With the Atlanta Braves not picking up the contract option for Eddie Rosario, free agent outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. seems like the perfect fit to replace him.

While you could argue the top priority for the Atlanta Braves this offseason is beefing up the starting rotation even with the return of Charlie Morton, the biggest glaring need on the team is in left field.

If the season started today, Forrest Wall would be the team’s starting left fielder. And perhaps the 28-year-old former top prospect deserves a look, a team like the Braves with World Series aspirations can’t go into a season with a huge question mark in left field.

And it seems unlikely the Braves would decline a reasonable $9 million option on Rosario if they didn’t have something else in mind.

Could that something else be Lourdes Gurriel Jr.?

Why Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Makes Sense

Since leaving Cuba and making his major league debut in 2018, Gurriel has been a very consistent performer at the plate with at least a 102 wRC+ in 6 seasons. In two of the past three seasons, he’s also hit over 20 home runs, including a career-best 24 in 2023.

His walk rate is not impressive but has been around 5-6 percent every year with a strikeout rate of around 18 percent.

He’s also always been between a .260-290 hitter, but the OBP is something that has fluctuated throughout his career from the low 300s to mid-300s.

His defense has always been average to below-average, but this past season it was solid with a run value of plus-three.