Atlanta Braves Morning Chop – Contests, Cameras, Left Field
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Dayan Viciedo swings at a pitch during a spring training baseball game at Champion Stadium. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves 10-5. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Blue Jays to Release Dayan Viciedo
After failing to make the Blue Jays roster, outfielder Dayan Viciedo has requested and will be granted his release, GM Alex Anthopoulos tells reporters including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
Viciedo, a late entrant onto the free agent market when the White Sox released him, struggled at the plate this spring. The 26-year-old has seen plenty of action over the last three big league campaigns, averaging over 500 plate appearances per year. He has also hit an average of twenty long balls in each of those campaigns, though his on-base percentage is sub-.300 and he is not well-regarded defensively.
[ Editor’s note: I have no information on the Braves’ interest (if any) in Viciedo. Nontheless, he will be essentially a freebie if they want to take a flyer… and he’s in Florida already. Clearly, the options that have been run out to Left Field this Spring have been performing less than hoped, so I would not be surprised if they at least gave him a call.
There are some strikes against him, though:
- RH batter. If he were a lefty, then that would help his case with Jonny Gomes as the current RH option for a possible platoon.
- He’s hitting .233 this Spring and hit .231 in 2014. We’ve got plenty of those hitters.
- He’s also a poor defender in LF
Just a thought… still hoping for somebody else: Joey Terdoslavich, by the way is still sidelined with a bum wrist. That helps neither him nor the team. ]