Need a good Atlanta Braves name for your Immaculate Grid? Try Joey Terdoslavich. Once considered the heir apparent to franchise icon Chipper Jones, Terdoslavich went from top prospect to blink-and-you’ll-miss-it big leaguer. Let’s look back at his career.
In many ways, Terdoslavich seemed to be Chipper 2.0. Both were switch-hitting third basemen from Florida who rapidly climbed through the farm system, needing less than 500 minor league games to reach The Show. It’s the time in the majors that sets the two lightyears apart.
Joey Terdoslavich was supposed to be the Braves’ third baseman of the future, but he became an afterthought instead
There was no question that Terdoslavich could hit. His .926 OPS with Triple-A Gwinnett in 2013 earned him a call-up to the Majors the year after Jones retired. The problem was there wasn’t much wiggle room on the field. At third, Chris Johnson was enjoying the best season of his career, and the corner outfield spots belonged to Justin Upton and Jason Heyward. Freddie Freeman was on his way to a Top 5 MVP finish as a first baseman.
To be fair, the Braves may not have wanted Terdoslavich’s glove on the field anyway. During his time with Gwinnett that year, he committed 25 errors in 147 chances. The Braves tried him at the corner outfield spots, but he found his best fit at first base. Unfortunately for him, Freeman had an iron grip on the position. Across three years, Terdoslavich played just 92 games—58 as a pinch-hitter—at the big-league level, and his storied power materialized into just a single home run.
The Orioles claimed Terdoslavich off waivers in 2016, but the move didn’t lead to more playing time. Rather, it kicked off an eight-year odyssey that saw Terdoslavich play for six different leagues in four countries (the US, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Canada) along with stops with the Pirates and Mets’ farm systems. By the end of his career in 2023, he had played at least 1,621 games of professional baseball. To the end, his power was his defining feature; he retired with 203 home runs and 340 doubles with a .451 slugging percentage across all levels and leagues.
Terdoslavich made his way back to Florida upon leaving pro ball. He serves as a head coach in IMG Academy’s baseball program, one of the premier prep programs in the country.