EL CAJON, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 15: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Embalmer and funeral director Kristy Oliver (R) and funeral attendant Sam Deras load the casket of a person who died after contracting COVID-19 into a hearse at East County Mortuary on January 15, 2021 in El Cajon, California. The mortuary on average was handling about 50 decedents per month but owner Robert Zakar believes they may process closer to 100 in January as California continues to see a spike in coronavirus deaths. The mortuary holds the bodies of those who pass away due to COVID-19 for a minimum of three days before they are processed along with various other COVID-related safety measures. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
With Marcell Ozuna, the designated hitter, expected to play nearly every day and Sean Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud as their backstop combination, the Atlanta Braves appear to have a solid starting nine in place.
However, Bleacher Report claims that’s the Braves’ main issue.
According to author Kerry Miller’s article “Biggest Problems for World Series Hopefuls,” Atlanta’s current major problem is a lack of positional depth.
We’ve spoken about this topic extensively, but Miller explains how inexperienced Atlanta’s bench is right now.
With the exception of the combo of Travis d’Arnaud and Sean Murphy at catcher, Atlanta’s 40-man roster consists of just three bench players: utility infielder Luis Guillorme (who was non-tendered by the Mets), pinch runner Forrest Wall, and outfielder J.P. Martínez, who was just acquired via trade. The latter two have made 59 plate appearances in their major league careers combined.
Jarred Kelenic has never appeared in more than 105 games in a season in his career, so not having superior backup plans in place would be a risk that is far too great.
To begin with, Kelenic’s shorter seasons aren’t the result of his propensity for injuries; in 2021 and 2022, he was optioned to the minors, and in 2023, he missed time due to a stupid injury (kicking a cooler), which he claims he has learned from.
However, excluding Luis Guillorme’s 823 plate appearances from the conversation about bench experience seems like a dishonest framing decision, and limiting the perspective to the 40-man roster ignores the much more seasoned David Fletcher (2,180 plate appearances).
