The turnaround of Adeiny Hechavarría with Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves acquiring Adeiny Hechavarría last season was a surprise, but one that turned out pretty pleasant.

Adeiny Hechavarría began the 2019 season with the New York Mets but ended up signing a one-year Major League contract with the Atlanta Braves on August 16th, 2019.

The Mets released Hechavarría last August on waivers after hitting only .204/.252/.359 and not producing much for their defense at shortstop. He had a -.02 WAR in 60 games.

But if you look up turnaround in the dictionary, you may just find a picture of Hechavarría after coming to the Braves.

The Braves were in need of a shortstop with the infamous bruised heel of Dansby Swanson taking over a month to recover and the lack of production from backup Johan Camargo.

With the help of infield instructor Ron Washington and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, Hechavarría was able to better his hitting and solve fielding issues,+

which caused his release.

He was able to improve to a .328/.400/.639 slash line with the Braves and acquired a 1.1 WAR in only 24 games.

His 2019 audition with the Braves went pretty well, which is why they signed him to another one-year contract for $1 million this January.

So what should we expect from Hechavarría this coming season?

With Swanson back and the third base competition pretty much narrowed down to Camargo and Austin Riley, I expect Hechavarría is a strong backup coming off the bench.

Defense is his specialty, but if the improvement of his batting stats carries into the 2020 season, he would not only be a great defensive replacement but pinch hitter as well.

His ability to play backup at multiple positions in the infield is what makes me believe he’ll stick as a key bench piece. Heck, he’ll probably even get more starts than one would think with the fact he can play second, third, or shortstop.

I don’t think the big question surrounding Hechavarría this season is how he’ll play, per say. We have all seen his ability when surrounded by the right coaches and teammates. The expectation is that he can play to that same level this season.

The bigger question with Hechavarría is how often he’ll be expected to produce.

Most projection sites have him playing in around 1/3 of the games this season, but I say that number may seem low if you’re accounting for all the pinch-hitting and late-inning defensive replacing he will likely do.

Since he has proven himself in the eyes of Braves coaches, he is a valuable piece to use in later innings.

He’s also the only shortstop or second base backup other than Camargo on the active roster – subject to change in the regular season, of course – which means he’ll likely be the one used to start when Swanson or Ozzie Albies need a rest day.

I see Hechavarría being productive as a bench player for the Braves in 2020. We obviously won’t truly know Brian Snitker’s plan for him off the bench until the season begins, but with what he proved in the second half of last season, things are looking bright for him.