Just months after signing Sean Rodriguez to a two-year deal, the Braves are sending the utility man back to his original team.
With the emergence of Johan Camargo and the recent play of Danny Santana, Rodriguez has been made expendable. The Braves even signed Brandon Phillips after learning of his devastating Miami car crash that injured him and his family. Rodriguez is yet to get his bat going since returning to the show, so the Braves made the right move here. Matt Adams will now man left field until Matt Kemp’s return, and this will make life a whole lot easier on Brian Snitker.
As far as the return goes, they get former first-round pick Connor Joe. He is nothing but a lottery ticket but has held his own in the minors and his high on-base percentage given his batting average shows that he could provide a ton of value with minor improvements. He basically looks like the Braxton Davidson of the Pirates farm system.
You have to root for a guy like Rodriguez given his offseason drama, but getting a young player back for him here is a steal. While Rodriguez had a great season in 2016, when you look at his career stats it seems to be an outlier and he is not getting any younger at 32-years old. This move eases a logjam and enhances the Braves future financially and talent-wise.