The Los Angeles Dodgers made their first acquisition of the 2024-2025 offseason by signing former top prospect Aaron Bracho to a Minor League contract.
Bracho was assigned to Double-A Tulsa and does not take up a spot on the 40-man roster. Although they did not announce if the deal includes an invite to Major League Spring Training, Bracho will likely be part of the Dodgers’ non-roster invitees to big league camp.
Bracho, who turns 24 years old in April, was once a well-regarded prospect for the Cleveland Guardians. He was ranked as the No. 6 overall second base prospect, just behind former Dodgers prospect Michel Busch, in the 2021 rankings by MLB Pipeline.
Bracho was also one of the Guardians’ top-10 prospects in a crowded system during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Bracho, like Busch, has long been considered a bat-first prospect without a clear position. Scouts wondered if he could play second base at an average level, and some projected him as a left fielder.
Over his Minor League career, Bracho has seen time at first base, second base and third base, but did not inspire much confidence at any of those positions.
Despite his small frame at just 5’9 and less than 200 pounds, Bracho rose in the prospect ranks due to his surprising power, which FanGraphs graded as a 60 grade raw power and 50 game power, while MLB Pipeline also had him as a 50 grade power hitter.
There was also a belief his bat-to-ball skills would help carry Bracho, with FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline both giving him a 55 grade as a hitter at his peak.
However, Bracho did not live up to those lofty expectations and put together consecutive subpar seasons in 2021 and 2022 while running a strikeout rate of greater than 30% each year. That tanked his stock and he fell out of nearly every ranking.
Bracho bounced back with a solid season in 2023 while playing at the Double-A level, but never advanced past that league and regressed this past season.
Over his Minor League career, the left-handed hitter has batted .218/.310/.381 with 49 home runs, 173 runs scored and 202 runs batted in over 389 games.
While he projects as mostly organizational depth for the Dodgers, he is still young and the Dodgers have unlocked hitters in the past to help them break out.
Bracho hopes to be the next in line to benefit from the Dodgers’ player development system, even if the odds are still stacked against him.
Dodgers Minor League free agents
The Dodgers had 17 players in their organization become Minor League free agents, including six at the Double-A level, so they had to start re-filling their farm.
Seven of their free agents are position players, including infielders Brendon Davis, Cristian Santana and Alan Trejo.
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