Braves Briefing: Atlanta adds a former All-Star

According to the team's transaction log at MLB.com, the Braves have signed Jesus Aguilar, a free-agent first baseman, to a minor league contract. Aguilar was recently released by the A's.

Aguilar, who will soon turn 33, had a disappointing performance with the A's this season, batting only .221/.281/.385 with five home runs in 115 plate appearances. Despite signing a one-year, $3 million deal in the offseason, he couldn't replicate his previous success from 2017 to 2021, where he maintained a batting line of .262/.338/.476 and hit 93 home runs in 1972 plate appearances. The A's had hoped he would regain his form and become a potential trade candidate, but after two months of the season, they decided to give first base duties to Rule 5 pick Ryan Noda on a full-time basis.

During his peak years, Aguilar was an All-Star in 2017 and a consistent power hitter, achieving a career-high of 35 home runs in 2018. He displayed good plate discipline, walking in 10-11% of his plate appearances and keeping his strikeouts in line with the league average. However, in 2023, his walk rate dropped to a below-average 7%, and he struck out in 27.5% of his plate appearances. His performance metrics, such as average exit velocity (86.7 mph) and hard-hit rate (29.3%), reached career-worst levels.

For the Braves, there's minimal risk in signing a slugger like Aguilar, considering his track record. With Matt Olson occupying first base and Marcell Ozuna improving as the designated hitter, the big league roster doesn't have an immediate need for Aguilar. He will likely play first base for Triple-A Gwinnett for now. However, if the Braves face an injury or require additional right-handed power off the bench, Aguilar could be an option if he performs well in the minor leagues.

NL East Standings

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Atlanta	42-26	-	Hosts Colorado
Miami	38-31	4.5	Off
Philadelphia	34-34	8.0	@ Arizona
NYM	32-36	10.0	Off
Washington	26-40	15.0	@ Houston

We wrote it

Braves Today's Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Crosby pushed out a ton of content over the course of two games in Atlanta's doubleheader. In his takeaways from the day, he highlighted Ronald Acuña.

Coming into the day, Acuña was behind pace for the 40 homerun part of a 40/40 season, sitting on thirteen homeruns and twenty-eight stolen bases.
Well, he hit two bombs to push him to fifteen on the season, in sixty-eight games, as well as stealing his twenty-ninth base of the season (and being caught stealing for the sixth time).
It's not a forty home run pace yet - the math works out to be thirty-six as of now - but it's closer, and a well-timed power binge can put Ronald back into striking distance of only the fifth 40/40 season in MLB history.

Check out the full takeaways here.

How to watch the Atlanta Braves vs the Colorado Rockies

Atlanta's heading home for a short homestand, with the Colorado Rockies in town for a four-game set beginning Thursday night at 7:20 PM ET. The game broadcast is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports Southeast and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

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