Braves Sign MLB Veteran to Minor League Deal

The Atlanta Braves made a depth signing for the organization today.

And it was announced in a pretty interesting way.

The Gwinnett Stripers released the lineup for tonight's matchup against the Lousiville Bats (Cincinnati Reds organization) on social media with a bit of breaking news in the caption:

"Welcome to Gwinnett, Harold Ramírez"

Checking the team's transaction wire, the Braves signed former major leaguer Harold Ramírez to a minor league deal just today and he's already reported to Triple-A Gwinnett, where he is playing right field and batting cleanup tonight.

Ramírez, 29, is a major league veteran who has played for six different organizations in his twelve-year career. Debuting in 2019, he's spent time with four different teams in the major leagues, where he has hit .285 with a .729 OPS while spending time in the outfield, at first base, and as a designated hitter.

Ramírez saw the most success with the Tampa Bay Rays, who he spent two and a half years with before being released this June. While in Tampa, where he was predominately a designated hitter, Ramírez hit .300/.337/.411 with 19 homers and 139 RBI across 290 games.

After being released this June amidst a roster crunch for Tampa Bay, he signed on with tonight's opponent, the Washington Nationals, but was released after eighteen starts and 25 total appearances. He hit just one homer for each team, putting up a .261/.280/.324 combined line across both organizations.

Ramírez will provide continued depth to a Braves roster that has been decimated with injuries at the major league level. MLB veteran Yuli Gurriel, playing all year in Gwinnett, recently moved from first base back to third with the news that MLB incumbent Austin Riley will miss six to eight weeks with his broken hand, suffered on Sunday. The Stripers have used a mixture of players at first this week, including Luis Liberato and Brian Anderson, neither infielders by trade.

UPDATE: Stripers broadcaster Dave Lezotte also followed this news with the announcement that Yuli Gurriel was placed on the seven-day injured list with an unspecified injury. He left last night's game prior to the 5th inning.