Panda sighting
The addition of Panda isn’t a big surprise. He’s playing for the Atlanta Braves because he wanted to return, and he’s been hitting like the guy who started at third for the Giants so long ago.
In Friday’s game, Sandoval went 3-3, raising his average this spring to .429 with a .978 OPS. He’s walked four times and struck out just five, and he’s hit well with men on base, something a bench bat is often called on to do. Manager Brian Snitker told David O’Brien of The Athletic ($) that Panda amazed him.
"He just likes to play baseball. You look at him every day and how he goes about it, and he does anything you ask him, and how intense he is and professional in his work. He’s an aggressive guy, man. He knows he can hit and he’s very aggressive."
Snitker is also confident that Panda can play third base if needed
"I’m not afraid of (playing) him anywhere. Just like we put him at third in the NLCS, and he made a couple of nice plays. He’s very confident in himself in both places."
Jake Lamb’s non-guaranteed major league contract appeared to give him an inside track to make the team, but this afternoon the Braves released him so the job now belongs to Sandoval.
The three switch hitters?
With Adrianza and Sandoval joining a catcher to be determined and Ender Inciarte on the bench, there’s one possible bench job left.
Grant Dayton’s spring raised the question “why is he here?” But Snitker told O’Brien it didn’t bother him. What’s that got to do with the bench spot? O’Brien believes that Snitker feels the same about Camargo and that the team will keep him on the 26-man roster.
"If Dayton’s spring performance was not an overriding factor for Snitker, (his) comments that Camargo’s underwhelming spring performance — .195 average and .550 OPS with one homer in 41 at-bats — will also not determine his status."
Camargo had a hit Friday night but looked awful and struck out in his three remaining PA. I wish I could find any video of his last at-bats; he looked lost and very discouraged.
My cynical side says Camargo has an option remaining, and the team will need a fifth starter two weeks in.
They could send a reliever — Sean Newcomb or Huascar Ynoa seem in competition for the last bullpen spot — down to bring Wilson back to Atlanta, but they may decide a bigger bullpen is better. Keeping 14 pitchers would mean losing a bench bat, and the only non-catching bat with an option is Camargo.
UPDATE: CAMARGO IS OPTIONED OUT IN FAVOR OF EXTRA BULLPEN ARM
#Braves will option Johan Camargo and William Contreras and open the season with a bench of Ehire Adrianza, Pablo Sandoval, Ender Inciarte and Alex Jackson. They'll carry an extra reliever and Huascar Ynoa makes the team and will be a candidate for the "opener" start in Game 6.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) March 27, 2021