Atlanta Braves: Saying Goodbye to Charlie Clutch

The day I never thought would come is here as Charlie Culberson will no longer be a member of the Atlanta Braves organization.

As the San Diego Padres continue to make all the headlines lately, the Atlanta Braves silently lost a key part of their clubhouse as Charlie Culberson signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

I think most of us, myself included, just assumed that if Charlie was going to sign another minor league deal this offseason it would be with the Braves.

But as David O’Brien points out here, Charlie wouldn’t have gone anywhere else unless he felt like he had a really good chance at making the big league roster.

And let’s be honest, at this point there just isn’t a clear path to him getting much playing time with the Braves — especially once a DH is in place.

He only played in 9 games for the Braves in 2020 and got just 7 at-bats. With a DH, it pretty much eliminates the need for bench guys like Culberson — especially in a shortened season like 2020 when your starters are probably going to play every day and there wasn’t as much time for an injury to knock a starter out.

Still, Charlie is loved by the Braves’ fanbase and Atlanta clearly loves him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes back to Atlanta in some sort of role down the road.

He just seems like a classy guy with great character that people love to be around.

And, of course, Braves fans love him for some of the clutch moments he brought like a couple of walk-off home runs in the 2018 season and one of the best throws I’ve ever seen in my life.

I think I speak for all of Braves Country when I say I wish Charlie the best in Texas and hope he gets the chance to play every day.

If the opportunity ever arises for him to come back to Atlanta in any capacity I hope he’s welcomed back with open arms. He’s truly become one of my favorite people/players in all of baseball over the last three years. Thank you, Charlie Clutch.