Former Atlanta Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte, who was released on July 29, has found a new home with the Cincinnati Reds on a minor league contract.
It took a week, but Ender Inciarte is back in the league…sort of.
The former Braves outfielder signed a minor league contract with the Reds on Thursday. He was assigned to AAA Louisville.
It’s not clear how long he’ll stay down in the minors.
Ex-Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte is now with the Reds
Inciarte is owed the remainder of his $8.7 million salary from the Braves, per Grant McAuley. So the Reds will have been able to get him on the cheap.
It’s been a tough run for the 30-year-old who was an All-Star in 2017.
The Braves traded for Inciarte from the Diamondbacks in 2015 and he started his time with them promisingly enough. He won a Gold Glove in 2016, prompting Atlanta to give him a five-year contract extension.
He paid off their faith in him with an All-Star nod in 2017 and a third-straight Gold Glove in 2018.
However, since then his form has dipped considerably. He batted .190/.262/.250 in 2020 and things didn’t get much better in 2021. After 52 games, he averaged .215/.276/.316 with an OPS of .592.
Atlanta designated him for assignment on July 24 and released him shortly after.
While Inciarte isn’t likely to do much damage at the plate, he could help Cincinnati as a defensive presence in the outfield. He could also give the Reds some options when it comes to replacing Shogo Akiyama, whose numbers aren’t considerably better than what Inciarte was putting up in Atlanta.