Atlanta Braves: What to do with a crowded outfield?

Atlanta Braves: What to do with a suddenly crowded outfield

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 14: Marcell Ozuna #23 of the St. Louis Cardinals attempts to make the catch on an RBI double by Anthony Rendon #6 of the Washington Nationals in the third inning of game three of the National League Championship Series at Nationals Park on October 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

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Adam Duvall #23 of the Atlanta Braves. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Who to move?

The most obvious way to address the excess outfielder “issue” is to either trade Ender Inciarte or non-tender Adam Duvall.

Inciarte is coming off an injury-plagued season where he played in just 65 games and had 199 at-bats.

In those 65 games, Inciarte hit just .246 with 18 extra-base hits. Even his defense was not quite up to par as he had a WAR of 0, compared to a WAR of 2.1 in 2018.

It seems unlikely that a team would be willing to trade for Inciarte considering his 2019 season.

Even though he has a team-friendly contract, where he is owed $16.4 million over the next two seasons, with a $9 million option in 2022, teams would want to see if the 2018 Inciarte can return, where he hit .265 with 43 extra-base hits and 28 stolen bases.

At some point, the Braves are going to have to trade Inciarte (more on the reason why later), but they certainly could expedite the process now, even though they might be selling low in the process.

The better option might be to non-tender Adam Duvall, who agreed on a $2.875 million dollar deal in arbitration.

If the starting outfield consists of Ozuna, Inciarte, and Acuna, then Nick Markakis goes to the bench with Charlie Culberson, Adeiny Hechavarria and perhaps Yangervis Solarte.

That leaves no room for Duvall.

Unless…

Maybe it’s in the Braves’ best interest to just keep everybody and give Brian Snitker more depth than he has ever had?