Stuart Fairchild finds a home with the Braves after getting DFA’d last week
We’ve got a trade to talk about, as the Atlanta Braves have once again decided to make a bit of a low-key move in order to boost their outfield depth. Last week, the Reds designated Stuart Fairchild for assignment after he had a poor spring training performance at the plate and was unable to make their Opening Day roster.
So while the Reds have decided to move on, the Braves have decided to fit him into their organization, as the Braves have picked him up in a trade in exchange for cash considerations.
The #Braves today also acquired OF Stuart Fairchild from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for cash considerations. To make room on the 40-man roster, Atlanta transferred RHP Joe Jiménez to the 60-day injured list.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 31, 2025
Fairchild is a career .224/308/.389 hitter, with .307 wOBA and only 88 wRC+ and 18 career home runs. He’s known more as a defensive substitution-type fourth outfielder than anything else but it’s hard to make big league team in any given season if you’re a fringe player with a slash line of .132/.233/.184 — which is exactly what Fairchild hit over 45 plate appearances during spring training this season.
He’s got plenty of speed (he finished 2024 in the 92nd percentile when it comes to spring speed) and his defense is legit (his OAA was 4 last season, which placed him in the 86th percentile) but you’ve got to hit if you want to stick around in the bigs — especially if you’re out of options like Fairchild is. If/when we do see Fairchild show up with the Braves, the best hope is that he’ll do something like this at the plate or something like this with his glove — the glove being the most likely scenario.
Meanwhile, Joe Jiménez has been moved to the 60-day IL, which is exactly what we figured would happen the first chance the Braves got to open up his roster spot.