Braves sign Bautista

The upcoming decisions underscore for me the difficulty of carrying an extra pitcher. You have four bench spots and wind up deciding between Bourjos, who can't hit, and (probably) Tucker, who can't field.

I'd much rather have the fifth slot and move toward relievers going two innings. Another reason: the near daily use and warmups for single inning guys are (IMO, but more importantly in Jim Andrews') a strong contributing factor to TJ and other pitcher injuries.
 
GovClintonTyree said:
The upcoming decisions underscore for me the difficulty of carrying an extra pitcher. You have four bench spots and wind up deciding between Bourjos, who can't hit, and (probably) Tucker, who can't field.

I'd much rather have the fifth slot and move toward relievers going two innings. Another reason: the near daily use and warmups for single inning guys are (IMO, but more importantly in Jim Andrews') a strong contributing factor to TJ and other pitcher injuries.
Click to expand...

Think it’s Lane Adams, but if not it will be Bourjous I think. Depends on whether they see Acuna as a backup CF, which they probably should.

Culbertson vs Flaherty is similar maybe. Does Atlanta are Camargo as adequate backup at SS? Could impact that decision.
 
Super said:
dude follows everyone on twitter
Click to expand...

I know, but still cool. I have like 14 followers... 1 is now an Atlanta brave and 1 is a miss state basketball player. 2/14 (14.3%) of my followers are famous/semi-famous... pretty impressive rate lol
 
Interesting. It probably doesn't amount to anything, but it's worth the risk.

I'd have Rio playing some 1B as well in the mean time.
 
bravesfanforlife88 said:
Bourjos only adds speed which we have enough of in lane Adams who also has a better bat. Bourjos is gone
Click to expand...

Bourjous is better defender and is capable of playing CF and RF without being a disaster. That’s why he is on the team to begin with.

Adams hasn’t been much of a defender and probably isn’t much of a hitter despite last season. .

Given AA taking about defense as being important and given the fourth OF likely being Tucker, Bourjous is still very much in play I would think. Believe his contract may influence things as well.
 
JxnMissFan said:
I think this move is a signal the FO believes Flaherty and Ticker will start playing like Flaherty and Tucker again.
Whenever you think the Braves have a chance at the WC remember these 6 names so you will come back to your senses.
1. Flaherty
2. Tucker
3. Perez
4. Culberson
5. Bourjos
6. Adams
Click to expand...

Not sure any of those names were ever "considered" to be anything other than placeholders...

1.) Flaherty was signed when Camargo went down - the other option was playing Ruiz everyday until Johan came back.
2.) Tucker was signed to help help hold down LF with Adams until Acuna comes up (as others pointed out).
3.) Perez was added when Flowers went down - I've always been a bit confused with his addition like most everyone. A little pop, but nothing special on defense. Hard to disagree with those who've said they'd have been just as happy with Stewart's defense.
4.) Culberson was likely included in the Kemp trade because they probably knew they were going to use Camargo at 3B (before passing on the free-agent options and his injury) and they didn't have another utility guy. Christian Colon can't play SS and Kazmar can - rather have one of them?
5 and 6.) Bourjos was questionable as well since he doesn't seem to bring anything to the table that Adams doesn't - maybe adding him tells us what they think of Lane more than anything. Somebody had to be Ender's backup until Acuna's added.

Tucker and Flaherty have been pleasant surprises for the short period, and that's great - but I don't think anybody ever looked at either as a season-long answer to anything. I'm a Tucker fan and think his bat is still a little interesting, but I've never disagreed with anyone who doesn't think he has a chance to be an everyday player. Given the other available options and the fact that it appears AA's punting one more year I don't see the harm in giving him a look since we don't have anyone cheap who profiles better. Maybe something has or will click before the end of the season (albeit unlikely), but I certainly like him better than Adams or Bourjos and would prefer he gets ABs that would go to them otherwise. The same with Camargo - I don't think he's an everyday guy anywhere, but his power spike is intriguing and I think he'd be a great utility guy to help keep Ozzie and Dansby fresh in the long run.

Just like several others have said - the team's best players are going to have to keep performing, Acuna's going to have to be a difference-maker from the word go, and the Pitchers are going to have to outperform expectations for the Braves to be a wildcard contender in 2018, but stranger things have happened.
 
Brain trust at TC talking about this like it's anything other than AA tossing one of his former guys a bone.

If anyone actually thought he could still hit he wouldn't be signing a minor league deal in mid-April. Absolute best case scenario is he takes up a few DH PAs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top