Braves expected to decline option on 2021 NLCS MVP

The Braves are expected to decline their $9MM club option on the services of outfielder Eddie Rosario, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman notes that the decision is a “close call” and that nothing is official yet, but that the expectation is that Atlanta will officially decline their option “by Monday”, the typical deadline for option decisions.

Rosario, 32, slashed .255/.305/.450 in 2023 for the Braves, a line that was exactly league average by measure of wRC+. Even combined with solid defensive metrics in left field this year (+3 by both OAA and DRS), that performance was only good for 1.4 fWAR across 142 games in 2023. Despite the meager production, 2023 actually represented a significant rebound for Rosario, who was nothing short of brutal in 2022 with a .212/.259/.328 (62 wRC+) slash line in 270 trips to the plate surrounding a procedure to correct vision issues in his right eye.

Though the eye surgery sparked optimism that Rosario would be able to rebound in a more significant way, that did not come to pass in 2023. Rosario is now three seasons removed from a four-year stretch with the Twins where he hit 96 home runs in 483 games and slashed a strong .281/.317/.493 that was 12% better than league average by measure of wRC+. At the time, Rosario’s combination of 25-homer power and a strikeout rate that consistently hovered around 15% made him an attractive offensive option, even as he was limited to left field defensively.

Now, however, Rosario is coming off a brutal stretch of three seasons that’s seen him produce below-average numbers offensively (91 wRC+) with a strikeout rate of 21% and just 40 home runs in 333 games. Given his recent production, Atlanta’s decision to move on from Rosario and reallocate his $9M salary elsewhere is a perfectly understandable choice, even as he leaves behind a major hole in the club’s lineup in left field. Rosario still seems likely to find interest in his services from other clubs this offseason on the heels of a 21-homer campaign, though perhaps not at a $9M guarantee.

Filling that hole in left field figures to be a major focus of the coming offseason for the Braves. While there’s been some discussion of youngster Vaughn Grissom as a potential option to get starts in left next year, his lack of experience at the position and unproven bat at the big league level seems likely to push the Braves to explore other options. Speculatively speaking, Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo is a known trade candidate whom MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects for a salary of $9.2M in his final trip through arbitration. That could make him a clean fit for the club’s roster and financial needs, but the coming free agent class is littered with potential options, headlined by Teoscar Hernandez but also features the likes of Michael Brantley and Tommy Pham as well as former Braves Adam Duvall and Jason Heyward.