When the Braves opened their Grapefruit League-season with a 9-7 loss to the Rays in Port Charlotte, Florida, on Sunday, they took another step in the always interesting process of putting together an Opening Day roster.
Here are the top five questions the Braves will face during the remainder of Spring Training:
Will Cristian Pache start the season as the starting midfielder?
Recently examining the reactions to the late Hank Aaron’s first home run, I found a few newspaper articles stating that Braves manager Charlie Grimm still planned to put Aaron back on the bench when Bill Bruton returned from an injury in April 1954 .
That never happened. But this story reminds us that players much taller than Pache had to prove themselves before entrenching themselves in a Major League line-up.
Pache’s big league-experience consisted of four at bats before he was forced to become an everyday player in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. That’s a fairly small sample size. But when he went 4-for-22 with a homer and a double during that tense week against the Dodgers, 22-year-old Pache – baseball’s number 12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline – created reason to believe he would be a better option than Ender Inciarte in midfield.
Braves manager Brian Snitker has said he doesn’t describe his midfield situation as a position fight between Inciarte and Pache. That is understandable. There is no reason to unnecessarily pressure Pache. There is also no reason to upset Inciarte, who will make $ 8 million in the last year of his contract.
Spring Training is not the best environment for making decisions that can have long-term consequences. But if Pache’s performance in the coming weeks complements what was seen at the NLCS, then I think the club would be happy if he served as the central fielder on opening day.
That said, the Braves need to be prepared for the possibility that Pache will need more time in the Minor Leagues. Ronald Acuña Jr. will see some time in center this spring and Inciarte will be prepared for the opportunity to open another season as Atlanta’s starting centerfielder.
Nobody expects Inciarte to be the midfielder for an entire season. But if he’s used in that role for another month or two improves what Pache could offer in the years to come, wouldn’t that at least be a sensible fallback option?
When will Mike Soroka join the Atlanta rotation?
The good news is, Snitker has said Soroka is right on time with everything Atlanta is going through with him. The bad news is that this really doesn’t mean anything to us, as the Braves haven’t revealed their timetable for their talented 23-year-old pitcher, coming back from a ruptured Achilles right tendon.
Soroka has had no more setbacks since he started throwing a mound regularly just over a month ago. Also, for the past week, he has had no problems doing running exercises every other day. But there should still be no need to rush.
With the off-season additions of right-handed Charlie Morton and left-wing Drew Smyly, the Braves have plenty of pitching depth. At the same time, they will have to monitor the workload of all their starters as they try to play a full season of 162 games after a shortened 2020.
Yes, the NL East is arguably the strongest division in the game. But it makes sense to let Soroka skip four or five starts if that makes him that much more durable and effective during the last four or five months of the season.
So I think Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson or possibly even Huascar Ynoa could skillfully fill that rotational spot while Soroka spends most of April or the entire month of April making sure his legs and body are ready for the long haul of this year.
Who will start the season as a backup catcher?
William Contreras was the most improved player in the organization last year. He made great progress while training with his All-Star brother, Cubs-catcher Willson Contreras, during last year’s shutdown. But William, 23, has only played 64 games over Class A Advanced.
If the Braves don’t add a veteran in the coming weeks, they can choose to have Contreras start at Triple-A using Gwinnett and Alex Jackson as their backup. Jackson has improved defensively over the years and has tremendous raw strength. His high tech could influence his long-term status as a big league player. But he could serve in the role for at least a few months if necessary.
Who fills the latest bullpen spots?
Will Smith, Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, AJ Minter and Josh Tomlin can be potted in five of the available seats. Exactly how many vacancies remain depends on whether the Braves choose to start the season with just four starting pitchers. A few early days off gives them this opportunity.
But for now let’s assume there are only three bullpen spots available. Luke Jackson and Grant Dayton neither have options. So, barring a total collapse from either one, I’ll project that they’ll fill two of those spots. My favorite for the other place would be Carl Edwards Jr. who if he could work well with Martin to give the team at least two right-handed options for high-leverage situations.
Who fills the last bench spots?
Without the universal designated hitter, the value of pinch hitters will rise again for NL clubs. Johan Camargo, Jake Lamb, Inciarte and Jackson are top contenders for four of the five available bench spots. If Camargo proves he can still play shortstop, the Braves’ choices for that last spot would get so far as to consider carrying Jason Kipnis, who can play second base or one of the outfield vertices if necessary. .
In recent weeks, the Braves have added a number of potential fourth or fifth outfielders to their camp. But for now, I think their last bench position will be filled by a player who is currently on another team.