The Braves have decisions to make on their bench roles for 2024

The Atlanta Braves, while being set at every starting position on the diamond, have decisions to make about their bench

Author:
Lindsay Crosby
Jan 28, 2024 12:55 PM EST

The Atlanta Braves are in a very enviable position.

With long-term contractual control of every defensive position on the roster, there's not really any decisions to be made about who starts on a daily basis for manager Brian Snitker.

Instead, the intrigue comes down to the four player bench - who gets a major league spot as a reserve and who goes to AAA Gwinnett for Opening Day? Let's look at the possibilities.

Catcher Travis d'Arnaud

Odds of making the Opening Day roster: 125%.

If there was ever an absolute lock to make the roster as a "backup", it's d'Arnaud. One of the most respected veterans in the room, Travis signed an extension last season and is beloved by virtually the entire roster.

Infielder Luis Guillorme

Sep 27, 2023; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets second baseman Luis Guillorme (13) throws the ball to first base for an out during the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. — Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Odds of making the Opening Day roster: 75%

Guillorme, who Atlanta brought in on a relatively cheap major league deal, is a versatile veteran who's played every minor league position and can even pitch in a blowout, similar to Atlanta's usage of trade deadline acquisition Nicky Lopez last season. After being non-tendered by the Mets after an injury-riddled season, Guillorme's a high floor backup option across the infield that could be a trade chip if he steps in for an injured starter and excels, and a cheap insurance policy in any other scenario.

Infielder David Fletcher

Jun 26, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop David Fletcher (22) throws Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) out at first in the eighth inning at Angel Stadium.

Odds of making the Opening Day roster: 50%

Fletcher, who was acquired from the Angels in the Evan White flip, has two years and $12.5M in salary (plus at least $1.5M in buyouts, for the first of his two option years) remaining. That salary brings something to the roster that Guillorme doesn't, however - high level experience at shortstop.

While Guillorme has filled in at shortstop in his career, with 46 games there across his six years in MLB, Fletcher's primarily played shortstop and second base in his six seasons, with almost 150 starts at SS alone.

Coincidentally, that's the two positions where Atlanta's seen injuries strike their infield, with 2B Ozzie Albies missing over 100 games across the last two seasons (mostly in 2022) and SS Orlando Arcia missing nearly almost a month with a broken wrist in 2023.

OF Forrest Wall

Sep 29, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Forrest Wall (73) steals second past Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia (2) in the seventh inning at Truist Park. — Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Odds of making the Opening Day roster: 50%

The most significant and biggest position battle on the roster as we prep for spring training, Wall wasn't the first choice for Atlanta's backup outfield spot in 2023, but he was the final holder of the job.

The Braves started with veteran outfielders Kevin Pillar and Sam Hilliard as their outfield options out of spring training, with Hilliard and Eli White getting starts in centerfield while Michael Harris II dealt with a back injury early in 2023.

White was quickly demoted to the minors on Harris's return, while Hilliard later went on the IL with a foot injury that would end up ending his season and tenure with the team. Wall came up in mid-July, eventually making his debut less than a week later and remaining on the major league roster for the postseason.

But Wall didn't actually play that much, only making two starts and getting a total of fifteen plate appearances across the 2023 season. Instead, he was mostly used as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner, and that relative inexperience combined with his lack of minor league dominance (career .272/.352/.402 across 825 MiLB games, with 779 strikeouts) begs the question of if Atlanta will prefer a more experienced option to man the bench behind the everyday starting trio of Ronald Acuña Jr, Michael Harris II, and Jarred Kelenic.

OF J.P. Martínez

Sep 2, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder J.P. Martinez (50) runs to third base in the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Globe Life Field. — Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Odds of making the Opening Day roster: 25%

Which brings us to Martínez, who was acquired over the weekend from the Texas Rangers. He's not much more experienced than Wall, with only forty major league plate appearances, but his acquisition is a sign that Atlanta's not entirely comfortable with standing pat with just Wall as the primary option going into Grapefruit League action next month.

There's always a possibility that Atlanta reunites with Kevin Pillar - let's call it 10% - but given his surprising performance last season and his seemingly finality with the Braves after the season, it's probably safe to assume the outfielder is looking for a larger role than bench bat behind the everyday starter in Kelenic.

INF/OF Leury García

Mar 19, 2023; Peoria, Arizona, USA; Chicago White Sox infielder Leury Garcia (28) throws to first in the second inning against the Seattle Mariners during a spring training game at Peoria Sports Complex. — Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

Odds of making the Opening Day roster: 5%

The veteran García, who spent a decade in Chicago with the White Sox, has played literally position on the diamond but first base and catcher. While not an accomplished offensive performer - his career slashline is .253/.293/.350 with 34 total homers in over 700 career games - he'd represent more defensive versatility than David Fletcher and could give the Braves a different profile from the end of the bench, if they chose to go that direction.

INF/OF Luke Williams

Sep 20, 2023; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs (21) tags out Atlanta Braves pinch runner Luke Williams (67) preventing the game winning run during the ninth inning at Truist Park. — Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Odds of making the Opening Day roster: 15%

Williams, who was promoted from AAA Gwinnett on August 15th and made a start at third base after Atlanta clinched the division, isn't very accomplished in his three year MLB tenure, with a career .225 average and only 2 homers in 148 games.

But, similar to Garcia, he's played virtually every defensive position but catcher, even pitching an inning for the Dodgers earlier last season, and has the added bonus of having actually spent time in Atlanta's clubhouse last year, a potential tiebreaking factor for an organization that so highly values fit and chemistry on their roster.

INF Andrew Velazquez

Aug 23, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrew Velazquez (4) throws to first base against the Cincinnati Reds during the fifth inning at Angel Stadium. — Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Odds of making the Opening Day roster: 5%

Velazquez was grabbed off waivers by the Braves in September last season and re-signed to a minor league deal after the season. Similar to Fletcher, another former Angels infielder, Velazquez has spent a majority of his major league time at shortstop, with 223 of his career 269 games at the position.

But unlike Fletcher, Velazquez's struggled offensively in his career, with a career .189 batting average across his six year career and only 12 homers, nine of which came in a 125 game stint with the Angels last season. It's part of the reason he's bounced around the league so much, with the 29 year-old having already being on his 6th organization since debuting in 2018.

OF Jordan Luplow

Aug 24, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins left fielder Jordan Luplow (16) catches a fly ball against the Texas Rangers in the second inning at Target Field. — Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Odds of making the Opening Day roster: 5%

The 30 year-old Luplow, who Atlanta liked enough to sign to a minor league deal last winter, never actually got into any games for the Braves after being DFA'd in early April and subsequently spending time with the Toronto Blue Jays and then the Minnesota Twins, playing a combined 39 games for those two teams last season.

On the one hand, it's a good sign that multiple teams felt he was valuable enough to use a waiver claim on him and stick him onto the major league roster.

On the other hand, Liplow didn't actually perform that well last season, batting only .208 for Minnesota and Toronto and both teams moving on from him during the season. But he has 286 games of major league experience in the outfield, as well as some limited time at first base, something that Atlanta doesn't really have on the roster (unless you count Travis d'Arnaud's 16 starts for Tampa Bay in 2019 and Marcell Ozuna working at first during squad games prior to the NLDS).

Pre-Spring Training bench prediction

Barring any other free agent signings between now and Grapefruit League action - which is possible, as the 40-man roster is currently at only 37 players and you'll gain several spots when injured pitchers go back onto the 60-day injured list - here's how it might shake out:

Braves four-man bench:

C Travis d'Arnaud
OF Forrest Wall
INF Luis Guillorme
INF David Fletcher

d'Arnaud gives you a backup catcher (and potential emergency first base option, although Austin Riley could move over there as well), while Fletcher covers shortstop, Guillorme covers second and third, and Wall is your designated pinch runner and defensive replacement for the outfield.

If anyone outside of these four get a spot, I could see either Luplow or Martínez supplanting Wall, with an outside shot that García supplants Fletcher if the team's comfortable with his ability to still cover short as he enters his age 33 season.