Atlanta Braves need backup plans to create clarity and certainty at third
By Fred Owens
Travis Shaw’s bat redemption?
Travis Shaw made his Major League debut with the Red Sox in 2015 and batted an impressive .270/.327/.487/.813, in 248 PA, with 13 homers, a .348 wOBA, and 118 wRC+, worth 1.5 fWAR. He followed that up with a less impressive 16 homer, .242/.306/.421/.728 line in 530 PA and 88 wRC+ in 2016 and found himself wearing a Brewer hat that December.
As Milwaukee’s regular third baseman in 2017, Shaw had a break-out offensive year, batting .273/.349/.513/.862, belting 31 homers, posting a .361 wOBA, 120 wRC+, and ending the year with 3.5 fWAR.
In 2018 he continued to act as the Brewers’ primary third baseman, and while his OBP remained high, his average and slugging rate dropped slightly as the Brewers challenged for the NL Central title.
Shaw batted .241/.345/.480/.825, hit 32 homers, and finished the season with a .351 wOBA, 119 wRC+, and 3.5 fWAR. When the calendar flipped to 2019, Shaw seemed to lose his mojo at the plate.
Shaw injured his wrist in June of 2018, costing him a few games but never resulted in an IL stint.
In April 2019, he re-injured his hand and missed a game. In May, the wrist forced him to the IL for three weeks. After returning on June 4, Shaw played in only 45 games and batted .147/.302/.253/.554.
It seems clear that his wrist injury caused pain when he attempted to hit.
Shaw had two years with well above average DRS numbers (ten in 2016 and nine in 2018)) and three years of solid if unspectacular defense. The Brewers tried to negotiate a contract below his projected arbitration figure of $4.7M, but he turned their offers down, and the Crew released him on December 2.
Shaw was a dependable third-baseman on defense and displayed some serious power in his first two years with Milwaukee. If healthy and still hitting, he’d still be a Brewer. A $4.7M price tag is cheap for a 30 homer bat, indicating Milwaukee had reservations about his ability to bounce back.
He’s young and provides certainty at the hot-corner if he’s healthy, but we can’t be sure his wrist is back to normal based on his performance at the end of 2019. I discussed him in some detail in comments a week or so back, indicating that I’d happily give him a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. I believe the Atlanta Braves would as well.