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Atlanta Braves Call Up Swanson… Wrong Move?

By Alan Carpenter

Jul 7, 2016; San Martin, CA, USA; View of the Cordevalle clubhouse clock during the first round of the women's 2016 U.S. Open golf tournament at CordeValle Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 7, 2016; San Martin, CA, USA; View of the Cordevalle clubhouse clock during the first round of the women's 2016 U.S. Open golf tournament at CordeValle Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 15, 2016; Mississippi Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson. Mandatory credit: Alan Carpenter, TomahawkTake.com
May 15, 2016; Mississippi Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson. Mandatory credit: Alan Carpenter, TomahawkTake.com /

The Root Problem

That exciting news aside, there’s a bigger issue:  the 40-man roster.

This Summer, whenever I’ve been asked about when/whether Swanson would be called up, I have been answering as follows:

  • The 40-man roster is full (really more than full, given the 60-day DL guys on it)
  • To call up anyone, a player involved must be on the 40-man roster.  Swanson and Albies are (were) not.
  • The Mississippi Braves are in a playoff run… their season doesn’t end until the second week of September, and the playoffs last perhaps another 2 weeks beyond.
  • There has been sentiment in the past to allow prospects on good teams the chance to compete for their own championship and experience the reward for what they had earned during the year.  A minor point, but worth a mention.

I guess the M-Braves will have to work with whatever they have around the clubhouse… particularly if/when Ozzie Albies is also summoned to the majors (that’s now a lot more likely for September 1st).

Swanson is being added to the 40-man list today to be eligible for his call-up.  He takes Erick Aybar’s slot… or maybe it will be Mike Aviles‘ slot since that swap has already been made.  If not Aviles, then perhaps d’Arnaud or EOF from the bullpen.

That’s the “today” problem… there’s a “tomorrow” problem as well.

Let’s Count Noses

At the end of the year, the 40-man roster gets a ‘reboot’ of sorts:  the Disabled List magically evaporates, those not under a contract become free agents, and all of the players under team control now “count” against the 40 that can be on the full roster.

Do the Braves have enough room for everyone they want to keep?  In short, the answer is “no”… but let’s put some names to those numbers.

This question involves some foresight:  an attempt to guess who sticks around for 2017.

POSSIBLE PITCHERS:  Cabrera, Folty, Jenkins, Krol, Weber, Whalen, Teheran, Wisler, Blair, Cunniff, Gant, Kelly, Marksberry, Morris, Perez, Rodriguez, Winkler, Withrow, Hursh, Ramirez (20)

UNCERTAIN:  De La Cruz, Younginer, Biddle, Boscan, McKirahan (5).

POSSIBLE POSITION PLAYERS:  Flowers, Recker, Freeman, Peterson, Garcia, Inciarte, Kemp, Markakis, Smith, Swanson, Albies* (11)

UNCERTAIN:  Aviles, Castro, d’Arnaud, Kubitza (4)

* – if you believe Coppy’s comment, Albies will be added before the end of the year.

The rest of the players on the current 40-man list are not under contract and are free agents at year’s end.  You may certainly object to my characterization of players in the probable or uncertain lists, but already that’s 31 names.

Next: Hang with me - we're still counting

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