There was a few months or the Braves that seemed like a regular starter was getting hurt once a week. Two of the biggest losses were Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley. Riley was sidelined for 2 weeks in May and then for the rest of the season starting August 19th. Albies followed suit and was out for 10 days in May and then 2 months in the latter parts of the season. The Braves needed help and with the trade deadline so far away, the Braves needed help and needed it immediately.
Whit Merrifield had just been released by the Phillies for poor performance and the Braves, in need of a warm body, picked Whit up. Whit immediately followed suit by getting hurt in warmups before his first game, cutting his hand and had to be sewn up. He missed 2 weeks. When that IL stint was over, injury struck again and Whit fouled a ball off his foot, breaking a bone, and it looked like he’d be out for the year. However, luck was finally on the Braves side and it was an injury he could play through as long as he could tolerate the pain. From my perspective, he never acted hurt and he was one of the best players on the team for the next month.
Unfortunately, luck didn’t win out and Whit was atrocious down the stretch. After going 5-5 against the Twins, Whit slumped the rest of the season, carrying a .401 OPS in 63 PAs. He finished his Braves year out with a .683 OPS, which is perfectly serviceable for a replacement player.
Whit is a free agent and is a highly respected player across MLB. He also stated that he’d love to continue playing for Atlanta, and I do think that could be a possibility should the Braves want a player with positional flexibility (man, I sure do miss Martin Prado).
Wouldn’t hate having him back, but it would need to be at a team friendly deal with the knowledge that he was a utility, not a starter (fingers crossed). Most veterans don’t want that role on a Snitker managed team, (or they can’t actually handle it once it becomes clear that it’s almost entirely sitting on the bench waiting for an injury), so I really don’t expect him back.
I’m a lot less interested in Merrifield as a backup infielder given that he can’t back up shortstop. And after all, I want Arcia to become a backup infielder while we focus on getting a guy who can hit his weight.
Luisangel Acuña’s value is artificially high right now, and the Mutts probably wouldn’t trade him within the division, but I think he’d be a good target – last year notwithstanding, he’s not a terrific hitter, but I’m sure he’d love playing with his brother, and the Mets won’t have an opening for a shortstop for many many years. I think he’d be worth more to us than he would be to them.
I don’t know if AA can pull it off, but we may have a chance to sign Ha-Seong Kim on a 1 year deal. If that would work out, we could let Arcia start the year and move him to backup if he performs as expected. From a defensive standpoint Kim seems to be exactly what AA is looking for. I know several teams are targeting Kim, but I think we have a chance if his shoulder injury is slightly worse than expected, he can’t start the season until May or June, and he wants a 1 year contract to restore his value.
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