According to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, the Braves and outfielder Luis Liberato have agreed to a minor league contract. It’s unclear whether the agreement includes an invitation to major league spring training.
Liberato, who will turn 28 later this month, was signed by Seattle out of the Dominican Republic in 2012. He spent nine seasons in the Mariners organization in total, eventually reaching Triple-A for a full season in 2021 at the age of 25. Liberato hit.279/.338/.436 in 337 plate appearances that year, primarily in center field. Liberato’s strong performance earned him a minor league deal with the Padres the following winter when he was eligible for minor league free agency. The outfielder began the 2022 season with the club’s Triple-A affiliate.A subsidiary in El Paso and got fantastic results, with a .261/.354/.541 slash line in 99 games.
Despite playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, that performance was 16% higher than the league average in terms of wRC+.
Liberato’s strong Triple-A numbers earned him his first big league opportunity in September 2022, when the club used him as a pinch runner and defensive replacement during their playoff push. Despite appearing in seven games down the stretch, Liberato only batted five times, going hitless with three strikeouts in his first big league at-bat.
Liberato returned to the Padres in 2023 on a new minor league deal after being released from the club’s 40-man roster late in the 2022 season, but he didn’t have the same offensive success as his predecessor.In 69 games with El Paso this year, he had a slash line of 261/.365/.461, good for a league average wRC+ of 99.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70269872/usa_today_17099130.0.jpg)
Liberato is now on his way to Atlanta, where he will serve as outfield depth for a team that recently lost left fielder Eddie Rosario to free agency. He is expected to join the club’s outfield mix at Triple-A to begin the 2024 season, along with Jesse Franklin V, Cody Milligan, and Justin Dean.
Leave a Reply