House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: that escalated quickly

By Alan Carpenter

DETROIT, MI - JULY 05: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits an RBI single in the first inning in front of catcher James McCann #34 of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on July 5th 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - JULY 05: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits an RBI single in the first inning in front of catcher James McCann #34 of the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on July 5th 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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“Hi!”  CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 1: Josh Donaldson #27 of the Cleveland Indians joins Carlos Carrasco #59 on the bench and waves to the Tampa Bay Rays bench during the fifth inning at Progressive Field on September 1, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
“Hi!”  CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 1: Josh Donaldson #27 of the Cleveland Indians joins Carlos Carrasco #59 on the bench and waves to the Tampa Bay Rays bench during the fifth inning at Progressive Field on September 1, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Where did that come from??

JOSH DONALDSON (A.K.A. ‘Bringer of Rain’) VERSION

  • Start with the obvious:  if you’re paying a third baseman $23 million, then he’s going to play third base.  Period… barring injury, of course.
  • About injuries: 
    • Even if he gets hurt and can’t play much… the Braves are protected between still having Camargo and the fact that it’s strictly a 1 year pact.  It’s a good risk to take.
    • Donaldson was still rehabbing even as the Indians nabbed him at the waiver trade deadline 3 months ago… they believed he could still produce.
    • With essentially no preparation, he had 60 regular season plate appearances with Cleveland, hit .280, got on base at a .400 clip, slugged .520 and OPS’d .920 with 3 dingers.
    • Cleveland believed his shoulder was fine – that’s why they played him at third base for 12 games (95 innings).  For that matter, his calf was deemed okay, too.
    • He just passed his physical, so it seems the Braves believe his shoulder and calf are okay as well – almost 3 months in advance of Spring Training.
    • You don’t throw $23 million out while you’re speculating about health
  • Austin Riley.  There’s a couple of conflicting thoughts here:
    • The Braves had 3 choices:  (1) stay with Camargo for another year; (2) bring up Riley and hope he can be productive immediately; (3) sign another 3B.
    • When you can get a player of Donaldson’s caliber on a limited contract duration, then you take option 3 without blinking.  It is not disrespectful to suggest that he represents an upgrade over every other possible scenario.
    • Riley was a bit streaky in AAA, but had a notable drop-off in production from AA (from 1.071 OPS to .810 while hitting .282 with 12 homers, 17 doubles).  He also struck out too much (95 times in 324 PA).  A full 2019 in AAA makes a lot of sense.
    • More on Camargo in a bit.
  • Future scoping:  Riley.  The Braves now have some options… kinda.
    • The most likely scenario is that Riley joins the big club in 2020 as the full-time 3B.  He’d still be just 23 years old in that season.
    • However, there is now a possibility that there is an opening for a trade involving him.  While anything is possible, I’d also call it ‘unlikely’ unless the Braves could land a huge piece in return (sure – feel free to conjecture ‘Haniger’ if the Mariners were to move Kyle Seager, but I’m still not expecting it by any means).
    • Donaldson has to be considered as a ‘rental’ for 2019 – and at 33 years old (on Dec. 8), there really can’t be a ‘long term’ commitment in any scenario.
    • So even if the Braves do move Riley, the best they’d do with Donaldson is perhaps another 2 years after this… and then they will still have to find another 3B guy.
  • Johan Camargo
    • Third base isn’t going to be the place to watch for possible changes… it’s going to be the shortstop position.
    • If Dansby Swanson fails to hit, expect Camargo to get more time at shortstop.
    • In the short term, Camargo joins Charlie Culberson as the team’s twin super-subs.
    • Even when healthy, Camargo could get a start or two per week at any position from 2B/SS/3B/RF.
      • PRO TIP:  Rotisserie baseball players… snap this guy up!  He will get ABs and can be plugged in all over the diamond.
    • Regardless of the juggling to transpire, the Braves’ bench just received a huge upgrade.
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