SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After spending nine years in the Yankees organization and getting just 149 plate appearances in the majors, outfielder Zoilo Almonte figures to get a better opportunity with the Braves.
They signed the Domincan switch-hitter to a one-year major league contract Monday, and it sounds like he’ll have a good chance to make the opening day roster.
Almonte, 25, hit .211 with two homers in 142 at-bats with New York over the past two seasons, including only 36 at-bats in 2014. He spent most of the season in Triple-A and hit .261 with 18 homers and 69 RBIs, though he had just 29 walks with 105 strikeouts in 421 at-bats.
He came recommended by Gordon Blakeley, the former Yankees scouting guru hired last month by the Braves as a special assistant in their overhauled international scouting department.
The Braves lacked major league-ready players in their minor league system and wanted to be sure they landed Almonte after targeting him in recent organizational meetings. They knew he’d drawn interest from other teams and decided they needed to offer him a major league contract to assure they got him.
“He’s got a good arm, and he’s got a little pop,” said John Hart, Braves president of baseball operations. “He’s probably better at either corner, can go play center; he’s not a guy you want to run out there (in center) for half a season, but he could go out there and fill in center.”
“We had some good reports on him. Again, not having that upper-level depth (in the minor league system), this gives us an opportunity, a guy that’s probably ready to play in the big leagues, whether he’s a fourth guy or a platoon guy.”
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