When Dustin Peterson went down with a hand injury early in Spring Training, many followers of the Braves farm system were sad. After a breakout performance in the minors in 2016 where he posted a .774 OPS in Double-A (with a home park that was very pitcher friendly as well), Peterson could have very easily played his way into a bench slot this spring. The injury isn’t considered to be be very serious and he should be good to go by the second month of the regular season.
That said, it appears as though his injury in addition to the Braves’ outfield being lefty heavy has got the Braves out on the market.
Braves Seeking Right-Handed-Hitting Fourth Outfielder https://t.co/0UF6SR275H #braves #mlb
— Tim Dierkes (@mlbtrbraves) March 9, 2017
In Heyman’s original report, which you can find right here, indicates that the Braves are looking specifically for a right-handed fourth outfielder that can also play center field to spell Ender Inciarte and/or Nick Markakis, in particular when putting more righties in the line-up would be beneficial. Before someone causes a ruckus in the comments, that does not mean the Braves would be including Andrew McCutchen in their search....he would be pricey to land and is far from a 4th outfielder despite coming off a down year.
The Braves have the prospect depth to make any number of deals and it is around this time of year that the free agent market could have some reasonable candidates as well. So far no names have been connected to the Braves, but we will keep you posted as this story develops throughout the spring.