Atlanta Braves Bring Back Early Fan Favorite Preston Tucker

The Atlanta Braves brought back Preston Tucker in a post-trade deadline deal. Tucker will join a crowded bench and will be welcomed back to a team in need of clutch hitting.

Early in the season for the Braves, no player was more clutch than Preston Tucker at the plate in late-inning situations.  Tucker hit multiple three-run homers early in the season and always seemed to come up with a clutch play.

As the season wore on his playing time and effect on the team faded. Superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. joined the team and Tucker received few at-bats.

He was later dealt to the Reds in a deadline deal with other pieces in exchange for Adam Duvall. Tucker now comes back to the Braves in exchange for cash and salary considerations.

Tucker hit .254 with the Braves but failed to achieve even the Mendoza line with the Reds. Atlanta will add him back to the bench hoping he can recapture some of the early season magic he brought to the offense.

While his defensive abilities are limited he is a power bat with a chance he could develop at a later age. At twenty-eight, Preston is likely a finished product but there is always the chance he catches fire at the right time for a team searching for more offense.

Tucker will join Lane Adams as the team’s primary backup outfielders. Adams will be a pinch runner and defensive replacement while Tucker is likely to be one of the first pinch-hitting options off the bench.

The Braves are holding onto a four-game lead over the Phillies in the National League East. In a tight postseason race, Atlanta is making every move they can to improve in September and hope they can get hot down the stretch in the final days of the season.

For Tucker, it is another chance to prove himself in a familiar place with a team who needs his bat off the bench. Atlanta will wrap up their series with the Red Sox tomorrow before heading on to take on the Diamondbacks in Arizona.