Atlanta Braves taking Rio Ruiz on a pre-trade-deadline test drive?

I lot of us have been wanting to see Rio Ruiz replace Adonis Garcia outright, but there could be a long-term, practical reason why he’s in the majors at this particular time.

The Atlanta Braves are still quite unsettled at third base.  That has really been the case ever since the retirement of Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting Chipper Jones.

In fact, you could argue that there has been a revolving door to the hot corner since 2011.  Just look at the number of other players who have logged at least 30 innings at the position since then:

• Chris Johnson (still the leader in the clubhouse, 2497 innings)
• Adonis Garcia (1717)
• Juan Francisco
• Martin Prado
• Juan Uribe
• Alberto Callaspo
• Hector Olivera
• Ramiro Pena
• Chase d’Arnaud
• Philip Gosselin
• Pedro Ciriaco
• Gordon Beckham
• Paul Janish
• Brooks Conrad
• Julio Lugo
• Kelly Johnson
• Jace Peterson
• Diory Hernandez (remember him?)
• Elliot Johnson
• Reid Brignac

There’s actually six more names, including Blake DeWitt standing there for a single inning.  27 different third basemen (plus Jones) in 7 seasons.

So it’s probably no wonder that during John Coppolella’s #AskCoppy session last week, he gave this answer to Dan Horton’s question about needs that he’d like to address by this year’s trade deadline:

So here were are at May 25th, and the ‘addressing’ bit is already starting to happen.

Enter the Rio

There is one name intentionally omitted from the omnibus list of names above:  Rio Ruiz.  The Braves have used the occasion of injuries to Freddie Freeman and Adonis Garcia to call up the barely-23-year-old while he can still get some regular playing time over these next few days.

Or is it only until Garcia returns?

Bowman had written this earlier:

"The Braves have not firmly decided that they will continue to carry Ruiz once Garcia returns. But there’s certainly reason to believe they would favor this decision over keeping both Emilio Bonifacio and Danny Santana, a pair of utility players who offer sub-standard offensive value."

Atlanta apparently feels like it’s still premature to simply hand the reins of the position to Ruiz, a LH hitter who has trouble against southpaws.  But at the same time, Garcia (RH) has struggled against right-handed pitching.  It would seem to be a natural fit for a platoon situation.

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But platoons can be tricky.  Short term, you might see a production boost, but in the long-term it means devoting two players to a single position – which is already done for the catching spot – and that can still effectively shorten your bench, especially when you have to make sure all positions are covered for an extra-inning affair.

Ruiz has already provided some offensive production in his short time up.  Last September he managed 2 hits in 7 plate appearance.  This week (prior to today’s matinee in which he went 3 for 4 with an RBI) it’s been a .238 average in 24 trips with 8K, but a .333 OBP.  Not exactly setting the world on fire, but it’s a start.

Ruiz is also looking much better defensively than when I had seen him last in the minors (at Mississippi) a couple of seasons ago (2015).  It is evident that he has gotten more comfortable with the position since then… and that’s certainly something that we’ve have a hard time saying about Adonis Garcia.

He picked up an error today on a tough play when Adams couldn’t hold his wide throw on a squibbed grounder, his first since the call-up.  There was also a sharp grounder that he misplayed to the side, allowing a hit.  Still, you can see a smoothness that isn’t present with Garcia.

Showcase Showdown

So while Ruiz is in the majors – and has sufficient playing time – it appears the Atlanta will take a long look at him before making good on Coppy’s answer from just last week.

If the Braves do see a trade opportunity for a ‘better’ third base prospect (like Jeimer Candelario as mentioned here 2 weeks ago), then they truly need to know what they’ve got in hand already.

That, among all things, would appear to be the reason for this extended audition with Ruiz that’s now in progress.

Next: It Got Ugly Late Last Night

But for now… get a good look at Rio Ruiz.  That Braves certainly will be doing the same.