Braves Re-sign Outfielder Rafael Ortega to Minor League Deal, per Report

It likely is not the resigning that many were hoping for, but the Braves did make an effort at continuity on Tuesday, as they resigned outfielder Rafael Ortega to a minor league deal. Ortega played both at Gwinnett and Atlanta during the 2019 season, and while the majority of his season was spent at AAA, he was a member of the Atlanta roster to end the regular season and during the playoffs. Ortega will most likely begin the season as he did last year as organizational outfield depth at Gwinnett.

Overall, Ortega produced a .205/.271/.307 triple slash line, good for a .578 OPS and -0.4 bWAR over 96 plate appearances. As his production suggests, Ortega served as a last resort for the Braves bench due to a plethora of late season injuries. Despite his struggles, Ortega provided one of the most memorable moments of the 2019 regular season with a game winning grand slam against the Dodgers on August 18th.

While the Braves have brought Ortega back into the fold for 2020, the logical hope is that the Braves will have more productive options to fill their bench next year. However, if the need were to arise again, Ortega is a familiar option to rely upon in the outfield if the need were to arise.