It's every contending teams nightmare, a devastating injury to a key player after the trade deadline. The Braves knew rosters were cemented at the beginning of August, but they could have never built enough depth to withstand ALL of these injuries.
The latest blow for Atlanta is the loss of slugging third baseman, Austin Riley. Unfortunately, the news today told us it's going to be at least six weeks of missed time for Riley. Now the Braves have to pivot and find third base production from somewhere.
While there's more internal and external options than you think, none of them are close to Austin Riley. We'll go through eight different options and keep our fingers crossed Alex Anthopoulos picks the right one.
The internal options
Zack Short
Short was the man who got most of the playing time when Riley was battling an oblique injury in May. His game does offer some benefits to the Braves offense with his ability to draw walks. However, the swing and miss and limited defensive range may halt him from getting another shot.
Alejo Lopez
The utility infielder not many fans have heard from, Alejo Lopez last appeared in the bigs in 2023 with the Reds. He's got a career batting average of .265 in 170 AB's, but the power is pretty non-existent (one career home run).
Lopez has played in 96 games with Gwinnett this year and has a slash line of .308/.394/.393. Again not much power to replace the top of the order bat in Riley, but his hit tool could be enough to earn a shot in Atlanta.
Nacho Alvarez Jr.
Atlanta's fourth ranked prospect made his MLB debut earlier this season when Ozzie Albies went down with a wrist injury. However, it was a bit of a struggle for Alvarez to get going at the plate and he was eventually sent back to Gwinnett once Whit Merrifield was cleared to play.
Since returning, Alvarez Jr. has continued slumping at the plate, and now he's battling pneumonia according to Mark Bowman. Once healthy, the Braves could revisit Nacho and hope his upside shines through when the Braves need it most. However, this one feels unlikely.
Luke Williams
While Luke Williams has been on the Major League roster longer than the other internal candidates, it feels like it's highly unlikely he warrants regular playing time.
He's just 2-17 at the plate so far this year, and his ceiling isn't as high as some of the other options the Braves have. Instead, Williams is more likely to remain on the Braves bench and serve as the utility bench option.
Brian Anderson
The veteran utility man got five AB's earlier this season without collecting a hit. He's hitting under .200 this season with Gwinnett, yet his track record may earn him the first crack at holding down third base.
Anderson is long removed from his glory days with the Marlins, but finding any of that past magic in the bat would go a long way toward keeping the Braves season afloat.
The external options
Luis Guillorme
The veteran spent time with the Braves earlier this year and was just DFA'd by the Angels. Guillorme offers familiarity and infield versatility. However, he doesn't offer much power as he has yet to homer this year in over 100 at-bats.
Gio Urshela
His nine year career has been spent exclusively in the American League. But with his recent DFA by the Tigers, Urshela has a chance to help a National League club for the first time.
Infielder Gio Urshela has cleared outright waivers.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 18, 2024
He is now on unconditional release waivers and will be postseason-eligible for a new @MLB team if he signs by Aug. 31. @MLBNetwork
His contact skills are above average as he doesn't swing and miss much. Urshela hasn't hit for much power this year, but you have to remember Detroit is a hard place to hit for power in. His .277 xwOBA in his last 100 plate appearances is right around league average, and truthfully it might be hard for Atlanta to find better than that.
Emmanuel Rivera
A man the Braves saw a good bit earlier this year, Rivera was batting .214 in just over 200 AB's with the Marlins before he was DFA'd. Out of all the listed candidates, Rivera may offer the best defense of the group.
He ranks in the 85th percentile in outs above average (3 OAA) and that defensive stability may be all the Braves are looking for.
Aledmys Diaz
Lastly, we arrive at one of the established infielders on this list. Diaz has a career .259 batting average and 78 home runs in his nine year career. However, he's fallen on hard times over the last couple of years.
Diaz collected just three hits in 33 at-bats in 2024. However, perhaps a change of scenery into a postseason hopeful environment could springboard the veteran to recapture the strong hit tool he possessed just a couple seasons ago.
In conclusion things are not ideal
At the end of the day, these options are available this late in the year for a reason. Anthopoulos could bring up one of these guys and hope for the best, but finding production at third base may require the Braves to get a bit creative.
This is a team that once ran out Freddie Freeman at third base after all. We're not expecting Matt Olson or Marcell Ozuna to man the hot corner anytime soon, but don't be surprised if the Braves shock us all and think outside the box for this situation.