Tuiasosopo went 2-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.
He isn't even officially in major league camp for the Braves, but the club needed some extra bodies during the WBC and Tuiasosopo made the most of his opportunity. The journeyman saw only three at-bats in the majors last season and hasn't seen significant MLB action since 2013 with the Tigers, so don't be fooled into thinking his big day will translate into a big league job.
Tuiasosopo re-signed with the Braves on a minor league contract, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.
Tuiasosopo spent a good chunk of time with the big league club in 2016, but he failed to get a hit during a short stint in Atlanta and was subsequently DFA'd shortly thereafter. The 30-year-old does have nice power potential, though, so he'll return to the Braves and act as organizational depth.
Tuiasosopo was designated for assignment Monday, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Tuiasosopo was unsuccessful on all three of his at-bats with the Braves. His move off the 25-man roster will allow Atlanta to activate Gordon Beckham (hamstring) from the 15-day disabled list ahead of Tuesday's game against the Phillies.
Tuiasosopo's contract was selected by the Braves on Monday.
Tuiasosopo hasn't appeared in the major leagues since 2013, but he's been a consistently good batter at the Triple-A level over the past few years, so the Braves decided to reward him with a call-up. The 29-year-old will likely act as a reserve at the corner infield and outfield spots with the big club.
The Braves will recall Tuiasosopo on Monday, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Tuiasosopo will be called up to give the Braves a true fifth outfielder on the roster. He is hitting just .218 through 25 games with Triple-A Gwinnett this season, but he does own an .829 OPS against southpaws, so he figures to be used situationally against opposing left-handers.
Tuiasosopo went 1-for-4 with a 1:1 BB:K in Triple-A Gwinnet's season-opening victory over Norfolk on Thursday.
Tuiasosopo didn't have a great spring, going 3-for-14, scoring two runs and three RBI with a 3:6 BB:K. He hasn't been in the major leagues since playing 81 games with Detroit in 2013, and with the Braves having younger, more promising prospects in the minor leagues, it seems like the 30-year old outfielder would be an unlikely call-up this year.
Tuiasosopo signed a minor league contract with the Braves that includes an invitation to attend spring training.
Tuiasosopo spent 2015 in the White Sox organization with Triple-A Charlotte. He showed a good ability to play corner infield and outfield positions, and put up a solid .791 OPS with 18 homers and 52 RBI, although he did strike out a whopping 29.1% percent of the time. The Braves have a lot of options at the corner infield and outfield spots, so it'll be tough for Tuiasosopo to be more than organizational depth.
Minor League Batting Stats | ||||||||||||||||
Year | Team | GP | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | R-Mariners | 20 | 68 | 18 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 2 | .412 | .528 | .721 |
2004 | A-Everett | 29 | 101 | 18 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 36 | 4 | 3 | .247 | .336 | .386 |
2005 | A-Wisconsin | 107 | 409 | 72 | 113 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 45 | 44 | 96 | 8 | 5 | .276 | .358 | .386 |
2006 | AA-San Antonio | 62 | 216 | 16 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 20 | 64 | 2 | 1 | .185 | .259 | .218 |
2006 | A-Inl. Empire | 59 | 232 | 31 | 71 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 14 | 58 | 5 | 6 | .306 | .359 | .379 |
2007 | AA-West Tenn | 129 | 446 | 74 | 116 | 27 | 5 | 9 | 57 | 76 | 113 | 4 | 8 | .260 | .371 | .404 |
2008 | AAA-Tacoma | 111 | 437 | 87 | 123 | 32 | 2 | 13 | 73 | 47 | 104 | 4 | 0 | .281 | .364 | .453 |
2009 | R-Azl Mariners | 9 | 27 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .407 | .500 | .518 |
2009 | AAA-Tacoma | 59 | 226 | 43 | 59 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 35 | 36 | 83 | 3 | 1 | .261 | .368 | .473 |
2010 | AAA-Tacoma Rainiers | 38 | 143 | 26 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 32 | 35 | 2 | 2 | .252 | .392 | .399 |
2011 | AAA-Tacoma Rainiers | 116 | 439 | 73 | 99 | 20 | 6 | 14 | 77 | 75 | 132 | 11 | 2 | .226 | .341 | .394 |
2012 | AAA-Buffalo Bisons | 131 | 418 | 47 | 101 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 57 | 51 | 117 | 3 | 4 | .242 | .329 | .361 |
2013 | AAA-Toledo Mud Hens | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .400 | .625 | .600 |
2014 | AAA-Charlotte Knights | 63 | 195 | 42 | 54 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 32 | 46 | 56 | 0 | 0 | .277 | .424 | .497 |
2014 | AAA-Buffalo Bisons | 59 | 214 | 17 | 44 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 25 | 64 | 1 | 1 | .206 | .289 | .271 |
2015 | AAA-Charlotte Knights | 103 | 356 | 50 | 82 | 21 | 1 | 18 | 52 | 57 | 123 | 3 | 0 | .230 | .344 | .447 |