Transaction Monday: Demeritte Moves On

It's a slow time of year, but four players have reached free agency

During the regular season, I plan to recap all of the moves the organization does on a weekly basis. This may include promotions, demotions, releases, and signings. But during the offseason, you don't have the constant stream of moves every week. With that in mind, I plan to do a bi-weekly recap.

The moves covered today include October 10-23.

Gwinnett

Elected Free Agency: RHP Jesús Cruz...So, it says that Cruz appeared in seven games this year for the Braves. I can read it and everything. I just can't picture it in my head. The seven games in question were recorded over a month from May 30 to June 30. Overall, he threw 8.2 innings, allowed three homers (all to the Phillies), walked four, and struck out six. He also appeared in 28 games out of the Gwinnett with a 4.23 ERA and 4.41 FIP. The strikeout numbers were solid, but everything else just wasn't. It's kind of the story of Cruz's career, which was spent in the Cardinals' organization until this season. Decent mid-90's velocity, but at 27, he's a guy you take a chance on, but cut your losses when it doesn't work out.

Elected Free Agency: 2B Ryan Goins...Speaking of things I've completely blocked out - Goins has 556 games of major league experience between the Blue Jays, Royals, and White Sox from 2013-2020. Goins came up for a few games in August, but never got into any action. In his second season with the Stripers, Goins hit .217/.244/.257. I'm told that's bad, but I'm waiting on confirmation.

Elected Free Agency: OF Travis Demeritte...One of Coppy's kids, there was a moment in 2022 where Demeritte looked like an absolute force. Brought up on 4/20 when Austin Riley went on the paternity list, our boy showed the big power we've come to expect from him. He even hit lead-off for four consecutive games. The first two were great - he picked up five hits. The next two, not so much. In fact, from May 15 through May 27, Demeritte picked up just hit in 34 trips to the plate. Demeritte was the guy who got the boot when Michael Harris II was called up. During a whirlwind of activity on August 16 (the same day Goins came up), Demeritte was DFA'd. In the minors, Demeritte played just 38 games and his .292 wOBA was quite disappointing. But man, for a week or two, we were allowed to believe that Demeritte was about to be the guy Coppy once acquired all the way back in 2016.

Elected Free Agency: OF Alex Dickerson...When the Braves signed Dickerson last offseason, many thought it could be a sneaky-good move, especially with Ronald Acuña Jr. on the mend to begin the season. But, alas, he never got out of park, hitting .121 in 13 games before getting designated for assignment. He somewhat surprisingly opted to stay in the organization and hit .239 with a .321 wOBA over 92 games in Gwinnett. 2022 was Dickerson's Age-32 season and I wonder if he might try his luck in Japan or Korea to continue his career.

That's it, guys. With the World Series right around the corner, the moves should start to roll in a bit more frequently.