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The Atlanta Braves have acquired Adam Duvall from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Lucas Sims, Matt Wisler and Preston Tucker.
Duvall, 29, is a right-handed outfielder who played the last 3+ seasons in Cincinnati. He owns a .205/.286/.399 batting line (82 wRC+) with 15 homers and 61 RBI through 370 plate appearances this year. He hit upwards of 30 homers the last two years with the Reds.
Duvall’s offensive numbers are down compared to prior years, but dig a little deeper you’ll find his .244 BABIP is 40 points lower than his BABIP the last three seasons. He’s making good contact in the box with a solid line drive rate (22.4 %) and hard-hit rate (37.5 %). Duvall posted a 102 wRC+ from 2015-2017, and once his luck balances out he should be much closer to that level of production moving forward.
Gabe Burns of the AJC reported that Duvall will start in left field against left-handed pitchers. Ronald Acuña Jr. will shift to center field, meaning Ender Inciarte will now sit against southpaws.
Duvall is regarded as a strong defensive outfielder. Since 2016 he grades out at +36 defensive runs saved while primarily playing left field. He also has some experience at first base and could play right field, too.
The 29-year-old outfielder is owed just $200K the rest of the season and has three years of arbitration remaining, giving the Braves control through 2021 should they choose.
You may recall the Braves were interested in acquiring Duvall last winter.
The cost to acquire Duvall was minimal. Wisler and Sims have been given many opportunities to succeed at the big league level with poor results, and Tucker is limited as a bench bat given his defensive deficiencies and struggles against left-handed pitching.
The trade also opens up two spots on the 40-man roster. That will come into play immediately as the Braves needed to open up a spot for Kolby Allard on Tuesday.
And, once again, the Braves have upgraded their big league roster without dipping into any of their crop of talented prospects. We’ll see if Alex Anthopoulos has any more deals up his sleeve prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline (4 p.m. ET).
More to come.