Atlanta Braves could get their dream lineup for MLB restart
Back in February, we were wondering how the Atlanta Braves could get their best bats in the lineup simultaneously. It could happen.
The ideas for experimenting with baseball are back again, but one of them might give the Atlanta Braves the kind of lineup they would need to compete well against the teams of the East. All of the teams of the East, that is.
It’s the Designated Hitter.
I know. I hate it, I believe it’s a spawn from the devil himself, and I’d rather watch Lifetime Channel re-runs for a week solid than see it implemented.
But there’s a couple of reasons that the Atlanta Braves ought to be on board with the change when the topic comes up in negotiations: Johan Camargo and Austin Riley.
You might recall that they were the team’s hottest hitters back in February. You might recall that Ken Rosenthal suggested a substantial increase in roster sizes is coming. Having a universal DH is one key way to keep all of those players active, and indeed there are those reporting that the MLB will have such a proposal in their plan to present to the players this week.
So suddenly this glut of outfielders the Atlanta Braves have on their roster is starting to look like a genius move:
- Ronald Acuna – RHH
- Adam Duvall – RHH
- Ender Inciarte – LHH
- Nick Markakis – LHH
- Marcel Ozuna – RHH
- Austin Riley – RHH
It might be a touch RH-heavy for the bench (which means Markakis could see a lot of ABs), but if you need an extra bat to function as the DH… Riley is probably your first choice against most pitching with Markakis subbing in against tough right-handers.
So here’s a possible lineup:
- Acuna – RHH
- Albies – SWH
- Freeman – LHH
- Riley – RHH
- Camargo – SWH
- Ozuna – RHH
- d’Arnaud/Flowers – RH
- Inciarte – LH
- Swanson – RH
That’s not bad. It also puts the Braves in the position of having their better defenders on the field more often without compromise while still having strong bats on the bench.
Need a late replacement elsewhere? In the infield there’s still the likelihood of having both Adeiny Hechavarria and/or Charlie Culberson available – which accounts for 14 position players. Culberson also would serve as the emergency catcher in the event that a 15th position player (Alex Jackson?) can’t be maintained on the regular roster.
We know you know all these names – but after 2 months of missing baseball, we figure a gentle reminder might be in order.
Next. Let's get this plan together. dark
In any case, if and when the National League is dragged into this DH rule, know this: the Atlanta Braves are already thinking ‘bring it on’.