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What Luis Guillorme is getting the Atlanta Braves

Luis Guillorme, a former Mets utility player, joined the Atlanta Braves as a bench night. infielder on Friday

On Friday night, the Atlanta Braves agreed to a one-year contract with former New York Mets utility infielder Luis Guillorme, making a significant move to strengthen their major league bench. What can we anticipate from the 29-year-old in the upcoming season?

Strong yet unimpressive defense

Before making his 2018 debut, Guillorme was regarded as the top defensive infielder in the Mets system, and time hasn’t done anything to lessen his defensive abilities.

According to MLB Statcast, Guillorme was a 79th percentile defender in 2022—the last year he saw substantial and prolonged defensive play—and had five OAA (Outs Above Average). Despite lacking tremendous arm or foot speed, he is nevertheless able to help defensively by using his placement, instincts, and quick first step to field his position at a significant distance.

With three extra innings at second base (+1% success rate added), one at third base (+2% success rate added), and two at shortstop (+10% success rate added), he graded out favorably at all three non-first infield positions in 2022.

He’s most suited for second base because of his arm strength, but there are plenty of perfectly excellent third base defenders in the major leagues without outstanding arms; Jeimer Candelario, who was a member of the Nationals and Cubs last season, is a prime example.

(For those wondering why we skipped over Guillorme’s 2023 defense, the defensive numbers aren’t a statistically relevant sample; due to injury, he only got 104 total defensive opportunities, including just 4 at shortstop.)

He can contribute offensively, but he is not a leader.

Guillorme has a career batting average of.261 but an OPS of just.677. His average exit velocity (86.6) is below the major league average, while the league average is approximately 88.4 mph. This indicates a lack of power. In this sense, he is unmistakably anti-Braves, as Atlanta likes players who can hit deep balls.

However, Guillorme has several offensive advantages. First off, although not being completely platoon proof, he is not awful against left-handed pitching, as evidenced by his career batting average of.230 against them, which is largely tainted by his troubles against excellent left-handed relievers. Guillorme is batting.266 versus left-handed beginning pitchers, so if you are facing a left-handed starter on a given day, you won’t need to replace him in the lineup.Neither will he be relied upon to lead this team, either. He’ll be batting eighth or ninth in most lineups because the Braves have so many excellent offensive players on their roster. His approach is what makes him a potent offensive player. Taking a closer look at 2022, he was even more adept at keeping pitchers in the zone by not swinging and missing. With just a 21.3% Chase percentage and a 13.3% Whiff%, he struck out less than 14 percent of the time.

Even though he won’t hit the ball very hard, he will force the other pitcher to throw strikes and he will hit them. That truly is all you need him to accomplish in a lineup like Atlanta’s, which has so many excellent hitters.

Budget-wise, it’s a terrific offer.With Guillorme’s 2024 deal only for $1.1 million, Atlanta will have both Arcia, their shortstop, and his backup for a grand total of $3.53 million. When you factor in David Fletcher’s $6 million, who will compete with Guillorme for the backup position during spring training, the total cost is still less than $10 million for Arcia, a 2023 All Star, and two excellent backups who can cover defense in case Arcia is sidelined.

Guillorme, who is in his third year of arbitration, will still have team control for 2025 because he was a second-year eligible player and the Mets did not tender him. It’s very possible that Atlanta will reach a settlement with him before he enters arbitration to keep him around for another season if he plays well as a bench player this year.

He’s a real kind guy and a fantastic teammate off the field.Whenever Alex Anthopoulos makes an acquisition, one of the most prevalent lessons learned is the amount of effort put out by the Braves front office to identify players that complement the current squad and fit into Atlanta’s clubhouse culture.

By all accounts, Guillorme is well-liked and well-respected by teammates and the press within his own clubhouse. After the infielder’s signing yesterday night, Justin Toscano of the AJC, who covered the Braves while covering the Mets, had nothing but positive things to say about him. On paper, this looks to be a wonderful match between a player and a team in almost every way. Atlanta is looking to return to the top of the mountain in 2024, and this versatile defender can thrive in the team-oriented atmosphere of Atlanta’s clubhouse.