Atlanta Braves: Could Travis Demeritte Play a Bench Role in 2022?

While the Atlanta Braves will likely use multiple bench options throughout the 2022 season, is one of those options already on the roster?

Looking back at the Atlanta Braves rebuild, one of the more-intriguing moves the club made came back in July of 2016 when the Braves acquired second baseman Travis Demeritte from the Texas Rangers.

A former first round pick by Texas in 2013, Demeritte was rated as the Rangers No. 21 prospect at the time, and was coming-off a phenomenal 2016 season in High-A that included 25 home runs and a .935 OPS across 88 games.

Joining what was a loaded Braves farm system that was among the tops in baseball at the time, Demeritte entered Atlanta’s system as the club’s No. 10 prospect. Working his way up through the minor leagues, Demeritte posted a phenomenal 2019 season in Triple-A, but was traded to Detroit at the 2019 deadline in the deal that sent Shane Greene to Atlanta.

Demeritte would go-on to appear in 66 games at the big league level with the Tigers during the 2019 and 2020 seasons where he slashed a combined .217/.284/.323. Rejoining the Braves organization last-February, Demeritte enjoyed a strong 2021 season with Triple-A Gwinnett, and is now on the verge of returning to the major leagues in 2022.

Could Travis Demeritte play a bench role with the Atlanta Braves in 2022?

When looking at which players currently in the Braves organization that could play key bench roles for Atlanta during the 2022 season, there are few who stick-out more than Demeritte.

While spending the early-part of his career at second base, Demeritte has transitioned in recent years to the outfield where he spent a majority of the 2021 season in right field. A strong fielder and power-hitter, Demeritte could provide many different impacts for the Braves next season across the months of April and May in-particular, even potentially seeing a starting role until starter Ronald Acuna Jr returns.

While potentially calling-up one of the Braves top prospects to serve a bench role for the early-part of the 2022 season is arguably the more-intriguing option, using Demeritte would allow Atlanta some extra-time for those prospects to develop, while also using a bench option who already has major league experience, and is already on the 40-man roster.

No, Demeritte wouldn’t likely post a .939 OPS with 21 home runs at the big league level similar to what he did in Gwinnett this past season. What he would do however is provide a power-bat off the bench who can step-in and potentially start for the Atlanta Braves in right field until Acuna returns in either late-April or May.