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Atlanta Braves opening roster: where will the 25th player come from?

By Alan Carpenter

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 28: Ryan Flaherty #27 of the Atlanta Braves is congratulated by Ozzie Albies #1 after scoring on a single by Ender Inciarte #11 during the third inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 28, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves defeated the Phillies 4-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 28: Ryan Flaherty #27 of the Atlanta Braves is congratulated by Ozzie Albies #1 after scoring on a single by Ender Inciarte #11 during the third inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 28, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves defeated the Phillies 4-1. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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It’s a baseball tradition of sorts… players shift in great numbers at the end of Spring play.  Who might the Atlanta Braves be looking for in the next couple of weeks?

There may be some Opening Day roster predictions starting to appear – and we might make a couple of these ourselves – but it’s actually pretty likely that there are 1 or 2 players we’ll see open the season with the Atlanta Braves that aren’t even with the organization yet.

There’s a history of this…

  • 2018 – March 25:  Braves sign CF Peter Bourjos
  • 2018 – March 26:  Braves sign UTIL Ryan Flaherty
  • 2017 – March 26:  Braves sign RHP David Hernandez (minor league deal; assigned to the major league team 2 days later; later traded to the Angels (April 24)).
  • 2016 – March 11:  Braves sign LHP Phil Coke
  • 2016 – March 30:  Braves sign CF Drew Stubbs (minor league deal)
    • hilariously, he was also officially ‘invited to Spring Training’ and added to the roster on April 2nd
  • 2015 – March 11:  Braves sign RHP Dustin Bare (minor league deal)
  • 2015 – March 11:  Braves sign RHP Peter Moylan (minor league deal)
  • 2015 – April 4:  Braves sign Adonis Garcia (minor league deal)
  • 2015 – April 6:  Braves sign RHP Tyler Jones (minor league deal)
  • 2015 – April 6:  Braves sign RHP Matt Capps (minor league deal)

So as you can see, there’s an average of close to 2 new signings per year that happen late in the Spring Training cycle… and many of these players ended up going north with the team to start the season with the major league club.

None of these guys were game-changers, but they were nearly all veteran depth moves to fill a real-or-perceived gap .

The reasons for doing this are varied.  They can include:

  • The desire to send AAA players down to get more seasoning or consistent playing time
  • Adding depth for a position to back up a regular player for an injury concern
  • Adding support for a regular player who may not have been ready to start the season
  • ‘Extra pitching’
  • Bench improvement
  • Or simply the belief that an internal option isn’t good enough

What Spots Need Help?

This is a question that actually raises a lot of other questions.  For example, in conjunction with a couple of late signings, the Braves have chosen to surprise us on a couple of occasions by releasing players that we believed were likely to make the team… pitcher Wandy Rodriguez and outfielder Michael Bourn were such victims at one point.

Adam Duvall is such a possible candidate this year.  He has no minor league options available and has been shown to have difficulty with part-time duty.

He’s started to hit a bit now this Spring, but his role is still unclear.  The Braves might be able to make a small trade involving him, but if not, a release is certainly possible.

The primary bench roles appear to be filled with Johan Camargo and Charlie Culberson.  Between them, just about every position on the field other than catcher and CF is backed up… plus they can hit when playing part time.

Pedro Florimon is still making a bid to break camp with the big club, and he’d be another positionally-flexible option… having played everything except catcher and first base (yes, he’s even pitched 2 innings for the Phillies… giving up a homer to Lane Adams last year).

More from Tomahawk Take

So the needs are?

  • Maybe a starting pitcher (yet to be determined)
  • Maybe a third catcher for emergencies
  • Maybe another reliever (need to be determined here as well)

So at this point, my best guess is that…

  • Duvall is not with the club to start the season
  • A catcher or reliever is signed

Evan Gattis is still out there in the market; so is Martin Maldonado.  Gattis is probably a catcher-in-name-only, but he still can destroy baseballs on occasion.

As for relievers… almost every team should have at least 1 that the Braves could pick up before the end of the month, so mentioning names now is pointless.

Next. The Wright Stuff. dark

Just know this:  at least one move will almost certainly be made.  Not a big one, but something designed to help the Braves get started this season.  Watch for it.

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