9:30am: The Braves formally introduced the signing of Urshela. Riley has been positioned on the 10-day IL to open a spot on the energetic roster, whereas lefty A.J. Minter — who underwent season-ending hip surgical procedure lately — was moved to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot.
8:20am: The Braves and Urshela have agreed to a deal, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Put up.
7:50am: The Braves are nearing a serious league take care of third baseman Gio Urshela, per a report from The New York Put up’s Joel Sherman this morning. Urshela was lately designated for project and launched by the Tigers, who’ll be on the hook for the rest of his $1.5MM wage. The Braves will solely owe Urshela the prorated league minimal for the time he spends on the massive league roster or injured listing. Urshela is a shopper of Rep 1 Baseball.
The information comes simply in the future after Braves third baseman Austin Riley was recognized with a hand fracture that’s anticipated to sideline him for between six and eight weeks. If that timeline holds, it’ll depart him out of motion for a minimum of the rest of the common season and the early parts of the postseason, although it’s possible he may return to the sphere if Atlanta makes a deep sufficient run into the playoffs.
With utilityman Whit Merrifield already masking for the injured Ozzie Albies at second base, that seemingly left the membership to depend on high infield prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. and depth infielder Luke Williams to deal with the recent nook down the stretch. With Urshela now within the fold, the membership will add a veteran third baseman into the fold who may assist increase the ground on their manufacturing on the place in Riley’s absence.
For Urshela, the deal represents a chance to get common at-bats with a playoff contender down the stretch whereas additionally making an attempt to re-establish himself as an everyday choice following a disappointing stint in Detroit this yr. Following a 2023 season the place he was restricted to only 62 video games by a season-ending pelvic fracture, Urshela hit free company and signed a one-year deal price simply $1.5MM with the Tigers again in February. On the time, it appeared to be a discount for a participant who had been a gentle common at third base for a number of years. It rapidly turned bitter, nevertheless, as Urshela delivered his worst season since establishing himself as an everyday with the Yankees again in 2019.
The 32-year-old hit simply .243/.286/.333 (73 wRC+) in 325 journeys to the plate with the Tigers whereas splitting time between the infield corners. Defensive metrics are extraordinarily combined on Urshela’s protection at third, because the veteran has amassed -17 Outs Above Common on the place since turning into an everyday again in 2019. Brutal as that determine could seem, Defensive Runs Saved truly has Urshela as a plus defender on the scorching nook over that very same timeframe with a +4 determine total. Nonetheless, even essentially the most favorable views of Urshela’s protection depart it troublesome to justify him as an on a regular basis choice if his hitting numbers stay the place they have been in Detroit.
Thankfully, there’s some causes for optimism relating to the veteran’s future. His monitor document over the previous half decade speaks for itself, as he entered the 2024 season as a stable .291/.335/.452 (115 wRC+) hitter since his 2019 breakout with New York. That’s the Sixteenth-best determine amongst all certified third baseman over that time-frame. What’s extra, Urshela’s .271 BABIP is by far the bottom of his profession; he entered the 2024 season with a profession .319 BABIP that had jumped to .334 since his breakout in 2019.
A return to kind in that regard may assist Urshela put up numbers nearer to league common offensively. His batted ball information additionally suggests he’s in line for some optimistic regression. The 32-year-old’s .271 wOBA is a far cry from his .305 xwOBA, a determine that (whereas nonetheless beneath common) would put him roughly in step with his extra palatable 2021 and 2023 seasons, the place his offensive output was round 3% and eight% worse than league common (by wRC+). Even that degree of manufacturing would make Urshela a stable fill-in on the scorching nook for Atlanta, significantly if the membership doesn’t need to push Alvarez into an on a regular basis large league position in the course of a pennant race at simply 21 years previous.
