Braves may have just signed their Mauricio Dubon backup plan

Well, it is the middle of December and we have already reached the point of the Atlanta Braves' offseason where the odds of an impact move are pretty low. Other than adding a starter, which is more likely to be a back of the rotation type, the Braves have pretty much completed their offseason shopping list already after re-signing Ha-Seong Kim. However, that does not mean the Braves they are completely done.

Amidst all the major moves, the Braves have been among the league's busiest teams in terms of adding a lot of guys on minor league deals to bring into spring training. For the most part, those signings have revolved around the Braves' bullpen which makes sense. On Tuesday, they added some infield help after signing infielder Aaron Schunk to a minor league deal.

Braves sign Aaron Schunk to minor league as we enter the roster depth portion of the offseason

Schunk had spent his entire career with the Rockies before signing with Atlanta, so it is probably fair to guess that Braves fans know precious little about him. Schunk is known as strong, versatile infield defender who has never really hit in the big leagues. Think Nick Allen, but with more power and much less contact ability and not quite as good defensively.

As to what role Schunk could play, it feels like this falls right into the Braves' offseason game plan of having more versatile players around if needed. Trading for Mauricio Dubon was the obvious example, but the Braves under Walt Weiss seem very keen to not be locked into certain lineups and defensive configurations. In fact, that seems to be a big reason why they do not seem to be planning to sign a full-time DH. They want options and plenty of them.

In the event that Dubon doesn't work out or becomes really valuable at the trade deadline, having a guy like Schunk hanging around in the minors is a great backup plan. This is certainly a move around the margins of their roster, but still a worthy one nonetheless.