We talk about why the Atlanta Braves choosing to go with a four-man bench to start the season is much too risky and how it could hurt them.
There is no question that the biggest weakness of this Atlanta Braves team going into the 2021 season is their bench.
Apparently Brian Snitker felt the best way to handle that was just to not have a bench at all.
Granted, the options given to Snitker were not great, but going into the season with a four-man bench — even if it is temporary — seems highly risky.
Especially when you consider that bench will consist of Alex Jackson, Ender Inciarte, Ehire Adrianza, and Pablo Sandoval.
Again, the options to choose from weren’t great, but this seems terrible.
I was all for Adrianza being on the bench over Camargo, but that’s when I thought we’d have a left-handed power bat like Jake Lamb.
And I get it, Lamb looked lost at the plate for most of Spring Training, but now there is no power on this bench.
Adrianza and Pablo will give you good at-bats, get some singles, and work some walks — that’s great. But who is Snitker going to bring off the bench late in games to really put a scare in the other team?
Jackson can’t hit worth a lick, and Ender is essentially a defensive replacement.
That means most nights it’s either going to be Adrianza or Pablo getting perhaps the biggest at-bat of the game.
With no DH, I don’t understand how a National League manager can justify the risk of carrying a four-man bench.
It makes perfect sense for American League teams to do it, as the bench is hardly involved in the game at all.
But in the NL, you’re going to use a lot of your bench almost every game. Especially if starting pitchers aren’t going to be working deep into games early on — and I’m assuming they won’t, which is why Snitker has decided to carry the extra arm.
You’re going to need at least two pinch-hitters every game.
Let’s say you use those pinch-hitters in the fifth and seventh, and then an injury occurs. You’re left with just one bench player — likely Alex Jackson — for the rest of the game.
The risk of that happening — even if it’s unlikely — is not worth carrying a 14th pitcher who will likely only be used in mop-up duty if at all.
It’s likely we don’t see this four-man bench for very long with the Braves, hopefully it’s just until Alex Anthopoulos is able to comb the waiver wires for some power to add to the bench.