Article XX(B) and Roster Moves

Sep 24, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Kelly Johnson (14) singles to right center during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Baltimore Orioles won 9-5. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Kelly Johnson Next?

As a former ‘Baby Brave’ Kelly has a lot of support in the Braves family and last night he flashed his one good tool – occasional power – with a monster shot in the fifth inning. KJ has hit for the cycle this spring just not in the same game. He has four hits and three walks in his 28 PA for a .169/.259/.417 line (very small sample size caveat here) but over the last three seasons his .226/.307/.379 line is more indicative of his potential performance.

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Call to the Pen

During the game someone tweeted that they would rather see KJ on the bench and platooning with Chris Johnson than Callaspo and I agree. While neither is likely to hit for average and Callaspo may be a better fielding 3b, Kelly is much more likely to run into one like he did yesterday and according to Baseball Reference numbers, his RHP split is close enough not to be significant over the past three years.

That said, I think KJ has a long way to go to earn that roster spot and it won’t happen unless the Braves front office wakes up and sends Alberto back to the buffet for seconds or thirds. We’re 18 days away from the first game so we’ll know in a week.