3 Braves who could and probably should lose their jobs by the end of August

It's the home stretch for the Atlanta Braves as we roll deeper into August. The Braves have bounced back from the embarrassing series finale in Colorado with two extra innings wins in San Francisco. Manager Brain Snitker said it was "go time" in the postgame interview on Sunday, and the Braves have certainly played like it the last couple nights.

With the importance of each game heightening up, the Braves are no longer afforded the luxury of giving playing time to players who haven't performed. In this article we're going to take a look at which current Braves' are on the chopping block not only playing time, but their roster spot.

Adam Duvall

The veteran outfielder was thought to be another savvy Alex Anthopoulos late spring signing when we entered the 2024 season. Sadly, much of the season has been a struggle for Adam Duvall. An injury to superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. forced Duvall out of his platoon role and the struggles that followed hit hard.

Duvall has struggled against right-handed pitching all year, but has remained an "everyday" outfield option due to all the injuries. His -1.1 fWAR and 53 wRC+ are the second worst (only better than Eddie Rosario) amongst big leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances. That "simply be healthy and proven" requirement is set to expire though, as Atlanta is expected to activate centerfielder Michael Harris II from the injured list this afternoon.

MH2 and Jorge Soler figure to be everyday fixtures, and it makes sense to keep Eli White on the roster as a late-inning defensive replacement for Soler. That leaves Duvall and Laureano on the bubble, as one will likely form a platoon with Kelenic. Looking at their recent performance, you have to go with Laureano on this one. Duvall has been one of the coldest bats in the second half, and while Laureano's defense has been an adventure, his bat has been more than solid against LHP recently.

Luke Jackson

The bullpen is deep in Atlanta and there's not a ton of movement expected in the month of August. However, the Braves have quickly learned that one arm isn't like the rest. Luke Jackson was part of the Jorge Soler trade that brought both former Braves back to Atlanta.

Unfortunately, Jackson hasn't enjoyed the same success Soler has in their return to Atlanta. We know it's small sample size, but in his four games since returning Luke Jackson has a 9.53 ERA and 7.06 FIP.

Then you consider you have arms like Daysbel Hernandez waiting down in Triple-A, and the decision to move on from Jackson becomes much clearer. We understand AA taking a flyer on Jackson at the deadline, but this seems like an easy decision to cut your losses and thank Luke for everything he has done for the organization.

Grant Holmes

This one doesn't really go under the category "should lose their job," but it does make sense. Holmes has been excellent from the moment he got his big league call-up in mid June. In his 38 innings pitched, Holmes owns a 3.79 ERA and 2.84 FIP.

However, the long-time minor leaguer is still a candidate to "lose their job" simply because he was inserted into the rotation a few weeks ago. Holmes 100% should remain on the roster the rest of the season, but Reynaldo Lopez could return to the rotation as soon as this weekend. And with a rotation of Sale, Fried, Morton, Schwellenbach, and Lopez, that would make Holmes the odd man out in the rotation.

Utilizing a six-man rotation made sense earlier in the year, but given the Braves are now fighting for a NL Wild Card spot, that time has passed. Holmes can still provide plenty of value as your long-man out the bullpen though. We've seen it before but this is simply a quality arm numbers crunch for Atlanta. Holmes has been great, but as Brian Snitker said, it's go time.

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