Eddie Rosario Elects Free Agency

TODAY : Rosario has turned down the outright a signment and elected to become a free agent, MLB.coms Mark Bowman writes ( ). AUGUST 10: Rosario has pa sed through waivers, and the Braves have outrighted him to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, according to . It is unclear if Rosario has accepted the a signment; the veteran outfielder has more than enough MLB service time to reject an outright a signment without forfeiting any salary. AUGUST 8: The Braves announced Thursday that outfielder has been designated for a signment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to right-hander , whose contract has been selected from Matt Canterino Jersey Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta also optioned lefty to Gwinnett and recalled outfielder . The 2024 season has been the worst of the 32-year-old Rosarios decade-long big league career. Hes split the season between the Nats and Braves, tallying 319 plate appearances in spite of a disastrous .175/.215/.316 batting line including a .154/.181/.282 slash in 84 plate appearances since being released in Washington and signing in Atlanta. Rosario, the 2021 NLCS MVP has been in a free-fall at the plate for the bulk of the past four seasons. While a well-timed surge following a trade from Cleveland to Atlanta in 21 helped fuel the Braves World Series win that year and set the stage for a two-year deal to return to Atlanta, that contract didnt pan out as hoped. Rosario spent the 2022-23 seasons drawing regular playing time when healthy, but he managed only a .240/.289/.408 output at the plate in those two seasons. The Braves declined a $9MM club option over his 2024 season, and Rosario lingered on the free-agent market into March before signing a minor league deal with the Nationals. He returned to Atlanta on another minor league contract after being cut loose in D.C., but he hasnt been able to recapture any of that late-21 magic. With the trade deadline now pa sed, Rosario will be released within the next couple days. As for the 29-year-old Dunshee, hell be making his big league debut after grinding through eight minor league seasons and twice becoming a minor league free agent. Originally selected with the Athletics seventh-round pick back in 2017, the Wake Forest product spent six-plus years in the As system before being released last April and signing a minor league deal with the Giants for the remainder of the 2023 campaign. He latched on with the Braves on another minor league pact this past January. Dunshee will now get his first crack in the majors, and hes more than earned it. Splitting the season between Double-A (14 2/3 innings) and Triple-A (32 1/3 innings), hes worked to a combined 2.30 earned run average with a ma sive 33.7% strikeout rate against a 9.2% walk rate. Dunshee is a fly-ball pitcher whos been fortunate this season in the sense that he hasnt allowed any home runs. That level of home run suppre sion isnt sustainable for any pitcher, but Dunshees strikeout and walk rates create plenty of intrigue on their own, even with some regre sion due on the home run front. Manuel Margot Jersey