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NL East Off-Season Review: Atlanta Braves

By Alan Carpenter

Nov 1, 2015; New York, NY, USA; A professional woman runner makes her way across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge during the start of the New York City Marathon. Mandatory Credit: Eric Sucar-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 1, 2015; New York, NY, USA; A professional woman runner makes her way across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge during the start of the New York City Marathon. Mandatory Credit: Eric Sucar-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 5, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Kelly Johnson (24) hits a single for his 1,000 career base hit against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
May 5, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Kelly Johnson (24) hits a single for his 1,000 career base hit against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

Parts is Parts

John Coppolella has done three things for the Braves for 2016:

  • He has given Fredi Gonzalez a near infinite set of options to mix and match with… and you all know how Fredi likes to do that with the lineup card.
  • He has brought in a ton of veteran players.  They will establish a “floor” of performance for this team.  It won’t be competitive for a division title or anythings, but it also won’t be a train wreck.
  • He has also brought in enough pitching so that the “kids” can be brought along more slowly.  The Braves will not have to put 4 rookies or near-rookies in the rotation.  In fact, they could end up with just 1 – probably Matt Wisler – on the Opening Day roster.  This way, they can refine their craft at AAA without having to get their brains beat in (think Shelby Miller) with an under-performing offense behind them.

This positional flexibility should be obvious to the casual observer:

The result will probably be something like the following:

  • Second base will become a platoon situation with Jace Peterson alternating with… somebody… whenever left-handed pitching is brought in.
  • Shortstop is Aybar’s domain… until such time as Swanson is deemed to be major league ready.  It is tough to project that for this season, so it is possible that Atlanta might try to keep Aybar for 2017 as well.  That’s for another day.
  • Third base.  This will be the biggest challenge, as there is no one who plays the position well.  Defensively, Beckham might be the best choice here (and he will be merely average.. at best), though I expect that Fredi will want either Olivera or Garcia here most of the time, given their bats.  We’ll have to see just how badly they play the position.
  • Left Field.  Bourn is the best defender, but he will be a late-inning defensive replacement at best.  Once again, it will be Olivera or Garcia out here most of the time.

No, I don’t really know what Bonifacio is going to do, but thanks for asking.  Maybe he gets a start on Sundays.

I suppose it should be reasonable news to think of the bench bats that are now available, too.  These veterans at least know how to handle themselves in pinch-hitting assignments.  They won’t hit .300 in these roles, but there will be the occasional long ball, a good number of walks, and generally good ABs – which could help the Braves in close ballgames.

Overall, this cobbled-together group consists of ‘professionals’ – players who are not stars and will not light up a scoreboard with their play.  But they are likely to provide steady play, and the platoon options could be such that Fredi might be able to get a bit more out of his pieces/parts bench… albeit with less defensive support than last year.  It’s not exciting, but as suggested, this is a “bridge” team – one that is fielded in the hopes of a better next year and even better 2018 thereafter.

Next: Let's Look at the Pitching Now

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