Takeaways from a bad night for the Atlanta Braves

2. Welcome back Ender

Ender Inciarte was put back into the lineup Thursday and was entered back into the starting lineup roaming his normal center field.

This gives the Atlanta Braves a lot of options for the time being, though.

First off, Austin Riley needed a few days off and maybe even a stint back in Triple-A? I’m a huge fan of Riley and what he has done so far, but he still has some work to do on his pitch recognition.

Ender is by far the best outfield defender on the team so its a positive in that light — even though he himself misplayed a ball Thursday.

To be fair though, the whole outfield lately has been subpar. If his bat does his normal second-half surge, we are upgrading offensively as well.

However, if he continues to struggle with the lumber, the Braves have a few options. It’s never a bad thing to have a player of Ender’s ability to be a factor off the bench and, of course, be a late-game defensive sub.

The issue there is, who does he replace? Matt Joyce would be the obvious choice but Joyce has been a nice addition to the bench this season.

So then it becomes Johan Camargo? Would the Braves send the 2018 starting third baseman down to Gwinnett for some time? I honestly don’t know the answer to that question.

The other way to go is, will Ender be part of a trade package before July 31st?

I think right now, this is the leading candidate. I think the Braves want to prove to other teams right now he is fully healthy and include him in a package. Time will tell.