Predicting the 2022 Atlanta Braves Roster after the Trade Deadline

Now that the trade deadline has passed, it is time for a way too early 2022 roster prediction for the Atlanta Braves!

The trade deadline has come and gone for the Atlanta Braves and that means it is now time for a way to early roster prediction for 2022.

This is purely a fun exercise in predicting who the Braves roster for next season.

Yes, I know a few (several) of these guesses will be wrong. Things are still fluid, and there is a lot that can happen between now and free agency.

A few things before we dive in.

I will not have Marcell Ozuna anywhere in the projection section of this article. I know the charges got dropped to a misdemeanor, but there is still a ton of uncertainty regarding this situation.

Another guy that will not be mentioned, but for a different reason is Mike Soroka. With there now being multiple surgeries on his Achilles, there is no real way to predict his recovery timeline.

If, and when, Soroka gets healthy, he will feature heavily into the Braves’ long-term plans. However, there is a real possibility he misses most, if not all, of 2022.

How this will work is pretty simple. I will do my best to guess the 26-man roster for the 2022 season. I will be assuming the universal DH since it appears to be in the plans for next season.

I will also include a confidence rating on each of my guesses. Some are easy (spoiler- Ozzie Albies is a lock at second base), and some are purely guesses based on what the Braves may look to do this off-season.

Time to jump into the predictions!

How will the Atlanta Braves infield look next year? I believe there will be several familiar faces.

Catcher- Travis d’Arnaud

Travis d’Arnaud‘s two-year deal with the Atlanta Braves comes to an end after this season, however, it might make sense for both sides to come to an agreement for another year.

d’Arnaud had a great year in 2020, but unfortunately, his 2021 has been spent mostly on the injured list. There could be some appeal to bring d’Arnaud back for one more year.

One issue with this is d’Arnaud may desire a longer-term contract going into his age 33 season. The Braves could potentially offer a second year as a vesting option. The decision at catcher will also be influenced by the Braves’ confidence levels in Williams Contreras and Shea Langeliers.

Confidence: Coinflip- 50/50

First Base- Freddie Freeman

The question that all Braves fans have asked for the last calendar year, will the Braves re-sign Freddie Freeman? As of right now, I lean towards Freddie being back in 2022.

A Twitter poll shows that most Braves fans agree.

However, I am less confident now than I was a few months ago. I was holding out hope a deal would get done over the All-Star break but that did not happen.

Now it is a real possibility that Freeman enters the open market. There should be several suitors for his services, meaning the Braves will have their work cut out for them to bring back their MVP.

Freddie and the Braves have both said there is interest in working out an extension. As of right now, I am choosing to believe it happens.

Confidence: Hopeful but worried

Second Base- Ozzie Albies

This is the easiest prediction of the entire infield. If Ozzie Albies is not playing second base for the Braves next year, I would be surprised.

The young superstar is locked up for the next several years and figures to hit near the top of the Braves lineup over that time period.

Confidence: Lock

Third Base- Austin Riley

What a year for Austin Riley. A few months ago, most would have agreed that this was a big year for Riley, and there were some that thought it was a make-or-break year.

Thankfully, it looks like Riley is starting to put it together. With multiple years of control remaining, I think we can slot him in at the hot corner for 2022 and beyond.

Confidence: Lock

Short Stop- Dansby Swanson

This is one of the trickier positions to predict. There was some speculation a few months ago that Dansby Swanson could be a non-tender candidate if he had a poor season.

2021 has been Swanson’s best season (excluding the short 2020 season) to date. However, Swanson is not a superstar player like some would have hoped given his former top prospect status.

While he is no superstar, Swanson is still a solid player. He may never be anything more than a league-average hitter, but he should always provide plus defense at short. He would benefit any team by hitting in the bottom third of the order and playing solid defense.

The biggest issue could be his arbitration salary this off-season. If he does not sign an extension this, he will probably earn somewhere in the ten-million-dollar range. Unless the Braves sign one of the bigger ticket free agents at shortstop this winter, Swanson should be back in 2022.

Confidence: Fairly Confident

Now that we have gone through the infield, who will roam the Braves outfield in 2022? What about the DH and the bench? Here are my guesses for this area of the roster.

Outfield- Ronald Acuña Jr.

The injury to Ronald Acuña Jr. hurts for this year, but he is still the future of this franchise. The injury timeline is tricky, he could be back for the start of the season or he could miss a month or so.

Thankfully he is young and that should aid in the recovery process. Whenever he returns, he will be a major part of this Braves roster in 2022.

Confidence: Lock assuming he is healthy

Outfield- Adam Duvall

Here is where the rest of the outfield gets fun to put together. Adam Duvall can easily man one of the corner outfield positions and provide power in the middle to bottom of the Braves order.

Duvall has an option for 2022 worth seven million dollars that includes a buyout for four million. Being a year away from the pandemic, I doubt the Braves’ finances force their hands and let Duvall walk away again.

Confidence: Not a lock but pretty high

Outfield/Designated Hitter- Joc Pederson

A Joc Pederson and Adam Duvall platoon would be a beautiful thing. With the possibility of the universal DH, there would be room for both in the lineup on a regular basis.

Pederson has a ten-million-dollar mutual option that includes a $2.5 million buyout. Mutual options do not get picked up often, but Pederson mentioned wanting to come to Atlanta this past off-season. There might be interest in a deal to keep him in a Braves uniform.

Confidence: Fairly Confident

Outfield- Drew Waters

Here is a fun projection. I almost went with a free agent acquisition here, like a Starling Marte, but I ultimately decided to stay in house. I can say that I went back and forth on Drew Waters and Cristian Pache, but fellow contributor Sam Peebles predicts that Waters will win the spot.

Both guys will have opportunities to win the spot, but right now, we are leaning towards Waters winning the spot.

Confidence: Coinflip between two top prospects

Bench:

William Contreras

One bench spot is reserved for the backup catcher. I am going with young William Contreras here. However, with the DH in this hypothetical scenario, there could be plenty of playing time for the young catcher.

The Braves could opt to give d’Arnaud time off from behind the plate and allow him to be the DH that day. This would not only serve to give d’Arnaud time off and Contreras some playing time, but it would allow the Braves to give Duvall and Pederson days off as well.

The Braves could opt to go with a veteran backstop to be the backup catcher, someone like Kurt Suzuki could make sense. Especially if Contreras gets used in a trade this off-season.

Confidence: Fairly Confident

Guillermo Heredia

Guillermo Heredia has won the hearts of Braves’ country. He may have been playing out of his mind this season, but he gave the Braves valuable time when they desperately needed it and they may reward that with an opportunity to fill the bench next season.

He has two more years of control and should be fairly cheap. It makes a lot of sense to bring him, and his toy swords, back as a fourth/fifth outfielder.

Confidence: High

Orlando Arcia

There were a few who thought Orlando Arcia might come in and take the starting shortstop position from Swanson. However, that has not worked out quite so well for Arcia.

He is still relatively young and under control for another season. Plus, he can play multiple positions in the field which will be valuable for the Braves. Maybe he figures it out and becomes a deadly option off the bench.

Confidence: Somewhat

Jorge Soler

I went back and forth between Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario here. I ultimately decided on Soler by a hair and it was based on cost and not mean just financially. The Braves gave up a legit prospect in Kasey Kalich for Soler.

Rosario was acquired with cash for Pablo Sandoval. Soler was not in a lot of rumors at the trade deadline, but Alex Anthopoulos went out and gave up a prospect to acquire him. This cost makes me think there could be some interest in bringing him back to the team in 2022.

I know I have him listed in the bench section, but I think he would be given a chance to play somewhat regularly. With the projected outfield (and DH) alignment, I basically see it as four guys playing three positions. The Braves could use this depth to play matchup dependent. For example, they could play Soler and Duvall against a lefty while Pederson gets the night off.

This also gives the Braves a short-term replacement if Acuña is not ready to go at the start of the season.

Both Soler and Rosario are having down years in 2021, so they may be willing to take less on a shorter-term deal in an effort to rebuild their value.

Depth is important. Look at the Rays, Dodgers, Padres, and other top teams around the league, they have great depth and change their lineups based on matchups. This could be something the Braves consider employing next year.

Finally, we look at a potential bullpen for the 2022 Atlanta Braves!

Relievers are the hardest to predict for several reasons, but the Braves could go several ways in creating a strong bullpen next season.

Bullpen

Will Smith

Will Smith is a divisive player across Braves country. No matter one’s opinion on Smith, he has one more year left at thirteen million dollars.

Unless he is somehow moved this winter, we should expect to see Smith in the Braves bullpen in 2022.

Confidence: Lock

Richard Rodríguez

The newly acquired Richard Rodríguez comes with two more years of control, meaning he was a long-term acquisition for this bullpen. This is an easy one. He will join Smith in the back of the bullpen in 2022.

Confidence: Lock

Luke Jackson

Luke Jackson has arguably been the most consistent member of the Braves bullpen in 2021. Something I doubt many predicted coming into the year.

Add in that he has one more year of control, and I think it is a safe bet to see Jackson back in the Braves bullpen in 2022.

Confidence: Lock

AJ Minter

I know that AJ Minter has had a shaky 2021 season. However, he got off to a great start out of the bullpen before falling apart. We know the talent is there. We are not that far removed from his epic game 5 in the NLCS.

Regardless of one’s opinion on Minter, he is a young lefty with control. If he does not fall apart over the next two months, whether in Gwinnett or Atlanta, he will get another shot in the big leagues in 2022.

Confidence: Virtual Lock

Tyler Matzek

For Tyler Matzek’s reasoning, see AJ Minter. He has multiple years of control left, and will not cost a ton. He can also work multiple innings if needed. I do not think it is as much of a guarantee as Minter, but Matzek could benefit the Braves in 2022.

Confidence: Virtual Lock

Chris Martin

Chris Martin has been great for the Braves overall. However, since June 15th (the day MLB sent out the memo regarding sticky substances), Martin has been bad.

Now, there is no way to know for sure if Martin was using spider tack or another foreign substance. There is a chance it was just a bad stretch.

He is getting up in age for a professional athlete, but think Martin has another year or two in him. I think there would be mutual interest between him and the Braves for a reunion in 2022.

Confidence: Somewhat High

Ryan Tepera

It makes sense for the Braves to look for a veteran reliever to help round out the bullpen. I went with Ryan Tepera here, but they could easily go with a Rasiel Iglesias, Andrew Chafin, Sergio Romo, or whoever. They also have a few options to bring back such as Edgar Santana, Jesse Chavez, or Josh Tomlin.

Confidence: Dart Throw

Touki Toussaint

I think Touki Toussaint is going to make an elite late-inning reliever one day. I hope I am wrong, and he finds a way to stick in the rotation, but his stuff screams bullpen.

He could be the sixth starter early in the year. I also think he could get the first opportunity to replace someone in the rotation whether by injury or someone struggling.

Touki just seems like a guy that is destined to end in a bullpen role. I really believe he could be an electric late-inning reliever.

Confidence: I think he is on the team, but the role is questionable

There it is! My best guess at the Braves roster in 2022.

I am sure I will look back on this in a few months and wonder what I was thinking.

It is a way too early roster projection, so I am sure I will miss several of these. As things become clearer in the coming months, it could be fun to take another look at this exercise and guess again towards the end of the season.

The recent trades at the trade deadline changed a few of the guesses I was considering. I thought the Braves may look to make a big move this off-season, but the moves they made over the past week look to have been made with 2022 in mind.

Most of the guys acquired this year have a good shot to find themselves back to Atlanta in 2022, however, that can change based on their performance.

Plus, there is still a shot for a big move this off-season. While the Braves farm system may not be as deep as it once was, there is still plenty of ammo to pull off a big move if necessary. They could also try to wait until the next deadline to unload some of the assets in a trade.

In the next few months, we will start getting a better idea of guys who will be available and who could be viable targets for the Braves this winter.

It is tough to predict the roster for next year at this moment, but I gave it my best shot.