After looking at the best single-season Atlanta Braves pitchers of all-time, we thought it would only be appropriate to look at the best position players who only played one year for the team in franchise history.
Interestingly, two of the three players on this list were involved in highly controversial trades, with one trade sending out a World Series hero, and the other trade being considered among one of the worst in MLB history.
Yet, somehow, during their one season in Atlanta, these three position players shined.
Here are 3 of the best one-season Braves position players ever
Honorable mention: Mark Teixeira
Teixeira technically is ineligible for this list because his contributions to the Braves came across two seasons. However, he was a deadline acquisition in 2007 and shipped out at the deadline in 2008.
This means that, rather conveniently, the switch-hitting first baseman played 157 games with the Braves, and he was incredible. Teixeira slashed .295/.395/.548 (146 OPS+) during his tenure with Atlanta and was worth 6.1 bWAR.
Unfortunately, John Schuerholz decided to clean out the farm system to acquire him, while Frank Wren decided to get absolutely nothing in return when trading him the following deadline.
The silver lining is that Wren was able to acquire Adam LaRoche the next trade deadline in exchange for Casey Kotchman, the first baseman who was included in the Teixeira trade, and LaRoche went on a tear for Atlanta in 2009.
Kenny Lofton
Kenny Lofton being among one of the best single-season Braves of all time is rather surprising. After being included in the trade that sent David Justice and Marquis Grissom to Cleveland, the expectation was for Lofton to be the stolen base merchant he was with Cleveland.
Unfortunately, the speedy center fielder was only successful in 57% of his stolen base chances. He also missed 40 games with a nagging groin injury. The combination of poor base running from a speedy leadoff hitter and injuries seems like it would result in a disappointing season. Instead, the Braves got an All-Star.
Lofton had a .409 OBP, which was the second-highest of his career. His 119 OPS+ was the third-highest of his career. His defense was elite as well, which ended in a 5.0 bWAR season.
This wasn’t quite the 7 WAR peak he had with the Cleveland Indians a few seasons earlier, and it would hurt more when the center fielder returned to the Indians the following offseason, but the Braves got elite production out of Lofton while he was with the Braves, albeit only for a season.
J.D. Drew
If it wasn’t for Adam Wainright, the J.D. Drew trade wouldn’t have anywhere near the reputation it does today.
After getting two excellent seasons from Gary Sheffield in 2002 and 2003, the Braves were clearly not going to re-sign the slugger, especially with ownership slashing payroll. Instead, the team opted to make a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Drew was coming off an injury-riddled season with the Cardinals in 2003, but had a 132 OPS+ that season and a career .282/.377/.498 slash line. Drew was also a Georgia native, which the Braves front office hoped would help keep the right fielder with the club after he hit the free agent market.
Atlanta shipped top prospect Adam Wainwright, along with starting pitcher Jason Marquis, and reliever Ray King to the Cardinals for Drew, and also got catcher/outfielder Eli Marrero as well.
Drew mashed from the start. His first month with the team was one of just two months where his OPS was below 1.000 and even then, he still managed a .938 OPS in his first 16 games with the club.
On the whole, he had a career-best season. He slashed .305/.436/.569 (157 OPS+), had an 8.3 bWAR, and finished sixth in MVP voting. The Braves ran away with the division, largely thanks to the 28-year-old, who had more than double the WAR of the next best player on the team, Chipper Jones.
Unfortuately, this season might have been too good. After the season, Drew signed with the Dodgers for five years and $55 million. The Braves also traded Eli Marrero, who had been worth 2.3 bWAR in just 90 games, meaning that all the production the Braves got from the trade was from the 2004 season.
Jason Marquis only provided the Cardinals 1.4 bWAR in his three seasons with the team, while Ray King gave St. Louis 1.9 bWAR in his two seasons. If the trade ended there, it would have been an excellent deal for the Braves.
Unfortunately, the last piece of the trade became a Cardinals staple. For 18 seasons, Adam Wainwright was an integral part of the Cardinals. He provided the team 45.2 bWAR, appeared in three All-Star games, and was even on the mound for the final out in the 2006 World Series.
But at least Drew was really good in his only season with the Braves.
Josh Donaldson
Finally, a player who wasn’t acquired through an unpopular trade. From 2013 to 2017, Josh Donaldson was one of the best players in baseball. His 33.1 bWAR only trailed Mike Trout among position players.
Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t stay healthy in 2017 and 2018. He played a combined 165 games in the two seasons, with only 52 of those games coming in 2018. After looking like he would be a slam dunk candidate for a huge contract for years, Donaldson now needed a prove it contract.
Alex Anthopoulos saw this and jumped at the opportunity. The Braves gave the third baseman a one-year, $23 million deal. His addition to the lineup gave Atlanta a huge power boost at the top of the lineup.
It took a little bit to see the power – Donaldson only had seven homers through the first two months of the season, but once summer hit, the righty exploded for 30 bombs in the final four months of the year.
The health concerns were quickly put to rest, as the third baseman appeared in 155 games, not taking a single day off from May 23 until the division was clinched. His 5.4 bWAR was the second-highest on the team, ahead of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman. He also finished 11th in NL MVP voting.
While the Braves flirted with re-signing him, he’d ultimately go to Minnesota, where he signed a four-year, $92 million deal. His only season with the Braves would end up being the last great season of his career, as he only put up 3.7 WAR with the Twins in his two seasons there, and struggled with the Yankees and the Brewers in his final two seasons of his career.
