The Yankees outrighted De La Cruz to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.
De La Cruz will remain with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after slashing .251/.323/.438 with 10 home runs and six steals in 55 games before the Yankees designated him for assignment Thursday. Before landing with the Yankees in May via a waiver claim, the outfielder struggled to a .191/.240/.213 slash line with Atlanta over 50 plate appearances in the majors.
De La Cruz (oblique) went 0-for-3 in Sunday's game against Triple-A Worcester.
De La Cruz had been held out since July 6 due to an oblique injury before making two starts over the weekend for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. However, he failed to accomplish much at the dish, going 0-for-8 with three strikeouts. De La Cruz has been much better outside of this two-game sample size, slashing .248/.319/.485 with seven homers, 18 RBI, five stolen bases and 17 runs scored in 28 games since June 1.
Yankees' Bryan De La Cruz: Recovering from oblique injury
Rotowire
De La Cruz hasn't appeared in a game for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since Sunday due to an oblique injury, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.
De La Cruz remains out of the lineup Thursday for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's game against Buffalo, but he hasn't yet been placed on the 7-day injured list. Since the Yankees claimed him off waivers from Atlanta on May 1 and assigned him to Triple-A, De La Cruz has slashed .256/.333/.452 with nine home runs and six steals in 47 games.
De La Cruz has been added to the Yankees' taxi squad, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.
Initial reports suggested that De La Cruz would take Trent Grisham's (hamstring) spot on the active roster, but Grisham is not going on the 10-day injured list at this point. De La Cruz will be with the team on the taxi squad in case a transaction with Grisham is eventually required. The 27-year-old has slashed .250/.329/.421 with seven homers in 43 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
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Yankees' Bryan De La Cruz: Joins Yankees in Toronto
Rotowire
De La Cruz has joined the Yankees in Toronto and is expected to replace the injured Trent Grisham (hamstring) on the roster, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
De La Cruz has slashed .250/.329/.421 with seven homers in 43 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the Yankees claimed him off waivers at the beginning of May. The veteran outfielder posted a .453 OPS across 50 plate appearances with Atlanta earlier this season. De La Cruz could see some action versus lefties but will likely operate mostly in a reserve role.
The Yankees claimed De La Cruz off waivers from Atlanta on Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
After starting the season with a .453 OPS through 50 plate appearances, De La Cruz was sent down to Triple-A in mid-April and eventually landed on waivers when his performance didn't improve in the minors. He'll remain in Triple-A upon joining his new club but will reclaim a 40-man roster spot, replacing Giancarlo Stanton (elbows).
De La Cruz had an opportunity to stake claim to a regular role in the Atlanta outfield, but he managed just a .453 OPS and didn't drive in a single run in 16 games. He's being replaced on the roster by Alex Verdugo, who was called up from Triple-A.
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Braves' Bryan De La Cruz: Not starting Sunday
Rotowire
De La Cruz is not in Atlanta's starting lineup against Tampa Bay on Sunday, Lindsay Crosby of AthlonSports.com reports.
De La Cruz has gone 0-for-7 with one walk, one stolen base and five strikeouts over the first two games of the series. He'll retreat to the dugout for the series finale while Eli White starts in left field and bats ninth against Rays right-hander Joe Boyle.
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Braves' Bryan De La Cruz: Making first start of 2025
Rotowire
De La Cruz is starting in right field and batting seventh against the Dodgers on Monday.
De La Cruz came in as a pinch hitter twice during Atlanta's road series against San Diego. Monday will be his first start of the 2025 season, and he'll see everyday role in the outfield until Ronald Acuna (knee) comes back following Jurickson Profar's 80-game suspension by Major League Baseball for violating the performance-enhancing drug policy. De La Cruz split time with Atlanta and Miami across 149 regular-season games in 2024 and finished with a slash line of .233/.271/.384 with 21 home runs and 68 RBI in 621 plate appearances.
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Braves' Bryan De La Cruz: Looks ready for Opening Day
Rotowire
De La Cruz is batting .297 (11-for-37) through 15 Grapefruit League appearances with a 3:6 BB:K.
While the 28-year-old outfielder hasn't left the yard yet this spring, three of De La Cruz's hits have been doubles. The former Marlin is in line to handle the short side of a platoon in right field alongside Jarred Kelenic while Ronald Acuna completes his recovery from knee surgery, a role that should suit De La Cruz -- he slashed .285/.309/.425 in 188 plate appearances against left-handed pitching last year, versus a .210/.254/.365 line off righties in 433 PAs.
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Braves' Bryan De La Cruz: Sets for short-side platoon role
Rotowire
De La Cruz is expected to platoon in right field with Jarred Kelenic until Ronald Acuna (knee) is cleared to return to the lineup, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
As the right-handed hitter of the duo, De La Cruz would be on the short side of that platoon, although manager Brian Snitker could also choose to ride the hot hand. De La Cruz slashed .285/.309/.425 in 188 regular-season plate appearances against left-handed pitching in 2024, albeit with a 25.0 percent strikeout rate against a meager 3.2 percent walk rate, so he would appear to have a reasonable chance of thriving in that role over the first month or so of the season until Acuna is back in action.
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Braves' Bryan De La Cruz: Inks deal with Atlanta
Rotowire
Atlanta signed De La Cruz on Sunday to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract.
De La Cruz began the 2024 season with Miami before being dealt to Pittsburgh at the deadline. The outfielder slashed .233/.271/.384 on the year with a career-high 21 home runs, 61 runs scored and 68 RBI. The soon-to-be 28-year-old will look to compete for a spot on Atlanta's regular-season roster.
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