Atlanta Braves want an impact bat: what and who is that anyway?
By Fred Owens
When I listen to discussions about impact bats, power bats, and protection behind Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, the names I’ve heard don’t seem to fill the need.
I decided to list the things a player must do to qualify as an impact bat. The player must:
- Fill a defensive position of need, or defend as well as the player currently playing that position and provide significantly better offense.
- Be comfortable hitting third or fourth.
- Hit consistently, without prolonged slumps
- Not require a platoon partner, and
- Have at least 25-homer a season power
I started to build a list of players with a history of providing offensive production in the last two full seasons with at least 350 PA a season. I ignored the 2020 season because of its duration and special circumstances.
Searching. . . searching. . .
The Fangraphs search returned 400+ players that quickly dwindled to a dozen after eliminating players whose offense or defense didn’t fit my list of requirements. I eliminated the “pure DH” crew and those I felt would cost too much in trade (even though I coveted a couple of them, like Jose Ramirez and Alex Bregman).
The initial weeding out was straightforward, but things became more difficult when I reviewed the remaining player’s history when batting in the second, third, or fourth.
When the dust settled, four names remained, Michael Brantley, Kris Bryant, Nick Castellanos, George Springer, and Eugenio Suarez.
Springer’s an extreme long shot for the Atlanta Braves; he’s a 31-year-old-outfielder who turns 32 in June, who will ask for at least a five-year deal and a contract with a lot of zeros at the end. Teams will bid up his price, and the Braves won’t get involved in that kind of back-and-forth.
We’ve discussed Kris Bryant to pieces here. He’s a Scott Boras client in his walk year from the Cubs, who’ll earn between $18 and $20M in 2021, and the Cubs will ask for a return better than a draft pick because they can get the draft pick by offering him a qualifying offer. That adds Bryant to the long shot list.