Braves sign first baseman Garrett Cooper Robert Murray of FanSided reports that he has signed a minor league deal. The agreement includes an invitation to Cooper to attend major league spring training camp in Atlanta.
After spending the majority of his eight MLB seasons with the Marlins, Cooper now returns to the NL East looking to achieve some stability in what has been a few years as a journeyman. Miami traded Cooper to the Padres at the 2023 trade deadline, and Cooper signed a minor league contract with the Cubs after entering free agency last winter. He was subsequently designated for assignment and traded to the Red Sox in late April, but was subsequently DFAed again by Boston in June and then released. Cooper signed another minors contract with the Orioles but did not appear in any MLB games for Baltimore.
Cooper performed well in 41 games with the Cubs but struggled in 75 games with the Red Sox. In 116 games, Cooper hit a combined .206/.267/.299, marking Cooper’s second straight season of declining numbers since his heyday with the Marlins. Cooper hit .274/.350/.444 over 1,273 PA for Miami from 2019-22 and became an All-Star for the team in 2022, despite injuries and an overall underwhelming performance from the Marlins. An underrated hitter.
More coming soon…
