Opening day roster

[rico43]

First roster cuts of the spring:

Biddle optioned to Mississippi

Hursh optioned to Gwinnett

[Braves1976]

Oh, I forgot to mention that if no Pagan then I'd like to see Lane Adams allowed a shot to grab that an OF spot along with Boni and Johnson currently getting the most reps. Adams has good speed, stole 44 bases in the minors last year. He also hits right handed and can play all OF positions including CF. He could have some potential as at least a 4th outfielder IMO.

[Braves1976]

The fact people think Bonifacio is better than some of our options (he really may be) shows how desperate we are for a guy like Pagan.

True, we really don't have many options this year for the bench in general including back-up CF/OF. Boni and Lane Adams are the only two I would even consider besides Peterson occasionally. Micah Johnson is a lefty bat and an infielder trying to learn CF on the fly and looks bad out there to me. Peterson is an option but not ideal also being a lefty bat (I want a righty bat or switch hitter to back-up Inciarte since he's a lefty). That said, I'd have no issue having a lefty bat back-up CF if he hit lefties well. But that isn't Johnson or Peterson and while Boni does that well most years that is about all he brings besides speed off the bench.

[50PoundHead]

I don't have trouble with Bonifacio if he's the 25th guy. Can play just about anywhere and is still a decent baserunner. Granted, he's a Swiss Army knife, so if you're looking for a jackhammer, he's not your guy. I have no preference between Bonifacio and D'Arnaud. I can't see what the hang-up is on offering Pagan a major league deal. Still probably need another RHH for the bench. This is where Sean Rodriguez is missed.

As long as we're committed to having an 8-man bullpen, it's going to be a scramble on the bench.

[Southcack77]

Logically this would make sense on possible performance. But the Braves have money and irrational hopes invested in Neck and Kemp. They are going to play if they are healthy.

I wouldn't mind the Braves picking him up, but its not exactly going to put the over the top in the division race or have any effect at all in their long term plans unless they were able to flip him for something useful. So, a one year deal for a decent OF to fill a hole who you might be able to flip sounds good to me, but not sure what the opportunity costs would be for his payroll dollars.

[Enscheff]

I don't understand the 8 man BP. How many other NL teams use one? Why bring in 3 vets to add "stability" to the rotation if they still feel the need for 8 BP arms? Are they planning on allowing Snitker to play every game like it's a Game 7 this year too? Why severely limit the team to 3 bench players (the backup catcher will never PH) just so Snitker can make 8 pitching changes in a single game?

If the BP is getting worn out, that's what the AAAA pitchers stashed in AAA are for.

But hey, Coppy is a genius, so I'm sure it's fine.

[DirkPiggler]

I don't understand the 8 man BP. How many other NL teams use one? Why bring in 3 vets to add "stability" to the rotation if they still feel the need for 8 BP arms? Are they planning on allowing Snitker to play every game like it's a Game 7 this year too? Why severely limit the team to 3 bench players (the backup catcher will never PH) just so Snitker can make 8 pitching changes in a single game?

If the BP is getting worn out, that's what the AAAA pitchers stashed in AAA are for.

But hey, Coppy is a genius, so I'm sure it's fine.

It hasn't been all that long since a twelve man bullpen was considered extreme.

If MLB wants to shorten games, limiting rosters to no more than eleven pitchers would be a good place to start.

[50PoundHead]

I don't understand the 8 man BP. How many other NL teams use one? Why bring in 3 vets to add "stability" to the rotation if they still feel the need for 8 BP arms? Are they planning on allowing Snitker to play every game like it's a Game 7 this year too? Why severely limit the team to 3 bench players (the backup catcher will never PH) just so Snitker can make 8 pitching changes in a single game?

If the BP is getting worn out, that's what the AAAA pitchers stashed in AAA are for.

But hey, Coppy is a genius, so I'm sure it's fine.

I think it has less to do with Coppolella and more to do with Gonzalez' and Snitker's tendency to overuse the bullpen.

[50PoundHead]

It hasn't been all that long since a twelve man bullpen was considered extreme.

If MLB wants to shorten games, limiting rosters to no more than eleven pitchers would be a good place to start.

Look back to the 1960s when having more than 10 pitchers was extremely rare.

[Southcack77]

I think it has less to do with Coppolella and more to do with Gonzalez' and Snitker's tendency to overuse the bullpen.

Having chosen Snitker, they should let him have his roster.

[Horsehide Harry]

Having chosen Snitker, they should let him have his roster.

Maybe those chose Snitker so they didn't have to let him have his roster.

[rico43]

FYI: All spring roster moves are on pinned thread. This one is for speculation, like we've been doing. Carry on.

[Southcack77]

Maybe those chose Snitker so they didn't have to let him have his roster.

Why would the front office have a strong opinion on carrying an extra bullpen arm?

[Horsehide Harry]

Why would the front office have a strong opinion on carrying an extra bullpen arm?

Depends on strategy and tactics.

Tactics IF they actually want to win, carry the extra pen arm to pull the geriatrics, cripples and babies early enough in games before they implode.

Strategy in that Colon with a 3.5 era averaging 5 innings is more valuable in trade than Colon with a 5.5 era averaging 6.1 innings. Also, pen trade chips are valuable (Cervenka, etc.) and you don't want your manager ruining any who may have a long term future as a Brave (Krol or Paco with 50 appearance before the break for example).

But you can't have 8 in the pen where 4 never warm up or get into games.