Atlanta Braves: Best Options to Replace Freddie Freeman at First Base

Maybe this isn’t so obvious to others, for me the obvious first choice for the Atlanta Braves at first base is Austin Riley.

Coming out of the first spring training he was in hot competition with Johan Camargo for the job at third base. I think it’s pretty clear that Camargo is the better defender at third, so it makes the most sense to slide Riley over to first.

I’ve also thought the Braves should give Riley more reps at first so that he becomes the primary back-up for Freddie there.

The Braves really haven’t given much support behind Freddie at first over the years other than the season they got Matt Adams because Freddie was injured.

That’s why it was so hard to take Freddie out of the lineup at the end of the 2019 season despite him having a messed up elbow. Freddie at 60 percent is better than any other option the Braves had at first base behind him.

But if they can start grooming Riley at first then it gives the team some really solid depth behind Freddie.

Riley played 40.2 innings at first base in 2019 and wasn’t particularly great with a -0.8 UZR in that small sample size. He had a positive UZR at both third base and left field last year.

He also got some work at first base in the first spring training and played two games at the position. Not that it’s really relevant, but he was 3-for-4 with 2 walks in those two games.

If Riley continues to swing the bat as he did in the first spring training, he’s the obvious choice to replace Freddie at first should he miss significant time.