Braves acquire Matt Adams from Cardinals

The Atlanta Braves have filled the hole created by Freddie Freeman's injury.

Atlanta acquired first baseman Matt Adams from the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday in exchange for infielder Juan Yepez.

The Braves also received cash considerations as part of the transaction.

Adams will likely take over as the Braves' starting first baseman in place of Freeman, the star slugger who's expected to miss 10 weeks after fracturing his wrist against Toronto. Earlier this week, the Braves signed veteran James Loney to a minor-league contract in an attempt to add more depth at the position.

Adams, a 23rd-round draft pick of the Cardinals in 2009, found himself on the outside of the club's infield rotation this year after Matt Carpenter was moved to first base. The Cardinals tried playing him in left field, but the natural first baseman made just five appearances at the position before that experiment was abandoned. Adams has played 31 games this year, but has started just eight times; the majority of his 2017 appearances have come as a pinch-hitter.

"Looking at it (the trade), it's the best thing for my career," Adams told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com after the deal was announced. The 28-year-old also acknowledged that leaving the Cardinals - the only team he's ever known - would be "tough."

Adams owns a .292/.340/.396 slash line with just one homer in 53 plate appearances this season. His best year with the Cardinals came in 2013, when he posted a .839 OPS and smacked a career-best 17 home runs for that year's National League champions.

Yepez is a first baseman/third baseman who owns a career .741 OPS and has hit six home runs in 490 minor-league plate appearances since 2015. The 19-year-old Venezuelan has been playing at Single-A Rome this season; according to Langosch, St. Louis plans to assign Yepez to its Single-A affiliate in Peoria.