Veteran Non-Roster Invitee a Potential DH Solution for Braves

The Atlanta Braves have an option with them in spring training, who could provide a boost to the lineup in certain situations

The Braves have a veteran bat in-house who could platoon well in certain spot | Tim Vizer-Imagn Images

The loss of Jurickson Profar has left a gap in the Atlanta Braves' platoon plans. They have options such as Eli White to cover for when a lefty is on the mound, but they have to figure out the plan for their matchups against righties.

Mike Yastrzemski hits right-handers well, and that's why he was brought in, but he was going to platoon in those situations with Profar. The Braves were headed toward mainly using Yastrzemski in left field and Profar as the DH in these situations.

They have a veteran bat on the spring training roster who could make a case for a spot on the 40-man: Dominic James. He brings respectable numbers to the table in his career against right-handers, batting .250 with a .731 OPS and 60 of his 69 career home runs.

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In case manager Walt Weiss wants to get Yastrzemski off his feet, but still have his bat in the lineup, Smith has significant playing time in the outfield. He has played 175 games at left field, along with a couple of games at right field.

With Pete Alonso at first base, he saw the bulk of his action during his Mets tenure in left field. Since then, he's primarily been back at first. However, with Matt Olson having the only active Iron Man streak longer than Alonso's, Smith isn't seeing first base unless it's the late innings during a blowout. Just to add one more note, this situation happened fives time last season out of 162 games.

Would it be wise for the Braves to see what external help could be brought in? Of course. They have the extra money, and they should put it to good use. However, they have an in-house option that makes more sense than some external options.

I get the desire to bring in Andrew McCutchen, who has signed with the Rangers, just FYI, but he would have been another bat that hits lefties well. He would have been a bridge option for the DH spot while other options are on the mend.

Even after key players get healthy, Smith would still have a role. Sean Murphy crushes left-handed pitching, but he struggles against right-handers. Having Murphy start at catcher against righties because of his defense is one thing, but it won't make sense to have him DH.

Smith can DH when Drake Baldwin is the starting catcher, and then Baldwin can shift to the DH role when the Braves opt to have Murphy catch. When it's a lefty, both catchers are in the lineup, and Eli White (or some other potential option) is in the outfield instead of either Yastrzemski or Smith.

Smith still has to earn his spot with a solid performance the rest of spring training, but there is a potential solution here.