The Atlanta Braves signed Dominican Republic outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the 2025 season on December 15, the day before his 28th birthday, the organization announced.
His contract with the Braves is specifically a split contract and not a minor-league deal.
De La Cruz will be paid $860,000 while in the major leagues and $180,000 if he plays in the minors for most of the 2025 season.
The #Braves today signed OF Bryan De La Cruz to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the 2025 season.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 15, 2024
De La Cruz was born in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic, and played with the Miami Marlins from 2021-24 before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 30, 2024, for right-handed pitcher Jun-Seok Shim and third baseman Garret Forrester, heading to South Florida.
De La Cruz has been making $2,517,269 million since his first year with the Marlins and has only signed pre-arbitration contracts for one year starting in 2021, until he was traded last year to the Steel City.
De La Cruz played in 149 games last season between Miami and Pittsburgh while batting .233 with 622 plate appearances, rocking 136 hits, 25 doubles, 21 home runs, 68 RBI, five stolen bases, 29 walks, 170 strikeouts, and a .654 OPS.
He played right field with the Marlins and Pirates during the 2024 season in 47 games and 45 starts through 391.2 innings, with 99 chances, 93 putouts, three assists, three errors, one double play, and a .970 fielding percentage.
In left field with Miami and Pittsburgh, De La Cruz played in 55 games and 50 starts through 443 innings, with 91 chances, 85 putouts, five assists, one error, one double play, and a .989 fielding percentage.
During his four seasons in Major League Baseball, De La Cruz has played in 475 games with 1,820 plate appearances, hitting .253 with 427 hits, 84 doubles, two triples, 58 home runs, 208 RBI, swiping 14 bases, 106 walks, 455 strikeouts, and a .704 OPS.
De La Cruz has played with the Toros del Este during the 2024-25 LIDOM regular season in seven games while batting .292 with 28 plate appearances, drilling seven hits, two doubles, three RBI, three walks, and one strikeout since he was activated on their roster on December 1.
According to Mark Polishuk of MLBTradeRumors.com, De La Cruz has two minor league option years remaining, adding more flexibility to Atlanta’s decision-making about whether or not to deploy him on the active roster.
Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos and manager Brian Snitker will have to evaluate their outfield closely heading into the 2025 Grapefruit League season, with Ronald Acuna Jr. recovering from a torn ACL last year that could have him sidelined for quite some time after Opening Day.
De La Cruz will have to compete with Jarred Kelenic, Orlando Arcia, and Eli White during spring training in order to see some playing time at the corner outfield positions with the Braves during the 2025 regular season.
The Braves will play their first game of spring training against the Minnesota Twins on the road at 1:05 p.m. EST in Fort Myers, Fla., at the Lee Health Sports Complex and will open the 2025 season on the road against the San Diego Padres on March 27 at 4:10 p.m. EDT.
