Does Atlanta Braves Roster Move Mean A Change

Why Now?

Why they are doing this now we can’t know as they had one spot open because of Olivera’s admin leave though they may have to keep that until whatever disciplinary action if any is taken. However, it seems odd to do it without a corresponding move pending as the Braves like to keep all 40 spots full. They could have simply moved Daniel Winkler to the 60 day DL and accomplished the same thing so perhaps there’s more than one move in the offing.

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They could add hot hitting Rio Ruiz to the roster but it’s early in the season and a hot streak isn’t generally a reason to actually bring him up. They could add Emilio Bonifacio but he seems to be a backup to Mallex Smith and unless Smith goes down moving him up adds little.

Like Bonifacio, Sean Kazmar could be added but as a middle infielder bringing him duplicates Daniel Castro, Jace Peterson and Kelly Johnson’s roles. He has played some third base however so perhaps they could use him there and leave Castro to man second or short.

The other possibility of course is a trade or the signing of someone off the waiver wire or who was DFA. A quick check of the MLBTR DFA tracker shows a long list of players but the list seems to be out of date as Bonifacio is still listed as a free agent.

One intriguing possibility is that the Braves could have chatted to the Red Sox about Blake Swihart and offered pitching in return.  Swihart was sent down on April 15th in favor of Christian Vasquez because he was struggling defensively and not hitting for much power. His conversion to catcher had gone pretty well but this year his slump tied to the team’s slump led to Vasquez emergence as the Sox tried tighten up defense as they try to move up the division.

Swihart had a .391 OBP and .258 TAv when sent down. The Sox have said he’ll continue to catch but on off days will take fly balls in left, odd for a team flush with outfielders. Vasquez is a good defender but Swihart projects as a better hitter long-term; it would take at least a couple of good arms to land him.

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