![]() How real was that stretch? It's probably not sustainable, but the 34-year-old Andrus looks to have enough left in the tank to be a starting shortstop. ![]() After Oakland released him in August, Andrus joined the White Sox and inexplicably slashed. He did all three last year in 118 games for Colorado and remains the best defensive shortstop available in free agency.Īndrus, who played two-and-a-half seasons as a Braves minor-leaguer more than 15 years ago before getting dealt to Texas as part of the Mark Texiera blockbuster, had an unexpected offensive renaissance during the final six weeks of this past season. The 33-year-old free agent is dependable for three things: (1) hitting for a high average, (2) playing sufficient defense that looks cool, and (3) not hitting for any power. He’ll get a call-up at some point in 2023, but barring a large jump in performance, Shewmake doesn’t look like a cornerstone player for Atlanta.Īs our world gets ever more complex and intimidating, Iglesias is a comforting friend we can all lean back on. The lanky 25-year-old performed adequately on both sides of the ball (.715 OPS) with Triple-A Gwinnett in 2022, but scouts unanimously agree that Shewmake won’t be an impact player at the big-league level. He’ll start the year as Triple-A depth, but if one or two infielders get hurt, he could feature as a passable, temporary stopgap.ĭrafted 21st overall back in 2019, the former Texas A&M standout is the epitome of replacement level. Couple that with Arcia’s offensive improvements in 2022 - his swing rate dropped by 8%, the second-largest year-to-year drop in baseball - and there’s a very real chance Arcia finishes the season with the most games at shortstop of any Brave.Īdrianza is essentially Arcia, except he’s a much worse hitter, was never a top prospect and isn’t as good defensively. He’s only two seasons removed from starting 86% of Milwaukee’s games at shortstop as a 74th percentile defender, per Baseball Savant. Arcia became the "break-glass-in-case-of-emergency" shortstop, only Swanson never broke.īut with Swanson gone and Grissom’s defensive chops unproven, Arcia could see significant time at his old position. Once they sent him to Atlanta in April of 2021, he transitioned into a flawed but useful utility player. MLB Pipeline had Arcia sixth, two spots ahead of Swanson.Īrcia’s hit tool never quite developed and he struggled to produce in six seasons with the Brewers. Prior to breaking into the bigs in 2016, Baseball America ranked him eighth, one spot ahead of Turner and 10 spots ahead of Rafael Devers. Once upon a time, Arcia was a highly touted shortstop prospect with Milwaukee. He also pitched a scoreless inning, if you’re into that sort of thing. The 28-year-old utility man saw time at second, third, short and left field last season while providing league-average value at the plate. Time will tell, but expect him to be the Opening Day shortstop. The organization, and more specifically infield wizard Ron Washington, must believe that Grissom has the skills and work ethic necessary to develop into a competent defensive presence. The Braves, moreover, are not a stupid baseball team they let Swanson walk for a reason. Some professional evaluators believe he took a step forward defensively at short in 2022 and has a chance to be an average big-league defender there. ![]() It's still worth noting that Grissom spent the majority of his minor-league tenure at shortstop.
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