but he's beyond unproven with only 15 MLB games of experience. Now, the Braves bolster their bench by adding a player who should be starting somewhere in a reserve role.

The bench was one potential area of weakness for this Braves team if you really wanted to nitpick, but now they've added arguably the game's best bench bat in Duvall.

Braves fans know Duvall strikes out a ton and is streaky offensively but when he's on, he's tough to stop. Defensively he's far from stellar in center field but he's strong in both corner spots. He made sense as potential Acuña insurance back when his Opening Day was in jeopardy, and is here even with Acuña healthy.

There is absolutely nothing to complain about here from a Braves perspective. Atlanta stole a starting-caliber outfielder who can do serious damage and can place him on their bench in a reserve role. He's performed in Atlanta before, and will almost certainly do it again.

Shame on the 29 other GMs who let Anthopoulos get away with this heist.

Grade: A+