It’s no secret: Inciarte fell out of favor late in the season. Where do the Atlanta Braves turn to move him?
The Atlanta Braves truly didn’t want to promote Cristian Pache while the 2020 season was still going… Ender Inciarte is still an exceptional defender and he still has one more guaranteed year on his contract.
However, given his hitting woes (36 OPS+, .262 on-base average), the team was effectively forced to make a move. But now the trick is this: what to do with Inciarte now?
In short, there are three possible options:
- Bring him back, hope that he’s better in a full 2021 season.
- Release him and eat the owed $8,000,000 salary. Note: many outlets will report his 2021 salary at $8.7 million, but this includes a pro-rated signing bonus that was paid in 2017.
- Look for a trade, likely sending some of that money (half?) to a receiving team.
Given the financial state of many teams this off-season — probably including Atlanta to some extent — the 2nd option is not palatable at all, and the 3rd is simply going to be difficult.
Nonetheless, here are three possible trade partners (and some additional honorable mentions) that will need a credible center fielder this Winter... and you can bet that the Atlanta Braves are keeping close tabs on each one:
PIRATES: While they need one, what they actually need is a bona fide upgrade. Inciarte’s line would from this season falls right in line with the reason Pittsburgh needs help there. So this looks to be a longshot since they’d have to believe in an Ender Rebound before paying anything for the privilege of another Mendoza Line season.
That said… it wouldn’t take a lot of “rebound” from him to exceed the sub-.500 OPS generated by CF’s in the stadium by the confluence last year.
BLUE JAYS: Toronto is looking to sign an Impact Bat (or two) this Winter. They are looking hard at George Springer for CF, though they might not get him. In that event, they could certainly look at Inciarte to shore up their defense while they look to other positions for bats.
In their case, they really don’t care what position provides the ‘thump’, and even if Inciarte is perceived as a hole in their lineup, it’s less of a concern if he’s the only hole.
ROCKIES: This is an odd situation, and will be dependent heavily on how they proceed. Colorado has money trouble and may not keep Nolan Arenado (as a minimum). Ostensibly, they need a Big Bat, but it’s hard to imagine them doing such an “add”.
In the meantime, their CF’s were nearly as bad in 2020 as the Pirates. While Inciarte doesn’t solve that offensively, his defense is tailor-made for that expansive outfield. So on paper… it’s a match. Beyond that… it’s hard to know if they know what they’re doing.
OTHER CANDIDATES: RED SOX and ASTROS. These teams are losing their CF’s to free agency (Jackie Bradley Jr. and Springer, respectively).
Boston makes more sense, given the defensive emphasis that would be needed there, but Inciarte would still be a big downgrade offensively for both of these teams. Like Toronto, they could improve with offensive upgrades elsewhere, but these would still be a reach under the circumstances.
ONE MORE: Fred suggested sending Inciarte to Chicago as part of a deal to obtain Kris Bryant… and overpaying them to take Inciarte’s contract in the process. That’s credible, too, especially as the Cubs have struggled in recent years to fill the CF position competently.
“So there’s a chance”, as they say, and the Atlanta Braves will have to work hard to get such a deal done.
We knew that Pache was to be the center-fielder of the future for the Braves, but timing is everything, and it appears that Inciarte’s 2017 extension (okay… Christmas time in 2016) was one year too long.
It was a reasonable deal at the time — only now does it appear like a burden, and that’s mostly due to the circumstances unique to this past season.
Still, the Atlanta Braves will now have to deal with the issue: one way or another.