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The Atlanta Braves' 2025 season is slipping away. After a 0-7 start, they bounced back to .500. But in June, they are 2-8 and falling down the National League standings. Even the returns of Ronald Acuña Jr and Spencer Strider could not lift this club to contention. They cannot let a year of their core's prime continue to slip without adding some key players. The Braves must respond to this poor start by calling up prospect Carlos Rodriguez.
Rodriguez elected free agency in 2024 after six years in the Milwaukee Brewers' system. The Braves scooped him up and sent him to AA Columbus, where he played ten games to start the season. After hitting for a .341 average with a .770 OPS, they moved him up to AAA Gwinnett. In 48 games with the Stripers, he has a .310 batting average with a .740 OPS. He has split his time evenly between the three outfield positions for his entire minor-league career.
Despite recently arriving in the Braves' organization, he is already the 28th-ranked prospect in their system, per MLB.com. Bringing up Rodriguez would not only provide an offensive spark, but also not cost Atlanta service time on a big prospect. If this season continues to go down the tubes, they don't want to waste a year of a valuable rookie contract.
That is not enough of a reason to call up someone who is not going to hit, however. Rodriguez has been an excellent contact hitter at every level over the past three years and could provide a spark. Alex Verdugo has a .208 average with a .505 OPS in his last 16 games. Verdugo was not their first plan in left field, only coming in after Jurickson Profar's suspension. It's time for Atlanta to give the youngster a chance over the veteran Verdugo.
The Braves' prospect pool is light on pitchers
Considering AJ Smith-Shawver's recent UCL injury, it would also make sense for the Braves to call up a pitcher. Spencer Strider has not been great in his starts, and Chris Sale can't carry the rotation alone again. Their number two prospect, Hurston Waldrep, is sporting a 6.35 ERA in AAA. Drue Hackenberg is still in AA with an ERA over 7.00. And Rolddy Muñoz is a relief pitcher, which won't help their problems.
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That is where Rodriguez comes in as a prospect the Braves should call up. He would fill in their weakest position offensively, can DH if necessary, and is a low-risk, high-reward promotion. They have already seen him succeed at two levels; there is no harm in giving him a month-long tryout at the MLB level.
Although Profar will be eligible to come back this summer, he is ineligible for the postseason due to his PED suspension. That means the Braves can benefit from him down the stretch, but must prepare for life without him again if they make it to October. Rodriguez should be a massive part of that plan, especially considering Verdugo's playoff performance last year.
Verdugo was the starting left fielder for the Yankees last year, who made the World Series. But Verdugo was not the reason why. In 14 games, he posted a .208 batting average and a .622 OPS. He hit just one homer, which did come in Game 3 of the World Series. But his lack of offensive pop did not help the Yankees and will not help the Braves.
If Rodriguez comes up and outperforms Verdugo, they could pick up another asset by trading the veteran at the deadline. They got Rodriguez and Verdugo off the scrap heap in the offseason, so there is a lot to gain by giving this a shot and seeing what happens before Profar comes back.
The Braves kick off a weekend series with the Colorado Rockies on Friday in Atlanta.
