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Atlanta Braves acquire Matt Adams in trade with St. Louis Cardinals
ST. LOUIS -- The Atlanta Braves have found their fill-in for injured star Freddie Freeman.
On Saturday, the Braves acquired first baseman Matt Adams and cash from the St. Louis Cardinals for minor league infielder Juan Yepez.
The deal came three days after the Braves lost Freeman to a broken left wrist. Freeman was expected to miss 10 weeks after being hit by a pitch from Toronto's Aaron Loup.
Braves general manager John Coppolella said Adams will be valuable to the Braves beyond the immediate future.
"He's also played left field," Coppolella said. "He's a good bat off the bench. He will help us even when Freddie Freeman comes back to the Braves."
Adams said he's looking at the trade as the best thing for his career.
"I'm going to be able to play every day," Adams said. "But I can't say enough about the Cardinals and thank the Cardinals for the opportunities they gave me. It was a great run."
The 28-year-old Adams made his major league debut with St. Louis in 2012. He is a career .271 hitter with 56 home runs and 271 RBIs.
Adams hit .292 with a homer and seven RBIs coming off the bench this season and playing some in the outfield.
Coppolella said Adams is expected to join the team in time for Sunday's game against Washington. He will be expected to handle the position, at least against right-handers.
"He will have a chance to play a bunch early," Coppolella said. "We will face all right-handers the rest of the homestand."
A move involving Adams had been speculated since spring training after Matt Carpenter was picked to start at first base.
"When you looked at how our roster was constructed it was really hard for us to give Matt plate appearances," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. "Clearly moving Carp to first, and with the dynamics of plate appearances, this ultimately made sense today."
Yepez, 19, was hitting .275 with 15 RBIs in 35 games at Class A Rome. He was assigned to Class A Peoria.
"We hate to trade prospects but this was something for our players, for our fans," Coppolella said. "I think our ownership really stepped forward here to take on money and get a really good player. We're trying to win right now."
On Saturday, the Braves acquired first baseman Matt Adams and cash from the St. Louis Cardinals for minor league infielder Juan Yepez.
The deal came three days after the Braves lost Freeman to a broken left wrist. Freeman was expected to miss 10 weeks after being hit by a pitch from Toronto's Aaron Loup.
Braves general manager John Coppolella said Adams will be valuable to the Braves beyond the immediate future.
"He's also played left field," Coppolella said. "He's a good bat off the bench. He will help us even when Freddie Freeman comes back to the Braves."
Adams said he's looking at the trade as the best thing for his career.
"I'm going to be able to play every day," Adams said. "But I can't say enough about the Cardinals and thank the Cardinals for the opportunities they gave me. It was a great run."
The 28-year-old Adams made his major league debut with St. Louis in 2012. He is a career .271 hitter with 56 home runs and 271 RBIs.
Adams hit .292 with a homer and seven RBIs coming off the bench this season and playing some in the outfield.
Coppolella said Adams is expected to join the team in time for Sunday's game against Washington. He will be expected to handle the position, at least against right-handers.
"He will have a chance to play a bunch early," Coppolella said. "We will face all right-handers the rest of the homestand."
A move involving Adams had been speculated since spring training after Matt Carpenter was picked to start at first base.
"When you looked at how our roster was constructed it was really hard for us to give Matt plate appearances," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. "Clearly moving Carp to first, and with the dynamics of plate appearances, this ultimately made sense today."
Yepez, 19, was hitting .275 with 15 RBIs in 35 games at Class A Rome. He was assigned to Class A Peoria.
"We hate to trade prospects but this was something for our players, for our fans," Coppolella said. "I think our ownership really stepped forward here to take on money and get a really good player. We're trying to win right now."