Veteran first baseman James Loney asked for and was granted his release by the Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday, four days after signing a minor league deal with the Braves and two days after the Braves traded for another veteran first baseman, Matt Adams.
The Braves signed Loney, 33, on Thursday almost immediately after it was confirmed that slugger Freddie Freeman had a fractured wrist and would be out approximately 10 weeks. They said he would go to Gwinnett and could be called up to the majors soon if he looked ready to help the Braves.
But at the same time the Braves also went to work trying to acquire a potentially more impactful replacement for Freeman, and did that by finalizing a trade Saturday for the Cardinals' Adams.
Braves general manager John Coppolella said after the Saturday trade that the Braves wouldn't have signed Loney if they'd known they were going to be able to finalize a deal for Adams, who flew to Atlanta on Sunday morning and went 0-for-4 in a series finale Sunday afternoon against the Nationals, striking out three times against Stephen Strasburg.
Loney played in two games at Gwinnett and was 1-for-7 with a single, a walk and a strikeout.
Loney hit .265 with nine homers, 34 RBIs and a .703 OPS in 100 games (366 plate appearances) for the Mets last season, mostly while filling in for injured first baseman Lucas Duda. He was released this month from a minor league contract with the Tigers, who had signed him after Loney was released from a minor league deal with the Rangers late in spring training.
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