Time for Atlanta Braves to Explore Other Options in Left Field
During the offseason, left field felt like an area of weakness for the Atlanta Braves but with $27 million tied up to Eddie Rosario and Marcell Ozuna they chose to hope one of them would fill the role.
Two months through the 2023 season and the Atlanta Braves' left field position ranks as one of the worst in baseball.
Eddie Rosario is the main contributor to that reality having started 34 of the team's 54 games.
The hope for Rosario to bounce back after eye surgery was understandable. But in 168 plate appearances this season he's looked more like the Rosario we saw with the eye issues in 2022 slashing just .238/.258/.406 with a 25% strikeout rate and a 75 wRC+.
He's making a lot more hard contact this year, but his .295 BABIP and .249 xBA would tell you he hasn't been all that unlucky.
Eddie has never been a big OBP guy, but one thing you could count on was that he would put the ball in play.
Now that he's not doing that either, there just isn't a lot he can bring to the table offensively on a consistent basis.
Other Options for Left Field
At the top, I mentioned the big money given to Ozuna, and while the defense isn't great, if he continues to produce at the plate as he has in May it might be time to give him another crack in left field.
This would then open up the possibility to use Sean Murphy and Travis d'Arnaud at the DH spot every night.
It's not an ideal option because of the defense, but it might give you the best offensive potential in the lineup.
Another option would be to strictly use a platoon between Sam Hilliard and Kevin Pillar.
Hilliard was great filling in for an injured Michael Harris II, but that 40% strikeout rate is alarming and he hasn't looked good when getting at-bats since MH2 returned.
Pillar has been great and crushes lefties. But you wonder if that gets exposed if he starts to play every day.
And the final option would be Eli White.
Like Hilliard and Pillar, White would at least give you exceptional defense and really good speed.
White is also someone who has always hit extremely well in the minors -- as he is for Gwinnett this year -- but hasn't been able to translate that success at the big-league level.
If he were to come up and be given an opportunity, it needs to be as an everyday player and not the short side of a platoon where he might play once or twice a week.
Nick Solak is also on the 40-man roster but seems like he's behind these guys.
Forrest Wall has played well at Gwinnett his year but isn't currently on the 40-man roster and would likely still rank behind the other options listed.
We're probably still at least a month away from serious trade discussions heating up. Perhaps Alex Anthopoulos will go after a left fielder at the deadline.
But until then, this is the group the Braves are working with and those are the best options.
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