Atlanta Braves Trim Spring Roster, Ponder Camp Battles
Early Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves announced a reassignment of four players from their spring training roster; no decision yet on rotation or third base.
According to this Tweet from The Athletic’s David O’Brien, the Atlanta Braves optioned lefty pitchers Tucker Davidson and Phil Pfeifer, catcher William Contreras, and outfielder Cristian Pache to the AAA Gwinnett Stripers.
Sending those players to AAA isn’t unexpected, none were going to break into a Major League roster already full to overflowing with talent.
Alan wrote about the original 13-player cut a week ago. The Braves followed those cuts by optioning lefty reliever A.J. Minter and righty flame thrower Chad Sobotka to Gwinnett Stripers Monday.
According to Mark Bowman’s Wednesday morning post, the Atlanta Braves now have 48 players in big league camp. That matches with my list, but two players are, apparently, wandering around unattached.
On Tuesday, the Atlanta Braves transactions page announced the assignment of shortstop AJ Graffanino to Atlanta Braves, and Wednesday morning announced the same move for righty Troy Bacon.
There’s probably an administrative reason for those moves, but I haven’t seen anyone address it
Atlanta Braves camp battles
As most of us know, the Atlanta Braves have a competition going on for at least one rotation spot, third base, and the final seat on the bench.
In the previously linked post, Bowman speculates that Shea Langeliers’ performance this spring might push him ahead of Contreras in the race to earn the starting catcher role. If Langeliers hits, the race is over.
He’s a superior defensive catcher with a pop time better than most Major League catchers today. His experience handling the Vanderbilt staff, and calling his own game, created the on-field presence manager Brian Snitker talked about after watching him catch Felix Hernandez.
The kid has been very impressive all spring, the way he has handled himself,” Snitker said. “I’m just excited to watch him play. He was a pretty polished kid when we got him [out of Baylor University]. He does it the right way.”
So far this spring Langeliers is batting .455/.500/.727/1.227, but the sample size is so tiny it means little. Contreras is batting .250/.400/.250/.650 so far in an even smaller sample size.
The extra playing time given to Langeliers, he’s played in three more games than Contreras and has twice the plate appearances, may indicate the Baylor grad is already in the lead.
Speaking of the king
In any other season over the last 14 years, a spring performance like the one King Felix delivered would guarantee him a spot in the rotation. In his four outings, Hernandez threw 13 2/3 innings at a 1.98 ERA and struck out 14 while walking five.
Yes, it is spring training, but he’s a 15-year veteran who seems, at last, to understand his fastball isn’t his out-pitch any longer. He provides what the Braves staff’s missed in recent years, veteran leadership, and an iconic presence, even if he’s not breaking 90 very often; but there’s a problem.
Hernandez is a non-roster invitee, and the 40-man roster already has 40 men. That said, Cole Hamels could shift to the 60-day IL and create space. When he comes back, the problem still exists, but the solution isn’t needed today.
I don’t know – still third base
Brian Snitker still can’t decide between Johan Camargo and Austin Riley at third base. Most of the time, this means a manager doesn’t want anyone to know yet, and I think, in his heart, he does know, but every time he sees the other guy bat, his mind starts reconsidering things.
This spring:
- Riley is 9– 27 with two homers and two doubles; .333/.379/.630/1.009
- Camargo is 8-26 with one homer and two doubles, .308/.333/.500/.833
It’s a great problem to have. Ideally, the bats would play, but the roster has no space for both to get regular at-bats. The Braves see no platoon advantage for using them together at third, and even that wouldn’t provide consistent plate appearances. The stated plan is for one to play in Atlanta and the other at Gwinnett, but who stays.
Right now, I expect Camargo to get the nod. Of course, that could change tomorrow.
Pull up a pew
Growing the roster by one to 26 was supposed to give managers more options, it’s given the Atlanta Braves another headache. Most expect the team to carry the maximum allowable 13 pitchers, whoever they finally decide upon to fill those slots
The remaining 13 position-player slots are almost gone. The team will carry:
- Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flowers
- Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, and the winner of the third base contest, for now, let’s go with Camargo.
- Marcell Ozuna (despite his awful spring), Ender Inciarte (he has better numbers than Ozuna, give me strength), and Ronald Acuna Jr.
- Adam Duvall, Nick Markakis, and Adeiny Hechavarria and
- ??
Writers misstating facts?
Many fans and media believe that the job is Charlie Culberson’s to lose; I have no idea why.
Culberson’s 2019 was awful and reflected his hitting in the years before 2018. David O’Brien said in The Athletic that Culberson had a rep for strong defense at short. I looked all the way back to Culberson’s draft, and find nothing to support that assertion.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves signed Hechavarria because they didn’t consider him a solid backup, so they don’t consider him a strong defender there either. He’s a streaky player who’s never hit consistently and has nothing to recommend him over players already on the roster, other than he looks like Swanson’s older brother.
Last week Mark Bowman called Yonder Alonso a slugger – no, seriously he wrote that. The ‘slugger’ lost his power bat after 2017 and is batting .045/.160/.045/.205 this spring. Soon he’ll leave the Braves camp for somewhere way out yonder.
David O’Brien asked Snitker if he’d like Peter O’Brien on his club.
“Yeah, if he doesn’t make our club. I mean, I don’t know how many times we talk over the course of the year about getting that right-handed bat w/ some power. And he definitely provides that.”
Snitker didn’t forget Duvall; he was just saying nice things about a player. But like all of these non-roster invitees, to get a job in Atlanta, someone has to lose one.
Clearing space
The Atlanta Braves have three miles of pitching depth, and three feet of position player depth below the Major League level. Not counting catchers Contreras and Alex Jackson, position player depth consists of Riley and Cristian Pache; that’s not enough and the reason the Braves have all of these lightning-in-a bottle candidates in camp. If they decide to add someone, who gets outrighted?
Grant Dayton seems the first pitcher to go. Dayton’s had a horrid spring, throwing 5 1/3 innings in five games, giving up 8 runs, and walking one batter for every strikeout. In 2019 at Gwinnett, right-handed hitters batted .240/.283/.490/.773 and hit eight homers in 100 AB.
On the bright side, he struck out 38 and only walked four. Dayton’s problem is Braves’ pitching depth is younger and better.
The Braves have Contreras and Langeliers coming, and Jackson isn’t in their class defensively, he’s the most logical position-player to leave the 40-man roster. He has power but hasn’t hit for average and never mastered the outfield when Seattle pushed him out there.
The best answer is a trade, but those don’t happen a lot in spring training, though I’m relatively sure the Astros would make a deal for a starter, and we have pitchers who aren’t going to break into the rotation for Atlanta that fit their needs, Hernandez for one. I’m not sure who they’d trade that would help.
That’s a wrap
The team wants a player who plays multiple positions and won’t hurt you too badly while doing it. None of the options in camp – Culberson, Yangervis Solarte, or Pete Kozma – are exciting, that’s why everyone points to Culberson; everyone likes Charlie, and he’s a Georgia guy.
The best option is the one the Atlanta Braves keep saying they won’t use; start the year with Riley at third and try to give Camargo three games a week somewhere. If he continues to hit, Riley’s bat provides the thunder we need. Ozuna isn’t enough, and he’s yet to find his stroke. If he doesn’t, the lineup is really in a jam.