As Walt Weiss settles into his new managerial role with the Atlanta Braves, moves are aplenty. On Thursday, the Braves added more outfield depth to their roster, claiming outfielder Michael Siani off of waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals.
The seven-year veteran has bounced around the Cardinals’ organization throughout his career and has played a decent amount of time in the International and Texas Leagues. He potentially replaces the outfield depth lost by Jake Fraley being claimed by the Rays earlier in the day.
Siani was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 draft by the Cincinnati Reds, but didn’t see Major League action until 2022 before ending up over in St. Louis after being dropped by the Reds in 2023.
In 2024, his only season with more than 20 games played, the Genside, Pa., native batted .235 with a .285 on-base percentage. He tallied up 68 hits, 11 extra-base hits and two home runs in 124 games.
With the Braves’ outfield appearing strong with the combination of Michael Harris, II, Ronald Acuña, Jr and Jurickson Profar, among others, Siani will likely be optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, though he may find himself back in the majors if any of the starters are rendered unable to play.
Naturally, this isn’t exactly the blockbuster addition many Braves fans have been looking for, but bolstering depth is part of the offseason, especially after such a disappointing 2025 season. He’ll most certainly be useful in Spring Training or for split-squad games, in which rosters are much larger and a lot more flexible.
The aim of Spring Training, after all, is to warm up established players and evaluate unestablished players, so if Siani shows out for Atlanta, he may find himself on the Major League roster before long, though he’d have to really compete to beat out the Braves’ top names.
The Braves have been quite busy with small names in the offseason, as it seems like every day there’s a new addition or departure. This all sets the team up well, though, and they’re surely in a prime position to potentially swing the bat on a bigger name when the time is right.
