Atlanta Braves “What if” Trade Scenarios

Jun 26, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski (15) on the field before playing the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Pierzynski…or…

This is a little more complicated for a couple of reasons.  One is Pierzynski’s age … and workload.  The other is Christian Bethancourt.

Bethancourt was hitting just .198 over 29 games at the major league level, but is now up to a robust .321 (.802 OPS) in AAA.  The Braves have been known to be searching for ‘young catchers’, though, so what does that all mean?

By any measure, Pierzynski has been awesome this season, though at 38-1/2, you’ve got to wonder just how much gas is left in his tank.  There are certainly teams that would want him as a rental bat for the rest of the year, and there are also teams that might see Bethancourt’s resurgence and perhaps look to him instead.  But no, Boston probably isn’t one of them.

At Gwinnett, the Braves truly have few options to promote – that’s in fact why Ryan Lavarnway was brought in.  The pursuit of ‘young catching’ could be for the majors now… or for the future as well.

IF PIERZYNSKI IS TRADED:  Look for CBeth to come back up and finish the year.  The off-season could mark a completely different direction, though, as Bethancourt will have to prove he’s worth keeping beyond 2015.

IF BETHANCOURT IS TRADED:  Then A.J. and Lavarnway will finish out the season with Atlanta looking to either the trade or free agent markets to locate a longer-term solution behind the plate.  That’s not to say that either of the incumbents might not be back in some role… but relying on either one for 100+ games again would not be in the cards.

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