Atlanta Braves Need a Bench Bat: Let the Rumors Begin

Look out, MLB:  Coppy is shopping.  Unfortunately, the first name on his list may have just gotten a little more expensive today.

As we suggested yesterday, the Atlanta Braves are looking to improve the ‘thump’ of their bench.

Well Lo and Behold:  it didn’t take very long for the first rumor to get started:

Now the funny part of this tweet was the very first response back to Rosenthal.  It was “Can they throw in Heyward?”

That levity aside, Matt Szczur, while being a name impossible to spell correctly without looking, may be just what the doctor ordered for the Braves.  And if not him, it could end up being somebody who looks a lot like him.

Szvzc…. “Matt“…. is a RHH 6-1/195 outfielder who filled a nice depth role for the Cubs during their World Series run last year:  200 plate appearances with a .259/.312/.400/.712 slash line with 5 dingers and a respectable 19.5% strikeout rate.  Not spectacular, but useful.

He will be 28 in July, and happens to also be a better-than-average defender, which is a nice plus.

Deeper Dive

Recall that during last season, the Cubs were without the services of Kyle Schwarber.  This season, the burly ball masher is expected to be roaming Left Field on a regular basis.

That doesn’t leave much room for somebody who spent 200 innings there last season.

In fact, Szczur doesn’t currently appear on the Cubs depth chart… at all.

Still, Szczur is attempting to make his case as someone who belongs… somewhere.

His current Spring stats show him hitting a robust .387 out in the desert with .645 slugging and 1.069 OPS lines.  That got a boost on Monday when he went 3 of 4 with a homer.  And that might have raised the trade price a bit (though clearly the counter-argument is that a lot of this damage may have been at the expense of lesser pitching).

But the truth is this:  the Cubs have no space for Szczur. A quick head count, suggests this 25-man roster for the World Champs:

• Infield:  Rizzo, Zobrist, Russell, Bryant, Contreras (5)
• Outfield:  Schwarber, Almora, Heyward (3)
• Bench:  Baez, Jay, La Stella, and Montero (4).
• Bullpen:  8 (with 2 Lefties)
• Starters:  5

There’s 25… with lots of interchangeable depth built-in among this group.

While Rosenthal’s tweet suggests that the Cubs would like to keep him, they would probably have to sacrifice a bullpen arm to make that happen… which is possible.

Trading Places

Being out of options, the Cubbies cannot send Szczur to the minors without exposing him to a waiver claim.

Being 3rd in line for National League waiver claims, the Braves could roll the dice on Szczur and see if the Cubs want to try and sneak him through waivers… except that (a) the Braves have a real need; and (b) it’s certainly possible that the Padres might choose to claim him as well.

Regardless:  this is simply one rumor.  Expect a few more before this matter is settled.

Next: Acuna, or Later'... he's coming.

Meanwhile, I’ll see what I can do to find a few more Z’s on this keyboard… just in case.  Seriously, “Foltynewicz” is easier!