Braves sign Bryan De La Cruz to 1-year, non-guaranteed deal

The Atlanta Braves signed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the 2025 season, the club announced Sunday.

Bryan De La Cruz hit a career-high 21 homers with 68 RBIs and a .654 OPS over a combined 149 games between the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024.

The 27-year-old De La Cruz can play right field until Ronald Acuña Jr. has recovered from his second ACL tear, which was sustained in May. The former could also platoon with left fielder Jarred Kelenic when Acuña returns.

De La Cruz was above league average in several advanced hitting metrics in 2024, including hard-hit percentile (58%), average exit velocity (59%), and barrel rate (63%), according to Baseball Savant. Defensively, he finished in the 84th percentile for arm value and 88th percentile in arm strength.