The Braves are getting rid of part of Gonzalez’s contract for what will likely be a marginal return
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The Braves traded Marco Gonzalez to Pittsburgh Pirates Along with cash for a player to be named later according to Jeff Passan of ESPN and confirmed by the Braves.
This deal appears to be all about the money, as Gonzalez is owed $12 million this season and could be a useful player, but he’s not the impact starter the Braves want with the state of their roster. Why pay $12 million for Marco Gonzalez when you have Bryce Elder in pre-arbitration?
Gonzalez was acquired in the Jared Kelenic trade about 48 hours ago, as Seattle also didn’t want to pay Gonzalez $12 million in 2023. Seattle sent $4.5 million in cash to Atlanta in that deal, but there were a number of other pieces involved. The money Atlanta sends to Pittsburgh is an important part of the deal and it will be interesting to see how much of Gonzalez’s salary the Braves cover. This should open up at least some payroll for Atlanta, even if the exact number is uncertain at the moment. A player to be named later is unlikely to matter much, but the Braves haven’t received one of these in a while, and they’re a bit of fun, with the added bonus of boosting the name of one of our podcasts into battery power.
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