No DH Spells Opportunity for Braves Manager Walt Weiss

The Atlanta Braves aren't closing the door on bringing in a full-time DH, but their new manager likes what opportunities this current situation brings

Weiss is a fan of matchups, and he likes the flexibility that comes with no full-time DH | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

For now, the Atlanta Braves look to keep the designated hitter position open. Marcell Ozuna is still out there. His return isn't fully ruled out. Perhaps bringing in a big bat could still happen in the form of somebody else. That being said, with no DH brings opportunity for manager Walt Weiss.

"I like that freedon, to be honest with you, as a manager," Weiss said on Tuesday.

It's a chance to help other players get rest without losing their bat in the lineup. He referred to it as giving players a half-day. When they're not batting, they're not taxing their bodies in the field.

Weiss specifically mentioned the opportunity to get both Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy into the lineup together. The possibility of them rotating has come up before this offseason. However, he made it clear what he values about having them both available.

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"Using that position for Drake Baldwin, because I want to get Drake's bat in there as much as we can," Weiss said. "Drake hits right and left [-handed pitchers]. You know, he's not a platoon guy. At the same time, we got a Gold Glove-caliber defender in Murphy behind the plate. So, there's some nice freedom there."

When both are healthy, there is a strong case to have both bats in the lineup together. Baldwin's bat, especially in the clutch, earned him the Rookie of the Year honor in the National League last month. Murphy is going to, ideally, come in with a healed hip and be ready to roll like he did to start last season.

It's easy to look at the final stats at the end of the season, particularly for Murphy, and draw a conclusion on whether having his bat in the lineup makes sense. If his season outright ended in July, there would still be an injury concern, but that would be it. His OPS on July 31 was .823, and he was on a 35-home run pace over 162 games. There is merit.

That being said, due diligence wouldn't be done without addressing the benefit of a full-time DH. Weiss was, naturally, welcome to having a full-time bat at DH if it was the right guy. He just appreciates the freedom of not having one.

"But I do like the thought of it. Unless we just get some big, hairy guy that wants to DH for us every day," Weiss said.

Some players out there fit the bill of that role. No one on the Braves currently that guy, but there are those out there who do. If that option opens up, you're not going to turn it down because of the alternative.

"There's certain guys, you acquire an impact bat that fits in the full-time DH role, you're good with it. If a guy is going to impact the offense, impact the game for you, yeah, anybody raise their hand for that."

Rotating catchers is nothing new to the Braves. However, having potentially Ronald Acuña Jr., among others, rotate more is not what we're used to seeing in Atlanta. A new era means trying new things. Should they stick to this course, we'll get to see how it plays out.