Atlanta Braves: Could Nick Markakis Be Replaced in Season, and By Who?

With the news that the Atlanta Braves have reached a deal with Nick Markakis, we look at whether or not he will be replaced during the season.

Two thoughts immediately came to mind when the Atlanta Braves elected to re-sign Nick Markakis on Tuesday.

First, I think the Braves new Nick wanted to be back in Atlanta and knew they could get him at a cheap price any time they wanted, which they did. I think he was always the fallback option for the Braves.

Second, I believe Alex Anthopoulos was working on a bigger deal for an outfielder that fell through — and it’s possible he’s still working on that deal.

Another assumption is that AA thought it might be easier, and possibly cheaper, to upgrade in the outfield during the season.

There are several teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks who aren’t quite ready to give up on 2019, but might be more willing to move a David Peralta during the season.

The same can be said for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their outfielders.

So the question becomes, will the Atlanta Braves cut or replace Nick Markakis during the season if needed?

Let’s say Markakis continues his downward trend that began in the second half of the 2018 season and he’s hitting .245 with 3 home runs through the first two months.

This is not something I’m predicting for Nick. I think he will be just as solid to start 2019 as he was in 2018 — hitting around .280 with 10-15 home runs over the entire season.

But for the sake of argument, let’s say that doesn’t happen and he struggles, what will the Braves do with Markakis?

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He’s clearly a clubhouse leader, so I think cutting him would be a bad idea, even though it wouldn’t cost the Braves a ton to dump him.

Instead, I would hope that the Braves would go out and trade for an upgrade in the outfield. They were willing to do that when Ender Inciarte struggled to start last season, so why wouldn’t they do that with an aging Markakis in 2019?

As far as who the Braves could look to for upgrades, I think most of the players in this article could still be available during the season. Plus, there will probably be several more who become available during the season.

The great thing about signing Nick cheap is that he is expendable if things go sideways. I certainly wouldn’t bet against him, but if it does happen, the Atlanta Braves have to do what is best for the team.