Shortly, Atlanta will have to figure out what to do with at least a couple of players attached to their roster. How will those decisions be made?
This last stretch of games could have been ugly for the Atlanta Braves, yet a 12-4 record in their last 16 makes a strong statement when the opponents were Arizona, St. Louis (twice), Milwaukee, and San Francisco (on the West Coast).
Indeed: 3 of those series came west of the Mississippi River, a place where Atlanta’s adventures have seen quite the mixed result in recent years.
There is still some time to evaluate and consider the next moves – the July 31 trade deadline is still 55 games and 65 days away – but in looking ahead, their will be some decisions that have to be made.
Already, there have been many, many changes. In fact, here’s the Opening Day 25-man roster:
- SP:Â Teheran, Newcomb, Fried, Wright, Wilson
- RP:Â Parsons, Sobotka, Biddle, Jackson, Tomlin, Carle, Venters, Vizcaino
- Catchers:Â Flowers and McCann
- Infielders:Â Freeman, Albies, Swanson, Donaldson, Camargo
- Outfielders: Acuna, Inciarte, Markakis, Joyce
- Utility:Â Culberson (infielder/outfielder/pitcher)
- Carle, Sobotka, Minter, Dayton, Webb, Parsons, Toussaint, Wilson and Wright have been back-and-forth, but mostly in AAA or on rehab (Sobotka);
- Winkler is the one added to the bullpen who has pretty well stuck
- Biddle and Vizcaino are gone (Seattle); Venters was released
- Folty, Gausman, and Soroka are back
- Swarzak, Blevins were acquired
- Austin Riley was promoted
- Inciarte is currently still on the 10+ day IL (was eligible to return on the 25th)
… and I’ve probably missed a couple. But so far, 3 of that original 25 are no longer with the organization.
Heck, the fact that this club is 30-24 and in 2nd place is remarkable, given that much turnover… especially in the bullpen.
Still, the Atlanta Braves are a bit behind last year’s pace (30-21 on May 27th, 2018; 32-22 after 54 games, which came 2 days later).
So then: what other changes might we see – buying or selling – before the trade deadline this year?