Battle for Braves' final outfield spot is gaining clarity sooner than expected

The Atlanta Braves are still getting an idea of who their fourth outfielder will be at the beginning of the 2024 season. There are plenty of options to choose from but the picture has some surprising clarity already.

Fans likely had their guess of who that spot would be occupied by already but it's been impressive to watch so far. The concern of injury to Ronald Acuna Jr.'s surgically repaired knee makes this decision a bit more interesting since the severity of his injury is still unknown.

Jarred Kelenic will be Atlanta's left fielder to start the season. Alex Anthopoulos stated that would be the case a couple of weeks ago. So, the players we are going to touch on are strictly for bench roles and will not serve as a platoon. Depending on what we learn after Ronald's doctor takes a closer look at the irritation in his knee, Kelenic could slide over to right field and one of these candidates could take over in left.

3 best candidates for Atlanta Braves final outfield spot

Jordan Luplow

While Jordan Luplow is the weakest of the three candidates so far, he still is an option to fill the role for Atlanta. He was with the Braves during spring training in 2023 but was claimed on waivers by the Blue Jays in early April.

The main difference this year is that he is on a minor-league deal. Luplow isn't anything special but he plays serviceable defense and has some major league experience so he would be able to handle being on a big league diamond.

He doesn't have the best offensive numbers so that puts him at a disadvantage. His career line sits at .212/.314/.423 with a .737 OPS. His best season came with the Guardians in 2019 where he carried a .276 average with 15 homers and 38 RBI over 85 games with a 136 OPS+.

Luplow's spring hasn't been anything special but he did homer off of Chris Bassit in a Braves win over the Blue Jays a couple of days ago. He's played in 5 games and has a .154 average with a double, a home run, and four runs batted in.

While he has experience playing at the MLB level, I don't think he will end up being the final outfielder selected. That could change obviously but as of now, he isn't better than the next two options we will discuss.

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