Aspect #2: no other Atlanta Braves outfielders
Who’s in the outfield for the Atlanta Braves in 2022, then?
- Inciarte? Gone
- Almonte? Still around, but still a AAA-AAAA player
- Heredia? Same as Almonte… good for the bench, but not really an everyday player.
- Adrianza? He was supposed to be an infielder, but will be a free agent
- Ozuna? On trial
- Arcia? Also an infielder, but at least he’s still under team control
- Pache? Needs to show he can hit his weight (he’s 215 lbs) before returning
- Waters? Streaky hitter with lots of “miss” that will likely be exploited
- Mike Harris? Probably AA or AAA in 2022
So who fills your 2022 outfield?
Somebody is going to be needed. So let’s look at the outfield free agent list for the coming Winter… tell me which players you think can truly help out the Braves next year (* indicates a contract option):
Charlie Blackmon *
Jackie Bradley Jr. *
Kole Calhoun *
Mark Canha
Nick Castellanos *
Michael Conforto
Nelson Cruz
Khris Davis
Delino DeShields Jr.
Ian Desmond *
Corey Dickerson
Jarrod Dyson
Adam Eaton
Dexter Fowler
Avisail Garcia *
Brett Gardner
Billy Hamilton
Odubel Herrera *
Ender Inciarte *
Jon Jay
Adam Jones *
Matt Joyce
Jake Marisnick
Starling Marte
J.D. Martinez *
Cameron Maybin
Nomar Mazara
Andrew McCutchen *
Joc Pederson
Tommy Pham
Kevin Pillar
Gregory Polanco *
Eddie Rosario
Danny Santana
Kyle Schwarber
Jorge Soler
Steven Souza Jr.
Chris Taylor
Michael A. Taylor
There aren’t many impact players here, right? Nick Castellanos and Michael Conforto could be the best of the entire group, but can the Braves get into a bidding war for either of them? Beyond that, who do you get: Schwarber? Pederson?
Even if Atlanta thinks there are hitters in this group worth going after, note that 29 other teams could join the competition… nothing is a sure thing here.
Oh… and there’s a fair chance that 2022 will bring the DH into the National League, too… so there’s another hitter that will need to be obtained… somehow.
This is why the Braves need to be a deadline buyer: their best chance to get another 2022 outfielder is via a 2021 trade… regardless of any other consideration.
But there’s another side of this coin…