The Angels began their offseason activity by clearing space on their 40-man roster, and one of the players affected has already found a new team. Charles Leblanc, a versatile 28-year-old utility player, has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves are taking a chance on Leblanc, who has shown potential as a positionally flexible player with intriguing tools. In a brief stint in the majors last season, Leblanc demonstrated solid in-game power, which has kept him in professional baseball for nearly a decade. He showed good plate discipline, avoiding chasing pitches outside the strike zone, and was able to make consistent contact, including hitting for power. In just 28 plate appearances with the Angels, he recorded four hits—two of which were home runs—finishing with a .190 batting average and a .476 slugging percentage.
Leblanc’s performance at the Triple-A level has been steady over the past few seasons, playing in the hitter-friendly ballparks of Salt Lake in 2024 and Jacksonville in 2023. His statistics have been consistent, with a batting average around .250, an on-base percentage near .380, and a slugging percentage of around .430, good for an OPS around .810. A fourth-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers out of the University of Pittsburgh, the Canadian-born Leblanc has been a reliable minor league performer.
After the Angels outrighted him off their 40-man roster, it became clear that they were gearing up for further moves. Since then, they’ve added depth with new acquisitions like Scott Kingery, Kevin Newman, and Ryan Noda. The Angels are undergoing a transition, trying to revamp their roster with veterans who have significant big-league experience after finishing the 2024 season with a 99-loss record. While Leblanc’s tools are intriguing, he remains a career minor leaguer.
The Braves and Angels continue to share numerous connections, with some even calling the Angels “Braves West.” Leblanc is now added to a growing list of players, coaches, and front-office staff who have ties to both organizations, including Perry Minasian, Alex Tamin, Ron Washington, Eric Young Sr., Sal Fasano, Travis d’Arnaud, Jorge Soler, Griffin Canning, Raisel Iglesias, David Fletcher, Kurt Suzuki, Max Stassi, Gio Urshela, Luis Guillorme, Kevin Pillar, Ehire Adrianza, Mike Ford, Phil Gosselin, and more.
