Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: More About Olivera and 3rd Base

Sep 9, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Braves third baseman Hector Olivera (28) hits a single during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

What follows here is a sample of the reaction we’ve seen about yesterday’s news on Hector Olivera becoming a left-fielder. Additional commentary follows this excerpted post.

What could Olivera’s move to outfield mean for Braves?

ZACH DILLARD / FOX SPORTS SOUTH

The crux of the Atlanta Braves’ offseason is Hector Olivera.

More from Tomahawk Take

There are pressing issues across the board for the rebuilding franchise — one that posted a 67-95 record with baseball’s lowest-scoring offense and a historically young pitching staff suffering through growing pains — but the development of the 30-year-old semi-prospect is destined to become a tipping point in John Hart‘s tenure.

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The move [which we talked about yesterday] will also change how Atlanta approaches its outfield this offseason. The team featured one of the five worst outfields in baseball in 2015, and now it’s paying more than $56 million to Olivera, Cameron Maybin, Nick Markakis, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn … without any definitive answers.

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Then there’s the question of third base, which, barring an offseason trade or signing, could fall to Adonis Garcia. Olivera’s fellow 30-something rookie led the team with 345 1/3 innings played at third base last season, posting a team-worst minus-3 defensive runs saved. He did, however, make up for it at the plate. Garcia flashed surprising power — he was one of four MLB players to hit double-digit homers in fewer than 200 plate appearances; this coming after hitting 21 shots total in nearly 1,200 plate appearances in the minors — and should have a legitimate chance to secure more playing time in 2016.

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The farm system likely will not provide much help here, either, as top third-base prospects Rio Ruiz and Austin Riley are not expected to make their MLB debuts until the team moves to SunTrust Park.

A full-time move to the outfield likely alters the Braves’ free agency options as well. With left field being arguably the biggest problem area in last year’s lineup, and with an extremely deep free-agent market at that position at a variety of price ranges … , the Braves could have been active there. The third-base market — should they choose to go that route — is not nearly as impressive.

[ Editor’s note: In reviewing reactions written elsewhere to Olivera’s move to LF, I’m seeing a lot of the following:

Free agent stop-gap signing for 3rd base.
Rio Ruiz

There’s a reason I failed to mention Ruiz in yesterday’s write-up: I don’t think he’s the answer. He struggled with hitting for the vast majority of his AA year (rallying to hit .233, .657 OPS with a torrid August), and while we haven’t heard about assignments yet, he probably should start 2016 back with Mississippi. Additionally, while his glove plays well at third base, my own eyes-on observation suggests to me that his reactions are not quick enough for the position.

That said, we do have conflicting reports on Ruiz’ defensive abilities… here’s my own, which was fairly harsh; and Ben’s, which was much more kind. He was charged with 16 errors for the M-Braves in 2015 in 127 games, which led the team (SS Emerson Landoni recorded 16 also, in 118 games).

As for the free agents, most are… forgettable:

Joaquin Arias (31)
Mike Aviles (35)
Gordon Beckham (29)
Alberto Callaspo (33)
David Freese (33)
Conor Gillaspie (28)
Maicer Izturis (35)
Casey McGehee (32)
Mark Reynolds (32)
Juan Uribe (37)

Next: Important Upcoming Dates on the Baseball Calendar

I would take Freese or Uribe… and that’s probably about it. If the Braves truly think that either Ruiz or Austin Riley will be able to take the position in 2-3 years (that would be rushed for Riley, but it’s possible), then we fans might end up settling for one of the above. ]

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