“Oh hey, why don’t the Braves do anything during the Winter Meetings?” Tree! They did.
As far as spending goes, it’s not particularly large, and that’s because Mike Yastrzemski is a 35-year-old who still managed to put up decent production in a seven-year MLB career. He has been quite consistent since his debut at age 28 in 2019, posting between 1.5 and 2.5 fWAR each year.
Yastrzemski posted 2.4 fWAR in 558 PAs between the Giants and Royals last year, with a 106 wRC+. His career includes a 111 wRC+, and he’s been between 99 and 120 in every season he’s played except 2020, where he went a little crazy with a 158 wRC+ in those nine gameweeks.
In addition to a reasonable attack, Yastrzemski also plays a decent defense, including midfield in case of emergency. He has a career +1 in OAA-based runs over 6,300 innings, most of which came in right field. He’ll give the Braves another guy to rotate through the outfield and DH spot when necessary, but given his defensive edge compared to the relatively poor fielding of Jurickson Profar and Ronald Acuña Jr., he’s probably more of a guy who will consistently start in the outfield while the other guys split time with Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy, DHing as needed. Yastrzemski is also a true platoon bat with the heavy side (career 79 wRC+ against lefties, career 120 wRC+ against righties), so he won’t be in the mix about a third of the time when a left-handed starter takes the mound.
The commitment the Braves are making is relatively modest; $23 million over two years pays him as an expensive part-timer, which is more or less what he is. His projections aren’t too great – in the WAR range of 1.0 to 1.5 over Steamer’s 400-500 PAs, but like many players who contribute decently defensively, these projections are offset by Steamer’s heavy defensive value decline. It’s also worth remembering that Yastrzemski is guaranteed a contract for his 36-year-old season, with a club option covering his potential 37-year-old season, and collapse is looming. Still, he’s been relatively consistent thus far, and the Braves may be encouraged by his torrid finish to 2025, where he had a .392 xwOBA in 186 PAs with the Royals, so we’ll see what happens.
Stay tuned for more information on the Braves’ signing of the grandson of Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski.
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