The Braves need help on the right side of the plate, and they need it in the outfield.
Atlanta’s lineup hasn’t looked anything like the long, punishing group fans got used to in 2023. The left side of the infield has been especially quiet, with Austin Riley’s production singled out as a major problem, and there isn’t much relief coming at short or third. That leaves the corner-outfield market as the most obvious place to hunt for offense.
There are some rental names out there, but the fit is messy. Taylor Ward, 32, is a rental with about $4.5 million left on his deal this year.
He’s handled lefties well and can work in a platoon, but the glove doesn’t bring much to the table. Lane Thomas doesn’t really fit either, and he’s not a strong defender.
What Atlanta really needs is a right-handed bat with power. That’s not exactly an overflowing category, but two names stand out.
Heliot Ramos of the Giants is one of them. Drafted 19th overall in 2017, the 26-year-old hasn’t had the breakout season San Francisco was hoping for, but the track record still pops: a career .280/.345/.510/.855 line, a .361 wOBA, and a 135 wRC+ point to a bat that can play. This year, he’s been productive against both sides, hitting .300/.340/.560/.900 against lefties and .265/.306/.469/.775 against righties.
The power could translate even better at Truist, according to Baseball Savant, and his percentile page is loaded with red. The downside is the defense, which shows up most clearly in left field.
Ramos is pre-arbitration and under team control through 2030, but he’s out of options. San Francisco doesn’t need to move him, and it’s not likely to give him away. A deal would probably take a couple of pitchers near the bottom of Atlanta’s top 30, plus an outfielder such as José Azócar to help cover the spot through the end of the season.
The other name is Spencer Steer, and the case for him is a little different. The 28-year-old is hitting .324/.427/.618/1.045 with five homers and a 178+ wRC+ in 83 plate appearances, and he’s been especially dangerous against lefties over his career, putting up a .266/.354/.477/.832 line with 24 homers and a 124 wRC+ in 511 plate appearances. His walk rate is sitting at 15%, a touch above his career mark, while his strikeout rate is down to 13%, six points lower than usual.
Against righties, though, the numbers dip. He’s at .213/.281/.361/.642 with nine homers and a 72 wRC+ in 68 plate appearances this year, down from a career line of .235/.318/.402/.720 with a 95 wRC+ and six homers per season on average.
Steer’s defense is workable but not ideal in the outfield. He’s been a slightly below-average defender in both left and right this season, though his arm points more toward left.
He also brings some infield history, having come up as a first baseman and posting 12 DRS and seven OAA there in 1,743 innings since 2024. He has 288 innings at second, 462 at third, and even three innings at short since 2022 in an emergency.
He has about $1.3 million left on his deal, is under control until 2009, and will have two options remaining in 2027. In a subscriber chat for MLBTR, Charlie Wright suggested Steer “(hasn’t) produced well enough to avoid being a non-tender candidate.”
As an everyday, two-way corner outfielder, I agree. But the bat still looks like a short-side platoon weapon, and that makes him cheaper than Ramos.
The wrinkle is that Cincinnati may be more interested in an outfielder who can handle center or right every day. If that’s the case, Isaiah Drake and a warm body might be enough to get Steer to Atlanta.
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