The Braves are clicking on just about every cylinder at the moment, allowing the team to maintain a healthy advantage in the division even as the Nats have mounted a charge. While the Atlanta organization is no doubt preparing to make some pitching additions in the coming weeks, the position player mix seems mostly to be in fine working order.
Typically, a veteran returning from an injury makes for welcome news in advance of the trade deadline. But much of the Atlanta fan base seems to view the impending return of outfielder Ender Inciarte — who’ll be back as soon as Thursday — with something less like excitement and more like dread.
We’ve been through this topic before, but that was a month-and-a-half back. Some things have changed. Austin Riley looked at the time like a breakout star. But let’s check in on the youngster’s wRC+ by month: 186 (May), 96 (June), 32 (July). Needless to say, that’s not an optimal arc for a contending team. Switch-hitting utilityman Johan Camargo has perked up in the meantime, though he’s also the only position player other than Riley that is a conceivable candidate to be optioned down. Charlie Culberson and Matt Joyce occupy fairly limited roles, but has each been superb. Of course, Inciarate has also been in action of late on his rehab assignment. Let’s just say that his struggles from the early portion of the season have carried over. He has produced just seven singles and three walks in forty trips to the plate.
It’s possible to imagine quite a few possible roster permutations. There are arguments on every side of the discussion. Optioning Riley may or may not be good for his development, but it would mean taking one of the club’s highest-upside bats out of the MLB picture for at least a stretch. Sending Camargo down makes some sense on paper, but he’s an immensely useful player if he’s back to being an above-average hitter. It’s somewhat easier to imagine the club parting with Joyce than Culberson, but the 34-year-old Joyce carries a .296/.400/.494 slash with 14 walks against just 18 strikeouts. Inciarte could be jettisoned, or traded for whatever the team can get, but that’d mean selling quite low on a player who has been such a solid presence and still makes long-term roster sense. (Inciarte has more than five years of service time and therefore may not be optioned without his consent.)
There’s always the option of demoting or designating a reliever, but that’d likely only be a temporary measure, since the Braves are already carrying a four-man bench. Likewise, a temporary move involving one of the reserve players (optioning Camargo or finding a phantom injury list stint) would presumably only delay the inevitable decision. There’ll ultimately be a choice, even if it’s kicked down the road by a few weeks.
How do you think the Braves should handle the return of Inciarte? (Poll link for app users.)
I think they should option Johan. Let him get some steady at bats for a few weeks.
I really don’t know what to do with him but I guess this might be the most logical option
If they can trade him for any sort of value I’d do that first I just doubt they’ll get anything for him. I think they’ve actually hurt Camargo by not giving him regular at bats as well
How can you mess with success though? Snits doing what’s best for the team, not any one individual. It’s hard to watch talent waste away on the bench but the problem doesn’t get any greater than that in sports.
It’s not really messing with it. Camargo hasn’t contributed like expected in his new role imo
Switching him out for Inciarte gives a better defensive sub and base runner late in games
He also hasn’t really had a chance to play. He barely got at bats the first couple weeks of the season, and then when he finally started to play a little bit he struggled (Probably because it got so few at bats), and now he’s effectively been benched. He’s been severely mismanaged.
I completely agree. It’s too bad because he was one of my favorite players last year. I think it will be better for him to go back and play regularly for awhile. Ultimately he may have to be moved to a new team if I’m being honest.
Go with one less in the pen or send Carmargo down for a couple of weeks so he can play every day. We will need Ender come playoff time. Acuna isn’t the CF inciarte is, yet.
You have to give Inciarte some actual MLB play time before the deadline. Looking at a two week showcase to other teams.
I would go with the phantom injury option. That gets the team to the deadline. At that point maybe one can be a part of a package for a pitcher.
Throw into deal to land a starter or reliever. Ian Kennedy, Mark Melancon, Jake McGee the most logical. Or a starter like Sumardzija, Greinke (unlikely), Mike Leake, etc. Moving his money should be a daunting proposition but can likely be accomplished in the offseason. Ender would provide a great late inning Defensive sub for Austin Riley come playoffs.
Braves surprisingly have a couple negative value contracts on the 40. Their underperforming Arbitration guys (Dan Winkler, Folty, Gausman), the final yr of injured reliever Darren O’Day plus AAA relegated OF Adam Duvall. By my count including Ender. Just over $34M in essence dead money….
Riley has fallen off. He supplies power but little else and he is a liability in the OF. I want a platoon of Charlie & Ender going forward.
You can’t move on from Ender because if Riley goes back to 3 rd next year we need OFers. He is a platoon or 4th OF and would be the best in the league.
Plus Markakis will need days off you see how he fell back at the end last year.
Riley isnt a “liability” in LF. he’s near the top of the league, in his position, in DRS at +3.
I don’t care what those numbers say
I watch the games and he is bad in LF
Not as horrible as when he first came up but still extremely bad and yes a liability when he is not on a torrid pace with the bat.
He has been dropped to 8th in the order what more is there to see. Send him down to AAA to get his swing back
No offense but not too long ago Ozzie was moved to the 8th spot as well. Did he need to be sent back down as well? Riley is struggling with hitting the breaking ball. Is it possible that the “demotion ” to the 8th slot is just to get the rookie to take more pitches and see more breaking pitches? Couldn’t the move help him to be more patient at the plate while Riley adjusts back to the league. Somebody always has to hit 8th..
I’d argue that TEMPORARILY Camargo is the one who needs to go to AAA’ in order to get regular at bats. Riley needs to face major league pitchers and adjust to them.
FINALLY someone gets how people talk out of both sides of their mouth all the time in this sport. Agreement. I would add a wrinkle, After some consideration I think ender is more valuable than I originally thought but I think camargo is more proven and culberson has quite an arm, so don’t think ender is needed for of. I think ender should go to 8 let’s see what he can do and Riley and Camargo can switch off and on. Keep it simple guys. What does anyone think of madison?
Plus, Pache and/or Waters could come to the big show, you never know.
Riley hasn’t fallen off. His first 25 games numbers and last 25 games numbers are very similar. He’s a rookie, and he’s not a liability in LF.
He’s not being sent down. Ender will be traded. Not sure why you’d want swap Riley for Ender, a .218 hitter who isn’t running well this year.
Whut ???????
How in the world do you think his numbers are “similar”??? Do you even watch baseball ??
First 16 games
.356/.397/ .746/ 1.143 with 7 HR and 20 RBIs in 59 ABs
Last 16 games
.167 / .244 /.333 / .577 with 4HR and 9 RBIS in 56 ABS
Similar yeah right whatever
Give it a rest, people have been talking about hitters needing to be traded for years, if you don’t see how overdramatic you are acting well I have no hope for you.
The outfield next year barring any injuries or unforeseen circumstances between now and the end of spring training is going to be Acuna in LF, Pache in CF and Waters in RF and you can bet your last dime on it. I read an article last night that said the plan is for Pache and Waters to join Acuna in Atlanta’s outfield next season and that both have been placed on the untouchable list as far as most trades would go with Degrom being a possible exception. Inciarte isn’t hitting a lick anywhere this year and doesn’t fit the plans next year.
On opening day? I’ll take that bet. They’re both still in AA. The Braves want their guys to have at-bats in AAA before they come up. Pache might be up in May.
sooo basically the same article you read is what everyone has been writing, reading, saying, and commenting on for months now?! What’s this new insightful article you read no one else is privy too @fabulous61 bwahaha?!?!
Don’t know what games you were watching saying Riley is a liability.
I’ve watched every game Riley has played and he is definitely a liability in the outfield.
Oh guys we have an expert, he has watched every game, he knows what he’s talking about.
Joyce will fall off and unlike Culberson he has no versatility. now you’d be selling low on Ender, especialy as a perennial 2nd half performer.
Designate Joyce. Let Inciarte ride the bench, be the 4th outfielder and put him in the 8th inning as a defensive replacement for Riley every day. Pache/waters won’t be ready by opening day and braves will need an outfielder next year until one is ready
I agree, but Joyce will not be happy and most likely will leave, so maybe this helps trade him. I will miss him though. Is he actually a good starting player? I don’t know.
It might just be the Ender the line for Inciarte in Atlanta.
Well played
Culberson and Joyce aren’t going anywhere at this point. Braves likely won’t trade Ender during the season either, and doesn’t really make sense anyways.. It would make the most sense to send Riley back down out of these options. He’s fallen off offensively and it would give him some time to work on hitting the off speed pitches since that seems to be his kryptonite.
DFA. Wont get much from a trade.
And that’s why you weren’t ever, aren’t now or won’t ever be a GM.
Okay genius. What could he bring in? Alot less that he cost the braves to get. That’s for sure. He was a throw in player for Shelby Miller who hasn’t been the same since he was traded for Jason Heyward.
Don’t think Shelby Miller was traded for Heyward.
Yes he was.
Dont think can change the club given they are winning. Riley has tailed off but one swing in any game changes the game. Nice to have a guy like that batting 7th or 8th. My guess is they designate Blevins or send down Ynoa for a couple weeks. See if they can trade Ender.
You won’t get anything for Ender in a deal, plus he is your only option if Acuna gets hurt in CF. If the Braves make a trade for a front line SP/Closer, I expect Camargo to be apart of the deal. Out of all of these options, I say option Camargo
Ender’s defense and ability to run the bases (and a second half batter) is more valuable then Riley’s now what seems to ve rare homer. also acuna has been doing well in center ita no where near enders ability. I saw sejd Riley down until post season time amd have him work on laying off that Damn slider.
Only a complete moron would even think of posing such a stupid question.. Ender Inciarte’s a gold glove ballplayer.
Interesting where and how this compares to JBJ in Boston…. his contract up this year also…
A gold glove CF who graded in the negatives this season prior to getting hurt and who’s offense get worse by the yr. This team doesn’t need him, plain and simple.
Sending a guy with 16 HR and 43 RBI in 201 at bats to Gwinnet? The Braves are not in the position they are in without Austin Riley, I assure you of that. Thank God some of you are not the GM. Btw, Riley has been just fine in LF defensively.
HR and RBI are the only stats that matter? Give us all your good players and we will give you Ian Crapp and Schwarber. They have 16 and 20 HR.
Still looking for where he said those are the only stats that matter…
Said it a few weeks ago, I’ll say it again; Package Inciarte and prospects to Toronto for Stroman, a reliever (Giles, Hudson or Phelps) and Grichuk. Blue Jays need a true CF, they have Gurriel covering LF and can move Biggio or Alford to RF. Grichuk may produce more offensively, the team is better without him.
Lol Toronto getting some more scraps for a frontline starter would be a epic fail. Getting Drury as the main piece for Happ is the definition of scraps. Rebuilding teams should want high upside guys not trying to trade for needs. If you can’t develop a CF in your farm the GM needs to be fired.
I guess you glossed over the prospect portion of what I wrote. Not surprised.
No argument with your Happ point.
Stroman and Giles should command at least 3 starting pitching prospects. Should be 4. The trade would solve the OF situation and the INF situation by opening 2B for Bichette. Hit on 2 SP and you have a wining trade.
Hmm… you probably send way too much time doing this I am guessing. But if a person argues with you I have a hard time believing they put as much thought in this as you. I just hope you didn’t overthink it.
Grichuk is better than Inciarte. I don’t see Toronto wanting him at all. You’ll have to trade starting pitching to Toronto to get Stroman, not Inciarte.
Why would the Braves want Grichuk and his recent contract extension? He’s not very good and they have guys like Pache and Waters getting close to the majors while also having guys like Culbertson, Camargo, Riley, and Markakis available next yr. That’s just an awful trade.
Trade Ender to the Padres in a deal for Yates.
They need a leadoff hitter who can get on base and play GG CF defense.
Ender and a AA arm may be enough.
I doubt you could touch Yates , if he was available, with Inciarte and AA arm.
Inciarte and Anderson?
That would probably be enough.
Trading Anderson even started up for Yates would be idiotic.
Was just responding to the post that Inciarte and “a AA arm” wouldn’t be enough.
Obviously it could be…..
Ahh. Fair enough. I didn’t see that. That would definitely get it done. I’m not sure what Anderson is doing at AA right now. He should at least be at AAA.
As a Padre fan I actually would prefer to see Yates to the Braves in a deal for Pache or Waters.
Plenty of other prospects on both sides to even out a deal either way.
Yates isn’t gonna come close to fetching what essentially equals 2 5 tool prospects that are off limits. That’s crazy.
As a Padres fan you’re a moron. I read an article last night that said both Pache and Waters have been added to the untouchable list for most teams except in a trade for Degrom.
Read closely…..I said “or”.
Not “and” and also said “in a deal for” and lastly….that both sides had enough prospects to evening out either way.
And you read Yates for Pache and Waters straight up?
Obviously no one actually reads the words others wrote before spouting off on here.
Wow.
Why would SD want Inciarte? Yes I saw your reasoning, but SD already has enough out-fielders, which they should be marketing to improve their pitching. They don’t need Inciarte, especially given the money owed to him, and he doesn’t make the Padres any better.
He pairs with Margot to patrol Cf while encouraging them to trade either cof’er. Padres should definitely trade high on Yates and I believe it’s a fair trade. They should make sure the AA and lower pitching prospects should not need added to the 40 man roster.
Padres need OBP.
About the only place to make a move is CF.
That would be why.
Margot May finally be turning a corner but to this point he is hitting at “the bottom” of the order due to poor on base skills.
Padres biggest offensive need is a LH hitting CF’r who can hit leadoff and play great defense.
Sound like anyone who may become available?
Two major league players for an aging closer with one year of control left is bonkers
OMG…please point out where any one said “two major league players”.
Of course you would have to combine AJ Preller that Inciarte will hit again and ultimately be better than Manuel Margot.
I hate to say it, but Riley should be the one optioned. He could get daily ABs in Gwinnett, and maybe work out his troubles with plate discipline. If Inciarte really is a liability offensively, the Braves could recall Riley … and then have a tough decision all over again.
Camargo can play six positions passably and several well. The flexibility he provides makes him more valuable.
I would imagine the White Sox would have some interest in Ender Inciarte, a decent left-handed hitter with some pop, plus speed, a strong arm and 3 Gold Gloves to play CF for the next 3+ seasons.
The White Sox can then move 5-tool future superstar Luis Robert to RF before he makes his MLB debut later this season or by April of 2020. When 2B Nick Madrigal joins Robert on the White Sox roster in a similar time frame to occupy the top two slots in their batting order, Inciarte can become one of the games best #9 hitters.
SS Tim Anderson can accompany Inciarte in the bottom third of the White Sox lineup, setting up one of MLB most formidable batting orders that will also include 3B Yoan Moncada, 1B Andrew Vaughn and LF Eloy Jimenez somewhere in the middle. Signing impending FA Jose Abreu to a contract extension as their future DH along with James McCann to become their primary catcher would be the cherry on top of the White Sox sundae.
I love this idea! Absolutely love it!
Who are the W. Sox giving up? How much salary do the Braves pay down? The W. Sox don’t have a large budget for payroll. Inciarte is still a below average hitter. Even if you omit the poor 2019 season, he’s still only a 95 OPS+ hitter for his career. And I’m not sure that Luis Robert doesn’t have more value playing CF. They would be better off trying to acquire someone different to play RF.
designate blevins, add ender, and sit Riley for a few days
This is a very tough call. I understand Riley isn’t exactly killing it. But I think we all can agree he has a presence in that lineup that’s much more intimidating than ender. I love Enders glove, but Riley is doing just fine. I think if I had to make a call, I’d do what I can to trade ender for something decent. I feel like you can get 1 lower end top 30 prospects for him, right? Nothing amazing, maybe a low rank AAA bullpen guy? If we need to delay the decision, then send Camargo down and get him regular at bats, but that’s it. Ender is at best a bench piece in this lineup.
“…Riley is doing just fine.”
Well the stats say differently. In the last 4 weeks he’s hitting .203/.268/.432, OPS .701 . He’s struck out 30 times in 74 ABs over that span. That is not doing just fine.
Yes… last 4 weeks is a good indication for everything lol. You’re right. My generalized statement was outrageous. I’ll just take ender and his horrible no power bat back in the lineup
Putting stock in any players rehab assignment numbers is asinine.
True only if that player wasn’t performing just as bad in the bigs before the rehab assignment.
Also, I typically give pitchers a tad of a break because young hitters will swing at anything and sometimes that means hitting balls mlb players won’t swing at. Sometimes falling
Why not send down a relief pitcher i.e. touki
So I’m neither a big NL guy or specifically a Braves fan, tho I have great admiration for how they do things. But I’ve been an Ender fan since before his Braves days, and can’t imagine anybody not taking a flyer on him, especially if the major part of the deal is salary relief (and a lottery ticket or two). Guy’s a pretty good player, IMHO; the defense is pristine. And nowadays especially, that has great value.
I don’t understand the people who are suggesting that the Braves rid themselves of Inciarte. Hes still a top flight defensive OF and one bad stretch or even season doesn’t end a player’s career … He is/was a valuable player for the Braves regardless of offensive struggles currently … It would be a very short sighted play to ge rid of Inciarte when in 2020 both Donaldson and Markakis could be gone and it’s highly unlikely Pache or Waters will be immediately ready … I would probably designate one of Matt Joyce or Charlie Culberson … both of whom would be easier to replace than Inciarte in the long run
Pache and Waters are ready now.
Inciarte and some cash for Roenis Elías and a throw in. Capiche Mariners?
Why does Seattle need Inciarte? They would want prospects to help their future.
I don’t know. Saw some some dummy tweet and just replaced Camargo’s name with Inciarte. twitter.com/PaulCrane7/status/1151188698807054336
I’m surprised at the results. Inciarte has struggled, and has never been an offensive force, but he is still an asset. Especially if he can progress back to the mean, which is close to MLB average. He may not, but I can’t see the Braves eating almost $17M, since he has zero trade value, being at his bottom-most value.
I voted for optioning Riley. He is currently struggling worse than Inciarte had been. Working on his hitting in the minors is where he should be anyway, whether Inciarte is coming back or not.
Time to get creative! Why not trade Inciarte back to the team that regrets the day they ever traded him to the Braves in the first place? Trade him to Arizona for Grienke. To offset at least some of the $ you make them take Gausman and O’Day as well. Arizona gets to save tons of cash by getting them out of the massive Grienke contract when they aren’t truly contending anyway. Arizona also gets to look a little better to their fans after the infamous Shelby Miller trade by getting Inciarte to patrol center field for them for the next 2 or 3 years. The Braves get an excellent starting pitcher in Grienke for the next 2 or 3 years at about (by my count after subtracting the Inciarte/O’Day/Gausman contracts) a $20 million overall discount. That won’t immediately fix the roster space problem so you would have to throw Blevins in the deal too. The Braves roster stays the same with the exception of turning Jeremy Blevins into Zack Grienke and the D-Backs save a ton of cash while getting Ender back. If the Braves don’t do something like that they will have to option someone like Camargo or Riley down and then bring them back up in September. DFA’ing Joyce or Culberson would be about the dumbest thing the Braves can do in this situation. Last I saw Incriarte’s MINOR League slash line was .100/.182/.100. The 1 hit he got was a single and was caught stealing on the very next pitch. Joyce and Culberson are both hitting around .300 with power. If they let either of them go for nothing and Ender hits as poorly as he has all season it could really hurt the Braves offense. The hardest part about my trade suggestion is getting Liberty Media to pony up the extra cash. Hopefully the $20 mill saved on other nonroster players would help tip the scales enough to get them to pull the trigger. Any opinions?
Nobody likes my Grienke trade? It’s more of a cash dumb for Arizona but they at least get Inciarte to show for it. The Braves get Grienke at a $20 mill discount. At an AAV of over $34.6 mill a year for Grienke the D-Backs might even be willing to kick over several mill more in cash to the Braves just to get the deal done.
Not really a Braves fan but I would like this. Mostly to see Greinke pitch for a contender. Love out of the box ideas like this.
Great idea and get a reliever Culberson is the one that should go.
The Braves are going to give Gausman another shot because he’s been working on 2 additional pitches and has been doing very well with them. If he becomes a 4 pitch pitcher and apparently he has very quickly then he’s a completely different pitcher.
Braves match up well with SF in a deal that would include Inciarte. Giants need fresh legs to patrol CF once Pillar departs after the season. Braves can include Cristian Pache and/or Drew Waters for Will Smith and MadBum or Tony Watson. Giants, however, probably won’t make that deal for 2 more weeks considering their recent surge in the standings.
I highly doubt the Braves would trade Pache or Waters in a deal like that. Another short sided team trying to go for it all no matter what would likely consider it but not Anthopolous. Pache and Waters are our future after Markakis and Donaldson are gone (especially if/when Ender is gone too).
SF doesn’t want Inciarte. The Giants have a number of younger out-fielders. Duggar can CF. Re-signing Pillar, who’s hitting better, and is much cheaper than Inciarte is a much better option than trading assets to acquire Inciarte.
Or don’t resign Pillar nor trade for Inciarte because Duggar has more upside than either one and even if he turns into a 4th OF, it’s not going to be too long before Ramos will be making it to the bigs.
Lol at all the people throwing out Pache and Waters for relievers. Why would any team give up these guys for a position as volatile as closer? Especially one on an expiring contract? C’mon folks.
Pache and Waters have already been said to be off limits unless it involves Degrom.
Option Riley. He’s just 22 and even if you think this will hurt his confidence I don’t think becoming the next Adam Dunn is a great idea either.
I’m not opposed to trading Inciarte but I am skeptical as to his value. I really dont think even his gold glove gets much off the market by itself.
The worst case scenario happened with Camargo. We wanted him to be the super utility but instead his value has plummeted without a regular routine. I kind of feel bad for him.
Culberson and Joyce should stay. They are a big part of the Braves depth in the line up and bench which has been an enormous strength.
Keep Ender in AAA or trade him
If the Braves traded for Vasquez and Grenike the offseason would be done before it even started, both would be on the team until at least 2021
I think Waters/Pache with Wentz could get Vasquez
I think if Arizona took 10 mil of each year in Greinkes contract and the braves sent a mid tier pitcher that could get him
Rules prevent the Braves from leaving Inciarte at AAA, and I doubt anyone wants to acquire him, given his level of play and the money owed.
He could be traded, he still has value, gold glove, speed, was decent last year and had 200 hits in 2017, half a down season is not going to prevent him from being traded ( not to mention he has lots of control on contract
Yeah, a trade is theoretically possible, but his value is still rock-bottom now. Expectations of him bouncing back are reasonable, but GMs aren’t going to gamble on that unless he’s a bargain. He’s not. He;s owed almost $17M. The only way he gets traded is if the Braves pay down a significant amount.
The Braves are better off keeping him, and having Riley working on his hitting in AAA.
Ender is a 28 yr old who has a ROY, an All Star appearance, 3 consecutive gold gloves, and a 200 hit season on his short resume. He is also under the Braves control through 2022! I suspect that those anxious to give up on him are the same fools who wanted to throw Swanson out with the trash before the season started.
Culberson is a week hitting, average fielding journeyman about to pass his prime. Joyce at 34 is past his prime and is a below average fielder and “meh” hitter who will be a FA praying that someone signs him next off season!
Move Austin Riley to 3B next season. Josh Donaldson, Nick Markakis and Matt Joyce are in their mid 30s.
Finding a trade partner for Inciarte is going to be difficult. It would have to be a contender, or a team hoping to contend in the near future, that needs a CF. Even then, the money owed is an obstacle. The Braves would have to send cash, or take on another contract to offset the money. With that criteria, a fit may exist, but I can’t think of one.
I dont think its going to be that difficult. And it wont certainly require him being traded to a contender. His contract is pretty reasonable for his production Trade him to a rebuilding team, They get a soft hitting, speedy, GG caliber CFer until team control.
My biggest fear is the loss of his defense. Think of those key late game situations where defense turns the tide (last night when Acuña misplayed that shot to the wall). Come playoff time, this is even more glaring. Option Sobotka until you open up a roster spot after a trade for a starter or reliever.
I think they could solve the problem by carrying 4 starters with a call up everytime a 5th starter is needed. On that day they send down a reliever. The Braves have enough 5th starters and extra relievers to make this happen
Move Riley back to 3rd and let him go down to AAA. When he tears it up down there and the offseason comes resign Donaldson and look to move Riley for that bonafide ACE. As Brave fans we have to face it in order to get a number 1 SP we gotta give something up of value. Ender is not going to cut it and nobody wants to get rid of Waters or Pache. So that leaves Riley who we all can agree on has holes. But we at least have options to replace him in Donaldson resigning and Camargo playing 2x a week at 3rd, once at 2B & once at SS like he was supposed to.
Hell of a team wants to give that ACE up at the deadline I would be willing to move Riley right now.
Gotta be willing to give something up in order to get something back. If Anderson, Pache & Waters are off limits than Riley gotta go. Wright alone will not bring back what we need.
They’ll probably option Riley and HOPE Ender can show something over the next 2 weeks to improve his value and that Riley works out his problems in the minors. They can trade Ender and bring Riley back up. Next season, they can pick up markakis’s option, move Riley to 3rd and put Duvall/Culberson/Camargo in left until Pache is ready.
Ender must go. We have to keep Camongo!
camargo should have been a starter from the beginning
Really? Donaldson has already surpassed what Camargo did last year. He has more HRs, more walks (with fewer strikeouts) and his OPS is 75 points higher. Maybe you’re talking about his postseason value, where Camargo went 0-15 with 5 strikeouts.
If I were a betting man, I’d say one of the aforementioned players (Culberson, Camargo, Riley, Joyce) will end up on the DL in order to make room for Inciarte. That is not to say there would be a conspiracy at play, but Riley’s play has been bad enough to indicate a possible injury he’s trying to work through. If not him, then one of the others for sure.
However, if it really does come down to a difficult decision, then I’d say optioning Riley makes the most sense. Optioning Camargo would be my 2nd choice, but considering he has a much longer/impressive track record of production, I’m more likely to give him the benefit of the doubt that he can figure it out in the majors. Riley has REALLY been stinking it up. Get him back to the coaches who helped him get to the majors for a tuneup.
Inciarte has not been great with the bat, but the ability is still there for sure. He also offers near-elite defense, baserunning, and speed. If all three of Inciarte, Camargo, and Riley are struggling with the bat, Inciarte remains the most valuable. Give him more time to figure it out in the majors.
The “phantom injury” has already occurred. Or maybe it is just a convenient injury. Max Fried just went on the IL for a finger blister. They brought up Bryce Wilson and they are starting him now. They can send him back down tomorrow and put Inciarte back on the roster with no casualties. The only question will be what to do once Fried is healthy enough to start again. Let’s hope they can play this game long enough to get to September when the rosters expand. That’s really the smartest thing to do. Then we don’t have to worry about making any real roster cuts until the playoffs.