With free agency finally (and mercifully) arriving, the Atlanta Braves' top priority seems to be finding out who is going to be playing shortstop in 2026 and beyond, Sure, there is still some hope that the team can bring back Ha-Seong Kim, but his agent is Scott Boras and there is definitely a price point where he becomes much less attractive. Jorge Polanco could be an option assuming he is capable of being moved back to short full-time. However, another former shortstop was just floated as an option that would have even greater upside.
As of this moment, the Braves either have to overpay for Bo Bichette and hope that he can defy the odds to stay at shortstop or turn to the trade market if they want to find someone that could help a playoff contender. The trade market at least has some interesting names that could work, but Bleacher Report's idea of the Braves trading for Marcus Semien seemed to come out of nowhere.
On the surface, trading for Semien sounds like a fantastic idea if Atlanta can make the money and trade package work. However, not unlike Polanco, Semien hasn't been playing shortstop lately. In fact, it has been a long time since he has regularly played the position.
Braves trading for Marcus Semien would be really fun, but it is unclear if he can even play shortstop anymore
Let's start with the positives first. Semien is a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, and he won a World Series with the Rangers in 2023. From 2019-2025, Semien has average 5.2 rWAR a season along with 25 home runs and a .782 OPS. Given that Braves fans just had to suffer through watching Nick Allen's plate appearances, that sounds absolutely delightful.
However, Semien hasn't played shortstop in a while. He last played the position at all in 2022 and last played the position regularly in 2019. Unlike Polanco who is 32 years old and has regularly been employed as a utility infielder, Semien has settled in at second base where he has proven to be a plus defender most of the time. At 35 years old and with his numbers already showing some signs of decline the last couple of years, spending all of that money and trade capital to slot Semien at short sounds like a big, big risk.
It would be one thing if Semien wasn't making real money or if Atlanta could get the Rangers to eat a large portion of the $72 million of the next three years owed to Semien. That would be defensible. However, there are cheaper options available that come with similar risks who aren't 35 years old and if they are willing to spend, they should just pursue Kim. There is a world where this sort of trade could make sense, but the odds are that this move is beyond the scope of realistic.