Braves trade catcher after one day with team

The White Sox have acquired Max Stassi and money concerns from the Braves in trade for a participant to be named later. Each groups have introduced the deal. Per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times, the Braves are anticipated to pay for almost all of Stassi’s $7M wage subsequent season.

Stassi, 33 in March, spent simply someday within the Braves group after being acquired from the Angels Friday in a multi-player deal alongside infielder David Fletcher. Now, the veteran catcher is off to his third group in two days, the place he figures to have the chance to step into a daily position on the south aspect of Chicago. The White Sox misplaced Yasmani Grandal to free company earlier this offseason and had been in want of a veteran backstop to pair with teenager Korey Lee behind the plate in 2024.

It’s a necessity Stassi is greater than able to fulfilling. Whereas the veteran missed the whole 2023 season, solely the primary half of his absence was because of the left hip pressure that prevented him from being on the Opening Day roster in Anaheim final season. Stassi recovered from that difficulty midseason, however he and his spouse revealed final month that the three-months untimely delivery of their son necessitated Stassi to step away from the sport and attend to his household for the rest of the 2023 marketing campaign.

That stated, Stassi is anticipated to return to the sector in 2024 and has proven himself to be a high quality huge league catcher over the previous few seasons. Initially drafted by the A’s within the fourth spherical of the 2009 draft, Stassi made his huge league debut again in 2013 with the Astros however didn’t discover a common position within the majors till the 2018 season when he cut up time behind the plate in Houston with Brian McCann and Martin Maldonado. Stassi did effectively for himself in a backup position that season, slashing a good .226/.316/.394 in 250 plate appearances. Whereas Stassi struggled by 51 video games in 2019, prompting the Astros to commerce him to the Angels at that 12 months’s commerce deadline, Stassi was given a extra outstanding position upon his arrival in Anaheim.

In 118 video games between the shortened 2020 marketing campaign and his first full season as an Angel in 2021, Stassi mixed above-average offense on the plate (113 wRC+) with sturdy protection behind it to be the ninth most dear catcher within the league in keeping with fWAR. That sturdy efficiency led the Angels to signal Stassi to an extension, although that call would show ill-fated. As efficient as Stassi was throughout these two seasons, he took a step again in 2022, slashing a meager .180/.267/.363 (63 wRC+) on the plate whereas posting framing numbers that had been nearer to common than the elite figures he had posted earlier in his profession.

Whereas the struggles Stassi confronted in 2022 and his time away from the sport in 2023 make it an comprehensible choice for the Angels and Braves to go in one other course behind the plate in 2024, it’s simple to see why the addition of Stassi could be intriguing for the White Sox. In any case, Lee has lower than 100 plate appearances of expertise within the huge leagues and, even when the membership believes the previous top-100 prospect to be their catcher of the long run, will certainly want time and assistant as he appears to transition into a brand new position as a full-time huge leaguer. The addition of a veteran catcher similar to Stassi ought to assist with that transition, whereas additionally creating a considerable little bit of upside for Chicago. Stassi’s contract features a $7M 2025 membership possibility that contains a $500K buyout; if the veteran is ready to regain the shape he flashed in 2020 and 2021, that $6.5M choice could be a no brainer to select up and make for a sexy commerce chip because the White Sox retool their roster with a watch towards the long run.

For the Braves, the deal clears a portion of Stassi’s wage from their books whereas clearing an pointless piece from their roster. Atlanta already had top-of-the-line catching tandems within the sport with Sean Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud behind the plate, rendering Stassi as largely superfluous. Along side the commerce that introduced Stassi and Fletcher to Atlanta in trade for Evan White and the deal that shipped
Marco Gonzales to the Pirates, the Braves have shaved roughly $5M off their payroll since acquiring Gonzales and White as a part of the Jarred Kelenic commerce throughout the winter conferences whereas including a bench piece in Fletcher who higher matches the membership’s roster than any of Gonzales, White or Stassi.