In-Depth Look At The Atlanta Braves Newest Acquisition – Travis Demeritte

Braves Trade For A Bat! – Travis Demeritte

The Atlanta Braves traded starting pitcher Lucas Harrell and relief pitcher Dario Alvarez to the Texas Rangers for a prospect named Travis Demeritte.  The 21-year-old was listed on MLB.com as the #20 prospect on the Texas Rangers heading into the season.  A right-handed power bat, yes please!

He’s played the majority of his professional time at second base, but can also play third and short.  Yesterday after the trade, Braves General Manager hinted at a possible move to the outfield for Demeritte.

Since he’s a newcomer to our beloved Braves, I wanted to get more information about the player and the person. Bobby DeMuro covers the Cal League, which Demeritte was playing at prior to the trade.  He had the opportunity to spend many nights watching Demeritte play.  Bobby has posted many videos and photos of Demeritte…you can follow him @BobbyDeMuro

Below is the conversation between Bobby and I about who exactly the Braves acquired.

Tomahawk Take: Tell me about Travis Demeritte the person…he did have the PED suspension last season for 80-games in Low A ball, but what kind of man is he?

Bobby DeMuro: Demeritte is a good guy – nice, approachable, forthright, honest. He had the PED suspension in his past and I went right after it asking questions about it. He didn’t shy away, or decline, but looked me in the eye and owned his mistake. That’s a minor thing (it’s just the media, after all), but indicative that he’s mature, accountable, and forthright. If/when he hits adversity in his career, those types of traits ought to serve him well to push through.

TT: You mentioned doing a recent interview with Travis, did anything surprise you or catch you off guard that he says?

BD: I think this probably relates to that PED suspension, too. He’s mentioned to me that he actually saw it as a blessing in disguise, a way to jar him awake and re-focus on what actually matters in his career. Said he’d rather have gone through that when he did, and be forced to own up to his mistakes, as opposed to dealing with adversity later and not understanding how to cope. Stuck with me a long time after talking to him just how open and mature he was about owning up to his mistake.

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Also, talking to his teammate in High Desert, Rangers catcher Jose Trevino, I was stuck with the idea of how much Demeritte meant to his teammates/friends in the Rangers’ org. Not just from an on field perspective, but I spoke to Trevino about three hours after news came down that Demeritte had been traded, and Trevino was emotional about it. Really happy to see Travis get an opportunity, but really pretty emotional that he was losing a friend in the process.

TT: What do you think Demeritte’s best quality is on and off the field?

BD: People point to his power totals, of course, but it can be broken down even further than that: it’s his bat speed. I’m skeptical that long term he can be a 30+ homer guy in the big leagues, but that bat speed will play.

He has issues, but that bat speed will absolutely play. Not a stretch to think he could be a doubles machine as  a second baseman (or, if as some think, he moves over to third or the outfield).

Next: Should Demeritte's Strikeout Rate Concern Us?

Here’s a video of Demeritte, but make sure you click the above link for more