A Guide to Atlanta Braves Spring Training Drama: Position Player Edition
The Atlanta Braves will see a lot of competition for roster spots among potential bench players this Spring.
THE BATTLE of the BENCH
I thought I had this section finished days ago. Then that curious Francoeur signing further clouded things. The bench situation is bloated. A huge chorus of “put me in, coach.” I left out of this section any players that I listed as probable to be starters on Opening Day. View the two sections as a dynamic yin and yang, if that pleases ya. Anyway, a few faces have to hit the road here. Be it to Gwinnett or to another club, this roster aint big enough for the lot of em.
Make note before I begin that Braves have already indicated that Pierzyski will share time in a platoon, so I have them listed in tandem as Locks for a spot on the bench.
Locks
Probable
Gordon Beckham, Emilio Bonifacio, Kelly Johnson, Michael Bourn
On the Bubble
Daniel Castro, Nick Swisher, Jeff Francoeur
The Drama
Know your role: KJ and Emilio:
In truth, I think that both Johnson and Bonafacio are locks on the roster. But that is not a universal view, and I yielded to uncertainty and copped out when I made my list above. Bona’ brings a ton of versatility and has retained enough speed and glove-smithing to stay relevant in the bigs. KJ is coming off of a productive year, and can also play competent defense at multiple positions.
So what’s the drama, you ask? Well, the way that Emilio and KJ are deployed this Spring will be an important indicator of the Braves’ plans for a number of players. Of particular pertinence are Gordon Beckham, Jace Peterson, Adonis Garcia and Nick Swisher. Is KJ the backup plan for Freddie, or will he platoon at 2B with Jace? Is Bonafacio actually ahead of Beckham on the 3B depth chart? Keep an eye on the Spring box scores for these two. The looks they get at different positions will be telling.
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Gordon Beckham Wants to Start at Third…
…but will he even make the roster? The Braves shelled out a little bit of cash to hand him a Major League contract, but is that enough to ensure him a spot on the Opening Day 25 man? Based on recent output, I’m not even sure that Beckham should beat out Daniel Castro in terms of performance value alone. However, Gordon could opt free agency if DFA’ed, and he is more of a financial investment than Castro at the moment. Will that and his experience at the highest level give him leeway for a poor Spring, or will he have to play his way onto the roster? If Beckham struggles, let’s watch and see if it affects Castro and Bonfiacio’s playing time. This could be one of the more interesting battles of the Spring.
Bourne and Swisher: Are They Assets or Sunken Cost?
It’s no secret that these two have been getting dangled to other clubs at reduced costs since their acquisition last year (if you’re still foggy on why we are carrying them, see here). A spring transaction involving one or both of the outfielders is still not out of the question. I’m actually suspicious that the recent addition of Jeff Franoeur was made because the Braves know that they already have some takers lined up for Bourn or Swisher, but are hoping they can get a better deal after a healthy spring from one or both of the veterans.
Bourne is almost unquestionably the better player of the two at this point. He stands to be the fourth outfielder for the Braves, which even at $10M aint too shabby for a rebuilding club. The sun appears to be setting on Swisher, however. He hasn’t given any recent indication of productivity, with his injuries and poor hitting and all, and his past experience at first base is all but neutralized by the presence of Kelly Johnson. As a matter of fact, a big spring from Francoeur would pretty much seal the deal for Swisher. So we sit and wonder if Bourn will be traded or not, and if Swisher can put together a convincing enough spring effort to reverse his fortunes.
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Lo and behold, we’re all done here.
All of our dedicated readership should be full-on prepared for all that transpires during what will soon be a real, honest to goodness Spring Training 2016. I hope you’ll engage in more speculation down yonder in the comment section. There is much room for debate and excitement.
Speaking of Excitement, congratulations to all of us for making it through another barren winter of baseball-less deprivation! We did it!
Next: Tomahawk Take's Top 20 Atlanta Braves Prospects: #10-6
If you missed the Starting Rotation and/or Bullpen editions of this dramatic series, double back and check those out when you finish here.