Depth is very important over the course of a 162 game season. We just have to look at the past season to see how crucial it is to build a strong bench, actually two strong benches since in a lot of ways the AAA team is our second bench.
The disappointing seasons by Uggla and BJ Upton opened up playing time for Schafer and Pena. Both made major contributions in the first half before getting injured. Pena's injury put him out for the season and Schafer was not the same after he got back.
But the real lifesaver on our bench was Evan Gattis. With Heyward, BJ Upton, Freeman and McCann having stints on the DL (and backups Schafer, Laird and Pena also had periods on the DL), Gattis ended up hitting 21 home runs in 382 at bats. It is rare to have that kind of production from a bench player. What Gattis did last year illustrates the importance of having one or two high upside bats in reserve. Injuries and under-performances by players counted on as starters happen just about every year. You have to plan on a backup having to step up and play a major role.
How does the bench currently look? Let's start by assuming only players under contractual control are under consideration. I do this as a starting point and to illustrate the weaknesses we currently have that should be addressed by acquiring someone not currently under contractual control. I will also assume that Dan Uggla will not be part of the team in 2014.
So what kind of bench do we currently have?
Laird is the backup catcher. I believe Schafer and Reed Johnson will return as reserve outfielders. They are a good lefty-righty duo who can fill in at all three outfield positions. That leaves room for two, one of which needs to be an infielder who can back up Simmons at short.
With the players currently under control, it looks like La Stella, Pena, Pastornicky, Elliot Johnson and Janish will compete for the second base job and the two remaining reserve spots. I think the first three have a leg up over Johnson and Janish and as things currently stand would be the ones on the team at the end of spring training. Pena is a decent shortstop and Pastornicky can play there too though he would be a below average defender. So we would be covered defensively in terms of having a backup shortstop.
My main concern with this scenario is the lack of a power bat on the bench and the lack of a player with significant upside who can give us some real production if he gets 400 or so at bats.
Let's look at the second bench in AAA to see if there is someone who can provide that sort of contribution. There are actually two players likely to be in Gwinnett that have shown some power. Terdoslavich and Mejia. Joey T's power disappeared at the major league level after hitting 18 home runs in Gwinnett. I'm not overly alarmed by that because he seems to be a player who needs a little time to adjust to each new level. I think once he gets back to the majors we'll see more power out of him, though not the type he showed in Gwinnett. Mejia is less likely to make a contribution at the ML level for three reasons. One is age (he will be 28 next year). Another is he has a long swing with a lot of swing and miss to it. That will be even more problematic at the major league level. Finally, he can only play first. The only scenario I could see him helping in is if Freeman went down and even then he would probably be second choice after Terdoslavich.
If La Stella and Pastornicky make the major league team, we will not have much infield depth in Gwinnett. Outfield depth looks better. In addition to Terdoslavich, Cunningham and Constanza (I think he has one more option) will be in the Gwinnett outfield.
Bethancourt will likely start the season in Gwinnett at catcher. I know he showed some improvement with the bat in his second AA season, but imo his bat is not ready for the majors and he would really benefit from spending at least half a season in AAA. He is obviously a good guy to have as an option to call up later in the season from Gwinnett.
So what is the bottom line? I think we really need to get a player whose acquisition would have the effect of giving us more punch on the bench. This would push one of Pastornicky or La Stella to AAA, but imo that would be a good thing given the very thin situation when it comes to infielders for our "second bench" in AAA.
The player we acquire might be a starter or reserve. If he is a starter, he could contribute to the bench by pushing a stronger bat to the bench. For example if we get a starting second baseman, La Stella might be a bench player and he would probably be our best hitter coming off the bench. Another possibility is signing McCann, which would allow Gattis to reprise his 2013 role. Or we could simply sign someone with a good track record hitting off the bench. In recent years, we've seen teams fill their bench with some guys who used to be regulars but due to age or injury issues were no longer considered everyday players. Ibanez is an example. Eric Chavez is another. I think those kinds of players are who we should be thinking about.
It should be noted that having both Reed Johnson and Schafer on the bench means we aren't able to pick up someone who is a pure outfielder for the role discussed above. We can't go for say a Marlon Byrd. That's too many outfielders unless we don't bring Reed back (and I think it is pretty likely we will pick Reed's option up). So the candidates for adding punch to the bench have to be someone who can play at least one non-outfield position.
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