When the Atlanta Braves kicked off spring training workouts, one of the first stories that developed from camp was that the club planned on trying out Eli White in the infield. This was a surprise, considering that White had nearly exclusively patroled the outfield since 2022, with the exception of a two inning cameo laast season.
However, even if the infield experiment doesn't go well, the Braves should strongly consider adding White to the Opening Day roster, simply because of how they lack in one specific skill set.
FIRST dinger on the season for Eli White!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/X3TfuY7UUb
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 7, 2024
The Braves need Eli White's speed on the 2025 roster
The bench is one of the biggest question marks this spring. While Chadwick Tromp seems like a near lock to back up Sean Murphy, nearly every other spot is up for the taking.
Bryan De La Cruz might be best positioned to serve on the other end of the right field platoon to start the season, with Jarred Kelenic handling the bulk of the at bats. There's a toss up for the back up infield spot, with Nick Allen and Christian Cairo being the two contenders on the 40-man roster.
However, even once these roles are filled, the Braves would still have one more open spot on the bench, and it might be best served reserving that role for a player with speed.
Last season, the Atlanta Braves were the slowest team in baseball, according to Baseball Savant's Sprint Speed. The club's 26.8 ft/sec speed was technically tied with the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins, but the Braves had far fewer Bolts (11 to the Yankees 29 and the Twins 30) and the worst home to first time between the three teams.
Eli White was by far the fastest player on the team with a 29.6 ft/sec sprint speed. The fastest everyday regular was Michael Harris II, whose 28.3 ft/sec speed was a full foot per second slower than White's.
The Braves as an entire team only stole 69 stolen bases, which was four fewer steals than Ronald Acuña Jr.'s total count in 2023.
Although the team is still built for the home run, 2024 showed that the Braves needed to find other ways to score. With Marcell Ozuna, Orlando Arcia, Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, and Chadwick Tromp, all players who were 13th percentile or worse in sprint speed, still on the Braves, Atlanta could desperately use a pinch runner for the late innings.
Christian Cairo, the Braves Rule 5 pick, has decent speed, as does Luke Williams, but otherwise, the other bench pieces fighting for a spot on the 26-man roster have average speed, at best.
Both Williams and White are out of options, meaning that they'll need to be put on waivers if they don't make the Opening Day roster. White has been a better hitter in the minors over the past two seasons than Williams, but Williams has played all over the diamond in the bigs. White's likely a better outfield defender who can play center field.
However, if it simply comes down to speed, White might be the best option. Over the last two seasons, Williams has been great at stealing bases, stealing 46 bases in the minors at an 82.1% rate and 14 bags in the majors at an 77% clip.
White has stolen 38 bases at a 92.6% in the minors since 2023. While he hasn't had as many chances in the bigs, last season he did steal three bases in four chances, although coincidentally, both White and Williams have 20 steals in 26 chances in their big league careers. White does have a big advantage in sprint speed, being a full foot per second faster than Williams.
Even if White isn't capable of playing extended periods in the infield, his speed should be enough to warrant a spot on the Opening Day roster.