Alex Verdugo is joining the Atlanta Braves on a major league deal just one week before Opening Day. While the former Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees outfielder is often a social media punchline, it remained surprising as we got into the later stages of March that he still hadn’t found a home. And yet, the Braves still seem like a curious landing spot.

Ronald Acuña Jr. isn’t going to be ready for Opening Day and the start of Atlanta’s season as he continues to recover from his ACL injury, which previously led the Braves to sign veteran Jurickson Profar. However, Acuña should be back some time in May according to most projections, so Profar would then move to left field and likely platoon with one of last offseason’s additions, Jarred Kelenic.

Adding Verdugo into that mix further complicates the picture, though. He was as middling as they come in his one season in Pinstripes with the Yankees last year, posting just a .647 OPS while playing plus defense. However, he has flashed in his career, perhaps most notably putting together a .289 average and .777 OPS with the Red Sox in 2021.

Now that he comes to Atlanta, though, his signing actually just raises more questions than it does seemingly feel an immediate need for the Braves lineup.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.

Alex Verdugo signing with Braves raises concerns for Ronald Acuña Jr. and Jared Kelenic

The first place the mind naturally goes is to the health of Acuña. Does bringing in Verdugo indicate that the former NL MVP and superstar outfielder might be out longer than expected? There have been no reports of that, so that is merely speculation. However, it’s impossible to not at least consider that overwhelmingly negative proposition for the Braves.

However, the more likely indication of Verdugo joining this Atlanta outfield is that there is real reason to be worried about the aforementioned Kelenic. Verdugo is another left-handed bat who could conceivably platoon with Profar in left field once Acuña returns to action and this could be a sign that the Braves are either ready to find a replacement for Kelenic or at least bring in someone to push him.

Kelenic joined Atlanta last offseason via trade after ultimately failing to live up to his billing as a top prospect with Seattle. In his first season with the Braves, he played in 131games but with mediocre results, posting a slash line of .231/.286/.393 on the season with 15 home runs, 18 doubles and 45 RBI but also while striking out in roughly one-third of his plate appearances. He also graded out as a slightly negative defender, posting a -0.4 dWAR in 2024 as well.

At just 25 years old, though, there would be reason to hold out for hope that he has anther level. Spring training, unfortunately, has offered no evidence of that with Kelenic slashing .156/.250/.438 with nine strikeouts in 36 plate appearances. He’s looking much of the same as last season, which is a problem.

We’ll have to see how Anthopoulos and manager Brian Snitker both address the addition of Verdugo but also handle the lineup and platooning. But it’s certainly a move that should raise some eyebrows with what it could mean for Acuña and, to a much more important degree, Kelenic in the 2025 campaign.