Atlanta Braves sign former A’s minor league favorite to deal

The Atlanta Braves have signed another key member of the Oakland A’s recent playoff run, signing Ramón Laureano to the minor leagues, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray. Laureano will head to Triple-A Gwinnett to join the Stripers team.

Laureano broke out for the A’s in 2019 when he hit .288 with a .340 OBP and 24 home runs, in addition to providing excellent defense in the outfield. Since that season, things haven’t gone as well for the 29-year-old, ultimately leading the A’s to place him on waivers in August of last year. The Cleveland Guardians picked him up and he was an above-average player for the Guards in 41 games with the team.

During the offseason, Cleveland hired Laureano’s former teammate Stephen Vogt as the team’s new manager, and one has to wonder if that brought additional internal pressure on Ramón. This year, the outfielder hit just .143 with a .265 average and one home run, although he still possesses the skills in the outfield that helped him become known.

He will now be in the same organization as Matt Olson and Sean Murphy, two players the A’s traded to Atlanta in recent years, and two former teammates of Laureano. There is no doubt that Ramón has the talent to be an effective player in the big leagues, but he has always been a cerebral player, and sometimes that hampers him.

Laureano will join former teammates Skye Bolt and Zach Logue, as well as former A’s farmhands Parker Dunshee and Grant Holmes in Triple-A.

The hope with this move is that he will be able to hit the right rhythm and find his rhythm with Atlanta, potentially even helping to replace some of the production they will be missing with Ronald Acuña Jr. set to miss the rest of the season.

As we wrote earlier today, Laureano may not be the only A’s player to end up in Atlanta this year. How well he plays could determine Atlanta’s next steps on the trade market.