Atlanta Braves make roster cuts, Nick Markakis retires
Friday saw the Atlanta Braves announce their first roster cuts of the spring as a former Braves fixture retires.
Early Friday morning, Atlanta Braves outfielder Nick Markakis announced his retirement, ending a Major League Career spanning 15 seasons.
“Kakes” defined professionalism throughout his career. During his Major League career (2006-2020), no one played more games than his 2,154, only Robinson Cano (537) had more doubles than Markakis’ 514, and only Cano (2,469) and Miguel Cabrera (2,407) had more hits than his 2,388.
Unlike Markakis, who played the game clean and let everyone know what he felt about cheaters, Cano used PEDs and is currently suspended for the second time. For me, his suspensions call into question everything over at least the last three or four years.
Every team needs a player like Nick. He wasn’t a slugging, swaggering superstar, demanding the biggest contract or setting loud records. He was the glue that held teams together in down years, and kept young players focused in good years.
He came to work every day and worked hard at his craft to maximize his abilities. He never let anyone down on or off the field, or gave up an at-bat even when his team was losing by a bunch of runs with two outs in the ninth.
Nick Markakis ends his career batting .288/.357/.423/.781, including 189 homers. His 514 doubles are more than Rickey Henderson (510), Bath Ruth (506), Tony Perez (505), Roberto Alomar (504), and Andre Dawson (503), and tie him with Edgar Martinez for 54th all-time.
He was the face of the Orioles franchise for so many years, and he’ll almost certainly become a member of the Orioles Hall of Fame. He’ll appear on the Hall of Fame ballot and get some support, but he’s unlikely to get a plaque in Cooperstown.
Nevertheless, young players today would do well to emulate Nick. A quiet man who led by example, gave his teams everything he had every day, and played the game the right way for 15 years. There’s really nothing more you can ask of anyone.
Enjoy your retirement being a house-husband Nick. Let us know when you want to manage.
Atlanta Braves cut down Spring rosters
The first Atlanta Braves roster cuts of 2021 didn’t include any surprises among the six players optioned to AAA or the 18 sent to minor league camp after today’s game. The club has 43 players remaining in camp, 34 on the 40-man roster:
- 20 pitchers
- seven LHP
- Five catchers
- seven outfielders
- 11 infielders
Here’s the full list. If the player’s ranking looks different, it’s because MLB Pipeline just updated the list.
Notes from Tuesday’s Braves Game
Speaking of the game, the Braves beat the Twins 8-5 this afternoon, a couple of players look close to earning a bench role out of Spring training.
Ehire Adrianza continues to prove me wrong. His bunt started the rally that added the Braves final run of the day. Add that to his ability at both middle infield positions and he looks like the Atlanta Braves backup shortstop
Huascar Ynoa went three strong innings today, then ran out of steam, leaving in the fourth with the bases loaded and no one out. Pfeifer came on but couldn’t shut the Twins down, allowing five runs to cross before the inning ended.
Touki Toussaint pitched three strong innings allowing a hit and nothing else, while flashing a nice sinker and that big, beautiful curve. A.J. Minter came in and looked sharp to close it out.
The Atlanta Braves’ next round of cuts may include some tough decisions if, as I expect, the club carries 14 pitchers. Questions about bench bats involve not only positions, they’ll also have to factor in handedness, and alternatives.
Who backs up Austin Riley?
It’s clear the third base job is Austin Riley’s to lose. Johan Camargo homered today, but it came off a middle-middle fastball from a pitcher that only wanted to get a pitch over the plate. Camargo crushed it but his other at-bats were weak.
Since 2018, he’s become a mistake hitter who struggles to hit his weight. We saw a lot of headlines about his homers in winter ball, but he posted a .212 average and .542 OPS in the Dominican Winter League and followed that with a .136 average and .481 OPS in the Caribbean Series. He’s currently hitting .200 in Spring Training.
Jake Lamb has a history of producing power from the third base position and batted .267/.327/.556/.882 for Oakland last September. This Spring his bat is limper than Camargo’s.
Sean Kazmar has better numbers than both and plays third-base well. I doubt he’s being considered, but there’s little to choose between them today. The struggles of these players make the Maikel Franco rumors more realistic.
Franco hit well for the Royals last year and seems a reasonable fallback plan, but he’ll want a Major League deal.
Who’s fourth?
Ender Inciarte’s thumb injury means the fourth outfield spot is open to start the season. Of the three outfielders on the 40-man roster Ervin has the hottest bat against the best competition.
Ervin went 1-2 with a walk raising his average to .357. Abraham Almonte and Guillermo Heredia are both natural center fielders, but Ervin’s bat may be more important since Ronald Acuna can slide over and play center.
Alternatively, the Atlanta Braves could slide Riley into the outfield and play their backup third-baseman, but what if Riley isn’t hitting?
Bullpen
The bullpen looks set and it won’t include Sean Newcomb, at least not to start the year, unless something changes. The pen is already lefty-heavy with Minter, Will Smith, Tyler Matzek, and Grant Dayton, so there seems little need for Newcomb.
Chris Martin, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb, and Josh Tomlin fill out the pen from the right side. All roles seem filled and backed up right now.
That’s a wrap
Other teams are making cuts as well, so the Atlanta Braves may find answers for the questions they face among those players.
Jason Kipnis and Pablo Sandoval had hits today as well, but there’s no room at the inn for them either, at least today.
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