{"id":19659,"date":"2024-12-21T00:51:18","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T00:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19659"},"modified":"2024-12-21T00:51:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T00:51:18","slug":"potential-braves-free-agent-target-is-off-the-market-inks-deal-with-phillies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=19659","title":{"rendered":"Potential Braves free agent target is off the market, inks deal with Phillies"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"post-105171\">\n<div>\n<p>The Braves need at least one starting outfielder, and one potential free agent target is no longer on the market as Jeff Passan reports that the Phillies have inked Max Kepler a one-year, $10 million free agent deal.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time in his career, Kepler joins another club after 10 years with the Twins, accruing 20.7 WAR with a .746 OPS.<\/p>\n<p>Kepler was limited to a career-low eight home runs while posting a middling .253\/.302\/.380 this past season, playing just 105 games due to injuries. However, prior to that, he mashed 24 homers over 130 games, finishing with an .816 OPS in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The soon-to-be 32-year-old is generally good for 15-20 home runs, can get on base at a respectable clip, and can be relied upon to start every day if need be, contributing anywhere from 2-3 WAR in any given season. That\u2019s the exact kind of player the Braves should be interested in, especially at this price.<\/p>\n<p>The Phillies are hoping that a healthy offseason will enable Max Kepler to bounce back, and I\u2019d say there\u2019s probably a pretty good chance of that. The Braves, meanwhile, are still in need of a starting-caliber outfielder.<\/p>\n<p>Kepler was one of four under-the-radar free agents that could interest the Braves from a piece by Chase. The other three were Alex Verdugo, Kik\u00e9 Hernandez, and Randal Grichuk, all of whom fit the billing of a tier below the premier free agents like Teoscar Hernandez and Anthony Santander. The trade market could also prove capable of filling the Braves\u2019 holes in the outfield.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChicago White Sox\u00a0center fielder\u00a0Luis Robert Jr. is owed $15 million this year with a pair of $20 million club options after that, and whether it\u2019s this winter or at the July trade deadline, he is widely expected to be dealt.<\/p>\n<p>For teams in search of an outfield bat, the Mets\u2019\u00a0Starling Marte, Cleveland\u2019s\u00a0Lane Thomas, San Francisco\u2019s\u00a0Mike Yastrzemski\u00a0and the\u00a0Los Angeles Angels\u2018\u00a0Taylor Ward are there to be had,\u201d Jeff Passan recently wrote.<\/p>\n<p>There are still plenty of options for Alex Anthopoulos.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Bailey Hillesheim\/Icon Sportswire<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Braves need at least one starting outfielder, and one potential free agent target is no longer on the market as Jeff Passan reports that the Phillies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - 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