Report: Atlanta Braves working on adding left fielder

There are multiple ways for the Atlanta Braves to add a bat to their lineup; this report suggests a single focus.

With Austin Riley still in the fold, the Atlanta Braves do have a form of positional flexibility available to them: the 23-year-old has shown that he has the athletic prowess sufficient to play left field in addition to third base — and even first base in a pinch.

That said, he’s been especially skilled at third base, and thus the Braves apparently believe that he will remain at that position for the foreseeable future, even as they pursue a strong bat to this Winter:

For those following the up-coming prospects, you might note that Atlanta still has a Top 100 outfielder in Drew Waters still lurking about in the upper minors, but it appears that while Waters remains as a future candidate for the outfield, there’s no hint — right now — that the team is ready to hand the left field position over to him.

Still, this note from Dave O’Brien has to be seen as encouraging:

Feel free, then, to insert your own speculation here about what that might mean for Waters’ future as a Brave.

So if the Braves are now “focused” on left field and not third base, that would suggest that the following players will not be wearing a tomahawk any time soon:

• Kris Bryant
• Jose Ramirez
• Eugenio Suarez
• Nolan Arenado
• Justin Turner
• Kyle Seager
• Eduardo Escobar

Given that third base is considered a “skill position”, it’s arguable that the Braves believe it will be more difficult to swing a deal for third base than it would be to do so for left field.

So if the Braves are indeed looking out left, here are the options available to them…