Well…we went from 40 to 50 and now, 60. Holy smokes, that’s a lot of players. Today’s piece, “Building a Braves 60-Man Roster”, will take a look at the 30 guys that I think will likely be the people breaking camp with the Braves, and then the 30 extra that will make up the taxi squad.

While it’s been over a month since I wrote this piece, I think it still holds up and my 30-man hasn’t changed. Here’s list:

Building a Braves 60-Man Roster: The First 30

POSITION PLAYERS

  1. Travis d’Arnaud
  2. Freddie Freeman
  3. Ozzie Albies
  4. Dansby Swanson
  5. Austin Riley
  6. Marcell Ozuna
  7. Ender Inciarte
  8. Ronald Acuña Jr.
  9. Nick Markakis
  10. Adam Duvall
  11. Adeiny Hechavarria
  12. Tyler Flowers
  13. Johan Camargo
  14. Charlie Culberson

THE PITCHING

  1. Mike Soroka
  2. Cole Hamels
  3. Mike Foltynewicz
  4. Max Fried
  5. Mark Melancon
  6. Will Smith
  7. Shane Greene
  8. Chris Martin
  9. Luke Jackson
  10. Darren O’Day
  11. Sean Newcomb
  12. Felix Hernandez
  13. Kyle Wright
  14. Patrick Weigel
  15. Phil Pfeifer
  16. Tyler Matzek

Breakdown: I still feel like the Braves could really use a LH bench bat, but the job is Culberson’s to lose for now. He’ll likely have to rework his contract to provide Braves opportunity remove him from the active roster without losing him. Today’s the day when the free agent freeze comes up, and I have little doubt the Braves will try to invite to camp (or sign very rapidly) another LH hitter like Ben Zobrist or Scooter Gennett.

Building a Braves 60-Man Roster: The Next 20

I’d already laid out a 50-man squad back in May, so I’ll keep the 20 I’d listed previously. Here they are:

  1. Alex Jackson
  2. Ian Anderson
  3. William Contreras
  4. Tucker Davidson
  5. Jasseel De La Cruz
  6. A.J. Minter
  7. Chad Sobotka
  8. Touki Toussaint
  9. Jacob Webb
  10. Bryse Wilson
  11. Cristian Pache
  12. Huascar Ynoa
  13. Chris Nunn
  14. Chris Rusin
  15. Shea Langeliers
  16. Rafael Ortega
  17. Yonder Alonso
  18. Josh Tomlin
  19. Peter O’Brien
  20. Riley Unroe

Breakdown

This list includes the rest of the 40-man and several non-roster invitees in Ian Anderson, Chris Nunn, Chris Rusin, Shea Langeliers, Rafael Ortega, Yonder Alonso, Josh Tomlin, Peter O’Brien, and Riley Unroe. It’s also worth noting that these lists assume the above NRI’s that were brought in from outside the org do not have opt-outs, of which I’m sure some do.

Chad Sobotka and Jacob Webb are listed here, but I’m not sure they break camp on the 40-man. Grant Dayton has been intentionally left off this list as I think he’s DFA’d fairly soon.

Building a Braves 60-Man Roster: The Final 10

This is where it gets interesting. Do the Braves stock their last 10 of the taxi squad with on the cusp prospects? Maybe. Or do they invite a bunch of veterans to camp, see if they stick on the squad. I think both. And while I expect news to come soon that might change this list, this is my first guess:

  1. Drew Waters
  2. Yangervis Solarte
  3. Kyle Muller
  4. Trey Harris
  5. Braden Shewmake
  6. Pete Kozma
  7. CJ Alexander
  8. Thomas Burrows
  9. Bryce Ball
  10. Justin Dean

Breakdown

I feel like the Braves will keep a veteran SS on the taxi squad in case of a Dansby injury, and Kozma fits that category. Solarte has value in that he can play a few positions and he’s possessed a good stick in the past (remember, he’s also coming off some serious hardships as his wife past away from cancer so his head might’ve been the cause for a skillset collapse). The rest are a bit self-explanatory. Some eyes might pop seeing Bryce Ball’s name on this list, however he’s soon to be 22 and if the Braves want his bat sometime in 2021, he’s going to have to see some good pitching this year, even if it’s intrasquad games. Justin Dean might be a stretch here, as he only played in Rome last year, but he’s a real speed threat and could be a postseason weapon as the 26th man on the roster.

Let it be known that this 60 man squad has 20 of Braves Journal’s Top 30 prospects and that feels about the right amount. There’s justification for carrying more on the prospect list including fresh draftees, over some of the veterans and that will likely happen as some of the NRIs will be released or purchased by other teams. That’s why this is a first draft!

Final Thoughts

With the roster going from 30 to 26 in a matter of weeks, it’s going to be very important for all GMs to have some real flexibility within their 30 and taxi squad. However, from what we know now, that flexibility stops at 40 men. This might be another reason we see some DFA’s and/or a trade (or 2) before the season starts, to provide extra flexibility to test out other depth.

Thanks for reading “Building a Braves 60-Man Roster”. Check out all of our offseason analysis here and our Braves Journal prospect lists here.