Braves sign James Loney to minor-league deal

The first baseman joins Atlanta in the wake of Freddie Freeman’s wrist injury.

The Braves have agreed to sign first baseman James Loney, as first reported by ESPN’s Buster Olney. The contract is of the minor-league variety, a league source confirmed to SBN.

Atlanta was known to be looking at veteran first base options following devastating news that star Freddie Freeman will miss about 10 weeks after fracturing his wrist Wednesday night. Loney joins Rio Ruiz and Jace Peterson in the mix at the position, though neither of those in-house options are primarily first basemen.

Loney, 33, joins his third organization after stints with the Rangers and Tigers. After being released by Texas at the end of spring training, he joined on with Detroit and hit .229/.387/.250 in 16 games with Triple-A Toledo. His last major-league experience was with the Mets last season, when he hit .265/.307/.397 with nine homers in 100 games.

The Braves hope that Loney can repeat a similar performance this year, just one season removed from being plucked by the Mets from the Padres Triple-A affiliate as a replacement for the injured Lucas Duda.