Atlanta Braves: We are not getting the same Johan Camargo in 2019

The Atlanta Braves bench depth has been great in 2019, but most of the year that hasn’t included super-utility man Johan Camargo.

There is no denying that Johan Camargo was huge for the Atlanta Braves in 2018.

When many thought the Atlanta Braves needed to go out and trade for a third baseman or rush Austin Riley to the big leagues, Camargo did a fine job at the hot corner hitting .272 in 134 games with 19 home runs.

On top of that, he played Gold Glove-caliber defense at third base.

The Braves did go out and get that third baseman this past offseason, which may have had a negative effect on Camargo.

He certainly hasn’t acted that way or shown any displeasure, but his play on the field is nowhere near what we saw when he played full-time at third base last year.

Despite not getting the starting job in 2019, Camargo has played in 81 games this year and has over 200 at-bats.

But again, the production at the plate just hasn’t been there.

Through August 3 he’s hitting just .223 with a .261 OBP to go along with 4 home runs.

He took over the starting duties at shortstop after Dansby Swanson went down with an injury, and things haven’t exactly gotten better.

Over that stretch, he’s 5-for-39/.128 (through Sunday) with just one extra base-hit.

And at least with what I see, it’s not like he’s in a stretch of bad luck, he just looks completely lost at the plate.

He’s going up there and taking wild swings and making weak contact.

I don’t know what the solution is for him, but at this point, he’s hurting the ball club with these at-bats.

He brings great versatility to the team, but he’s not bringing much offensively as a starter or a pinch-hitter. At this point, it might be best for him to spend some time in Triple-A where he can play every day to try and figure things out before rejoining the team in September.

I think a lot of Atlanta Braves fans are wondering why Charlie Culberson hasn’t gotten more starts. He started at shortstop for the Braves last postseason, I’m not sure why Brian Snitker just refuses to give him starts this year.

Before the trade deadline I was calling for the Atlanta Braves to get a veteran back-up for shortstop because of Dansby’s issues with injuries lately.

They didn’t do that, and now we are stuck with what we have. Which again, isn’t terrible, but it would have been nice to have another veteran.

Luis Marte has been the primary shortstop for Gwinnett this year and has hit .255 with very little power.

Sean Kazmar Jr. has played some shortstop as well and is probably the better option offensively as he gives you a little more average and power.

I love Camargo as much as the next Braves fan and want to see him get it together. But we’re in the last two months of the season — the time for figuring things out at the big league level are over.

We need players that are ready to produce, and right now that’s not Camargo.