The Braves have activated Freddie Freeman from the disabled list and he will start at third base tonight, the team announced (Twitter links). Jace Peterson has been optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.
[Updated Braves depth chart at Roster Resource]
Freeman was expected to miss between 8-10 weeks of action when he originally suffered his fractured left wrist in mid-May. That devastating prognosis seemingly sealed the Braves’ fate as deadline sellers and led to the club acquiring Matt Adams from the Cardinals as a short-term fill-in for Freeman at first base.
Instead, there has been no shortage of surprises associated with Atlanta’s first base situation. Adams exploded once joining the Braves, hitting .285/.333/.589 with 12 homers in 165 PA as the everyday first baseman. Adams’ emergence led to the news that the Braves were considering using Freeman at third base, which Freeman embraced even though he hasn’t manned the hot corner since his high school days, over a decade ago.
If Freeman is able to play even passable third base defense and Adams is able to continue his hot hitting, the Braves would suddenly have a very strong corner infield combination as they try to stay on the outskirts of the playoff race. Atlanta is 18-11 over its last 29 games, improving to 40-41 on the season and 8.5 games behind the Nationals in the NL East and seven games out of a wild card spot. It’d still be a longshot if the Braves firmly got themselves back into the race, but getting Freeman back so much earlier than expected is unquestionably a major boost. Freeman was on an MVP-level pace prior to his injury, hitting .341/.461/.748 with 14 home runs over his first 165 plate appearances.
Here come the braves
Well, all but Jace.
Ouch
I actually think that his switch to 3rd might work out
He can catch and throw the ball better at that position but his range is horrible. Would be okay with this if Andrellton was still on the team
His lesser range is the only thing that will keep him from making a boatload of errors at third, at least right away…
Yes but Errors have nothing to do with how good of a defender you are. Maybe a little something.
Thanks lord Jesus
You’re welcome
Seriously?
No don’t call thee seriously!
So in this series, one team will be starting a SS at 3B, while the other will be starting a 1B at 3B… Interesting.
Oh man, that left side defense is gonna be tough to watch
I’m old enough to remember Carl Yastrzemski playing third in 1973. 5-star outfielder, but holy cow, was he horrendous playing third. He did it to try and help the team, so I gave him credit but hopefully no video exists of the experiment.
I’m not sure dansby is tough to watch on defense.
With his bat back and the all star break coming up it might be a good time to give Kemp a break and let his leg heal.
Great to get him back. If we only had all of this pitching we always hear about
Haha yep, we’ll be waiting on that for awhile
In a couple years when Wright, Soroka, Allard, and Anderson are up there with Newcomb, it will all have been worth it.
Might not take two full years as Soroka and Allard are dominating in AA now.
Initially I’m a bit shocked Freeman has recuperated so quickly from his injury. I am not shocked though that Freddie pushed to cut his rehab assignment short (although I hope that the doctors looked at everything in depth).
I think Freeman will pleasantly surprise at third (although I worry about charging a slow roller and making the barehanded pick up). A lot of third is reactionary on which I think he’ll be fine.
Ole Chipper used to charge that slow grounder, field barehanded, and throw. It was nice
If Altuve doesn’t exploit this for at least 3 IF hits, I’d be surprised and disappointed. Will be much more difficult with a southpaw on the mound for ATL though.
Now the Braves needs to find some Pitching on the ( trade ) Market !
The transformation has been complete. He is now…
Chipper Jones.
I hope this 3rd base experiment is over fast and they deal Adams before he cools down.
It’s Matt Adams! Leave Freddie at 1st.
I like Camargo at third, if I’m in control I trade Kemp for whatever salary relief I can get and I stick Adams in left. I know it’s exciting to think about us getting in the race but it’s not going to happen this year. Last time this occurred we had Smoltz, Glavine, and Avery, there are none of those presently with us. You become world champions with pitching, half of the 25 on the roster are pitchers, that’s why we keep drafting them
The only person that could make Kemp look like a decent OF is Matt Adams. If you’re in control you should will the MLB home office to have the DH in the NL so Kemp and Adams don’t have to feel like a third-wheel, while also making Margot Robbie fall in love with you. You’d have a better shot at either one of those things than Adams not looking like Manny Ramirez’s first graduate at his school of fielding.
I love Camargo too, I think he is a big reason we have been winning. I think Freeman would look better in LF than Adams though.
My mom doesn’t care where Freddie plays, just so he plays.
On her huge playground.
Here we come Washington. Watch out.
They’re really going through with this, huh? I didn’t think the idea would make it this far.
I think that the biggest thing is Freddie absolutely wants to try this. He wants to do anything he can to try to help the club and puts it’s interests above his own. If he struggles defensively then I’d imagine he’d also be one of the first to decide it isn’t working (how long that will take who knows, if ever). Until Freeman proves himself one way or another I think that the club will allow him to play third. It isn’t like he will forget how to play first.
I hope the Astros try a few a bunt singles at Freeman.
And I hope Freeman fields them expertly (and notice I said HOPE).
He has terrible arm action along with poor footwork to play third. There was a reason they moved him years ago to 3B in the first place. Can you guys think of another situation where a franchise guy switched positions to accommodate a guy who has been hot for eight weeks? Pitchers on the Braves will hate this move within a matter of days. Poor experiment
I imagine his move from third was more Chipper’s fault than Freddie.