When Braves opened their Grapefruit League season with a 9-7 loss to Rays in Port Charlotte, Florida on Sunday, they took another step in the ever-interesting process of building a list for Opening Day.
Here are the top five questions the Braves will face in the rest of the spring training:
Will Cristian Pache start the season as a central defender?
Recently, while researching reactions to Hank Aaron’s first home run, I discovered some newspaper reports that mentioned that Braves manager Charlie Grimm was still planning to put Aaron back on the bench when Bill Bruton returned from an injury in April 1954 .
This never happened. But this story reminds us that players much bigger than Pache had to prove their worth before entrenching themselves in a Major League lineup.
Pache’s major league experience consisted of four plate appearances before he was forced to become a regular player during Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. It is a very small sample size. But while he hit 4 of 22 with a home run and a double during that week full of tension against the Dodgers, 22-year-old Pache – baseball’s No. 12 prospect, according to the MLB Pipeline – created reason to believe he would be a better option than Ender Inciarte in the central field.
Braves coach Brian Snitker said he is not describing his situation on the central pitch as a battle of position between Inciarte and Pache. This is understandable. There is no reason to put undue pressure on Pache. Nor is there any reason to stir up Inciarte, who will earn $ 8 million in the last year of his contract.
Spring training is not the best environment for making decisions that can have long-term repercussions. But if Pache’s performance in the coming weeks supports what was seen during the NLCS, then I think the club would be happy to have him as the central defender of Opening Day.
That said, Braves must be prepared for the possibility that Pache needs more time in the Minor Leagues. Ronald Acuña Jr. will have some time at the center this spring, and Inciarte will be prepared for the possibility of opening another season as Atlanta’s starting central defender.
No one imagines Inciarte to be the central defender for an entire season. But if using it in that role for another month or two increases what Pache can provide in the years to come, wouldn’t that at least be a wise alternative option?
When will Mike Soroka join the Atlanta rotation?
The good news is that Snitker said that Soroka is on time with everything Atlanta is doing to get him through. The bad news is that it doesn’t really tell us anything, as the Braves haven’t revealed the schedule for their talented 23-year-old pitcher, who is returning from a rupture in his right Achilles tendon.
Soroka has had no setbacks since he started shooting from a mound regularly, just over a month ago. He also had no problems completing running exercises every other day in the previous week. But there should still be no reason to hurry.
With the off-season additions of right-handed Charlie Morton and left-handed Drew Smyly, the Braves have a lot of shooting depth. At the same time, they will need to monitor the workload of all beginners as they try to make it through a full season of 162 games after a shortened 2020.
Yes, NL East may be the strongest division in the game. But it would apparently make sense for Soroka to skip four or five games, if that would position him to be much more durable and effective during the last four or five months of the season.
So, I’m thinking that Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson or possibly even Huascar Ynoa could occupy that rotation point while Soroka spends most or all of April making sure that his legs and body are ready for the long haul of this year.
Who will start the season as a reserve catcher?
William Contreras was the player who improved the most in the organization last year. He made great strides while training with his brother All-Star, the Cubs catcher, Willson Contreras, during last year’s stoppage. But William, 23, played only 64 games above Advanced Class A.
If the Braves don’t add a veteran in the next few weeks, they can choose to have Contreras start at Triple-A Gwinnett and use Alex Jackson as their backup. Jackson has improved defensively over the past two years and has tremendous raw power. Your high smell rate can affect your long-term status as a major league player. But it could be useful in the role for at least a few months, if necessary.
Who will fill the final bullpen slots?
Will Smith, Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, AJ Minter and Josh Tomlin can be scored in five of the available spots. Exactly how many spots are left depends on whether Braves chooses to start the season with just four starting pitchers. A few first days off offer this option.
But for now, let’s assume that there will only be three bullpen points available. Luke Jackson and Grant Dayton are out of options. So, except for a total collapse of any of them, I will project that they will fill two of those spaces. My favorite for the other place would be Carl Edwards Jr., who, if he were well, could join Martin to give the team at least two options for right-handers in situations of high leverage.
Who will fill the bank’s final vacancies?
Without the designated universal hitter, the value of the hand hitter will increase again for NL clubs. Johan Camargo, Jake Lamb, Inciarte and Jackson are the main candidates for four of the five bank vacancies available. If Camargo proves that he can still play on the shortstop, Braves’ choices for that final slot expand to the point where they can consider carrying Jason Kipnis, who can play on second base or in an outside corner if necessary.
Over the past few weeks, the Braves have added a number of possible fourth or fifth outfielders to their camp. But for now, I am thinking that the last seat on the bench will be occupied by a player who is currently on another team.