Atlanta Braves: Is the Push for Brian Dozier (or any 2B) Really Needed?

The Atlanta Braves have been quiet on the transaction front lately, a little too quiet. Something is brewing in John Coppolella’s craw, and indications, per reports, are that it has to do with infield help. But he will be hard pressed to find a one-year stop-gap.

Recently, per multiple reports, it was brought up that the Atlanta Braves are still in on Brian Dozier. How, is still to be determined, but a Dozier to Atlanta move is possible.

After the long silence that comes with the ebbs and flows of a Major League Baseball off-season, the time for the flow to pick up is drawing closer.

After the news of the Brandon Phillips trade that wasn’t, the Braves/Dozier rumors started swirling again.

Is it really that far-fetched that Atlanta pulls a deal off with Minnesota to get in on it? Has the deadline for the Twins already passed? If the Braves got in, was it enough to sway the Twins brass to make a move?

Whether or not it was or wasn’t, the idea of a Brian Dozier/Dansby Swanson middle infield intrigues me.

Dozier is 29 years old, Jace Peterson is 26. You have to like the young side to Peterson and given another 2 years in the league, could be a better player than he has his first 3 years.

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However, young, proven talent is hard to come by. Dozier is still somewhat young considering he won’t be 30 until May. He’s also all-around a better player that Peterson.

The only downside? Dozier hits from the right side. Atlanta likes the balance in the line-up. I can almost say with certainty that Dozier is not interested in a platoon at 2B. And he shouldn’t have to.

Dozier is better than Peterson in a lot of places. So why not make a valiant push for Dozier? I’ll admit the team control Atlanta has on Peterson is very beneficial, but it shouldn’t be a major determining factor.

Dozier stands to make $4 million this year and $9 million in 2018. Any extension will be obviously higher in AAV. Peterson isn’t even arbitration eligible until 2018 and the earliest he could become a free agent is 2021.

Peterson’s contract is whole heck of a lot cheaper than Dozier’s. Peterson is making peanuts compared to Dozier. So you could see why Atlanta would be a little hesitant to go all in on Dozier.

Getting Brandon Phillips would have made all this talk of Dozier, moot, but it never materialized. So what does Dozier bring to the table that’s better than Peterson?

How about everything.

In 2016, Brian Dozier had an OBP of .340, slugged .546, and held an OPS of .886. He also was well above average in OPS+ at 136. He also had almost 300 more plate appearances than Peterson did.

Jace Peterson’s OBP was .350, SLG .366, and his OPS was .715. His OBP was somewhat respectable. What really was low was his OPS+ at 94, below league average.

Understand Dozier had a monster, breakout year last year. He never hit more than 28 HRs in his first 4 years. Dozier set career highs in that and in BA, SLG, OPS, and OPS+. He set career highs in WAR with 6.5, oWAR with 6.2 as well.

In his short time in the majors, Peterson also had a career year of sorts. However, his career highs don’t really touch Dozier’s averages. Even Dozier is better defensively, not by much, but still.

The real question, though, is, will Atlanta pull the trigger and jump up for what Dozier will cost? Are the Braves better off with Peterson? Ultimately, does the end justify the means? That is, after all, what it really boils down to.

Is Dozier an upgrade? Absolutely. Is Dozier the long-term answer? Eh, probably not. I don’t expect him to hit 40+ home runs again, or drive in another 100 RBI. But his up-tick in other areas could sustain.

Next: Braves, Coppy Always Looking to Improve

I still believe the Braves give Ozzie Albies, once he’s ready, every opportunity to succeed at 2B. I don’t see a real major move coming in the form of Dozier, especially if the plan with Phillips was to make him a one year stop-gap, adding that he would have sought an extension.

So, we’ll probably see one of Jace Peterson or Sean Rodriguez be the Braves opening day second baseman. Preferably, I’d like it to be Rodriguez.

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