Johan Camargo and Austin Riley are competing for not only the Braves’ starting third base job, but also potentially a spot on the 26-man roster altogether. Manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including The Athletic’s David O’Brien) that he feels both Camargo and Riley are best served by everyday playing time, rather than splitting third base in a platoon or one player working in a backup role. Sending one of the duo down to Triple-A is “not out of the question,” Snitker said. “They’ve got (minor-league) options, and if long term, for the health of our ballclub that’s (what) we see fit, that could happen.”
Plans could change in case of an injury, of course, and both players have experience at other positions. Riley played mostly left field in his rookie season and only four games at third base, as Atlanta had Josh Donaldson at the hot corner last year. Camargo, meanwhile, has a lot of experience at shortstop, second base, and both corner outfield positions in addition to third base, though Snitker felt that bouncing Camargo around the diamond last season hurt his productivity at the plate. After hitting .281/.343/.455 in 780 PA over his first two MLB seasons, Camargo struggled to a .233/.279/.384 slash line in 248 plate appearances in 2019.
More from around the baseball world…
- After signing a minor league deal with the Brewers this winter, Logan Morrison has no intention of actually playing in the minors if he doesn’t crack Milwaukee’s roster, the veteran told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt and other media. “Triple-A is not an option. That’s not going to happen. I have nothing to prove there. If they try to send me down, I can get out,” Morrison said, referring to the opt-out clause in his contract as an Article XX(B) free agent. Since Morrison has at least six years of MLB experience and finished last season on a 40-man roster (the Phillies’ roster) or 60-day injured list, he can ask to be released by the Brewers if they don’t put him on their 26-man roster or the injured list five days prior to Opening Day. Morrison would also be in line for a $100K retention bonus if the Brewers didn’t put him on the roster but wanted to keep him in the minors, but clearly that isn’t on Morrison’s mind. “I’m not worried about it because whatever happens, wherever I go, whatever they decide, I’ll be at peace with it,” he said.
- Tim Melville is recovering from a broken rib and will be sidelined for at least three weeks, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post writes. After pitching 33 1/3 innings for the Rockies last season, Melville signed a new minor league deal with Colorado earlier this month, though he thinks his rib injury might have taken place at the end of last season. The discomfort didn’t resurface until Melville began throwing in camp. The injury obviously lessens Melville’s shot at winning a roster spot, though the Rockies could place the right-hander on the IL and let him ramp up in the minors.
- Royals pitching prospect Ashe Russell underwent Tommy John surgery last year and is still recovering, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (Twitter links). The exact date of Russell’s procedure isn’t known, though Flanagan said it took place “awhile” before last June. That would put Russell roughly on pace to return to the mound sometime before the end of the season. Russell has tossed only 38 1/3 professional innings since being selected 21st overall in the 2015 draft, and hasn’t pitched at all since the 2016 season. Back in July 2017, we learned that Russell had taken a “mental break” from baseball, in the words of Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo. Russell’s agent described the issue as somewhat more pitching-related in nature, saying Russell was “having trouble with his pitching mechanics” and “needed a change of scenery” from the Royals’ training facilities. The 23-year-old righty is currently at the Royals’ Spring Training camp.
Package Riley, Minter and Kyle Wright for Arenado
That is a fair trade
Braves don’t need Arenado that bad. Wright projects as a TOR starter. Minter might make it back to his old form. Riley could make adjustments and be a 30 homer a year guy for years to come. The team they currently have should win the division again and go further into the postseason.
Who has him projected as a TOR starter?
Talent evaluators and front offices that pegged him to go #1 overall in his Draft, and obviously ATL who signed him to a franchise-record draft-signing. Vandy isn’t exactly known for back-of-the-rotation scrubs, though, like everyone, they’ve had their fair share of them while having one of the best programs in college baseball.
I see 0 prospect reports that have him projected as TOR. Fangraphs has him as a 50fv. Care to provide any current evaluation that has him projected as a TOR?
MLB says he can if he improves and they think he will, but still don’t project him as a TOR starter, with a 55 overall.
Fangraphs also has an Aaron Sanchez comp on Kyle Wright.
there’s a lot of mights and maybes in there vs. a proven known commodity in Arenado We all love hanging on to our precious prospects based on mights and maybes smh
Any other young players that scuffled last year that you want to package in? Maybe Touki? Camargo? Maybe Bryse Wilson?
That’s not a fair trade. Arenado doesnt have as much value as you think. You gotta think about that yuuuge contract. If I was the Braves, I wouldn’t even make a 1 for 1 Riley for Arenado.
Prisoner of the moment! Wright, Riley and Minter all stunk last year! They’re trash! Sell low! Sell low!
So little time to really evaluate their worth. You would have traded glavine, Schmidt and many other hofers based off their horrible 1st year in the bigs.
Good luck finding a prospect that hasn’t struggled at any level included in a trade for that contract. Resiliency is an overrated quality in pro sports, I guess. Good luck getting Luis Robert – let me know how that goes.
If you were the Braves, you wouldn’t get Arenado then. Mike Trout has a huge contract too. Do you think you can pick him up for chump change too?
You’re comparing Trout to Arenado right now lol. Not going to work. And last time I checked, Austin Riley isn’t chump change? Before his struggles, which is only a few months in the league, he was regarded as one of the top prospects in the entire league. I didn’t realize that was chump change.
Lastly, Colorado would trade Arenado for Riley alone. Getting out of that contract while picking up potentially their next 3B for the next 6 years, yes sir. Sure it may not happen because of public perception and everything else, but in terms of value and the financial situation the Arenado contact has put the Rockies in, they would do it.
Trout doesn’t have an opt out, so that’s one issue with your comp. The other, bigger one, is they’re not close to the same player. Trout’s the best in the game.
The posters Arenado trade is an overpay, imo.
Arenado =/= Mike Trout. What a stupid comparison.
No Riley isn’t chump change, but you said you WOULDN’T trade him 1 for 1. So that means your proposal would include lesser stuff or chump change.
Arenado is a lot closer to Trout than he is to Riley.
If the Rockies were willing to just dump Arenado for a simgle prospect, he would have already been traded.
Oh my God, I compared one baseball player to another. How stupid of me.
Yes and no. You still lift Arenado higher than he deserves because you are a Rockies fan, and I get that. Arenado is closer to Riley than you want to admit, and he’s not going to be traded for a prospect because every team knows he can’t put up big numbers outside of Coors to warrant that massive contract extension he gladly signed with Colorado.
From a monetary comparison it wasn’t bad.
Woah- you don’t even know that. Arenado’s splits away from Coor’s arent stellar. His glove is great…but we don’t know that Riley’s pop to all fields in all parks doesn’t adjust back to mellowing our the difference in gloves.
Austin Riley hasn’t even proved he can hit major league pitching. Let’s settle down on poking holes in Arenado’s splits. Arenado is a much better player than Riley. Always will be. Riley will be on a rookie deal and Arenado will be making over 200 million bucks for the next 7 years. That’s the difference in values here.
If Riley improves he could close the gap where having Riley for the next 6 years is more valuable than having Arenado when you factor in the salary differential.
Are you the sign bumgarder dude with just a different name because you troll just like him.
Sorry my corn shucking little buddy—I am not.
First of all Trout is different level than everyone so he’s not fair to bring into the discussion. When a player makes MASSIVE money they don’t have much if any trade value. If the Yankees wanted to deal Cole at the trade deadline as an example they wouldn’t be able to unless they ate some money. A players value is obviously they’re talent in the context of the money they make. The Rox want to deal Nolan, but no team is giving up much and paying him all that money. It’s just not happening.
I don’t think the Braves would take on Arenado’s deal for free. They’re already at a record high payroll for them, and Arenado’s deal would put them well into the luxury tax, which they’re not doing. So to add a decent prospect like Riley is a laughable ask and the Braves wouldn’t do it. The Rockies aren’t going to be able to get anything good for him unless they eat money.
Riley has proven he can hit major league pitching- he hasn’t proven he can adjust.
Okay, so Arenado is making 70m in the next two years. Then, if he can get a better deal, he opts out. If he can’t get a better deal, he stays. If that’s the case, do you think he’s worth the last 5 years on his deal?
Riley, at this stage, is a reclamation project to a team acquiring him. They would be dumb to value him any higher. To Atlanta, he’s a prospect who needs some seasoning. Both are legitimate views because of the risk associated with each perspective. Atlanta would be dumb to trade Riley in any offer another team not helmed by Dave Stewart would take.
It’s a bad deal for both teams honestly, Braves don’t need to give up a bunch of young guys with high ceilings simply because they struggled a little last year, better yet, the organization can’t handle a contract like NA’s nor should they at the moment. If they had a World Series belt or if they were winning nl East titles every single year like they did in the 90’s, then sure… but not yet. For COL sake, they don’t need players with recent struggles as the headline of a deal for NA. As simple as that
A World Series belt? This isn’t the WWE.
It IS just a piece of metal after all…..
If the Braves wanted an Arenado type and salary, they’d have signed Rendon, or even Donaldson for lesser money/value. Why would anyone trade prospects if they could get a similar contract for nothing but a draft pick?
I get what you’re saying, but it comes down to supply and demand at the time. Now, I don’t think the Braves are going to add that sort of contract to their books anytime soon, but when Rendon signed Atlanta still had Donaldson, Riley, Camargo, Bryant, and Arenado as potential options, so it wasn’t as dire. Since then, Donaldson was taken off the board and both Riley and Camargo now have until July to stake a claim to the permanent job.
Should bother falter, I’d still bet they turn to Bryant over Arenado, but the need will have gone up for Atlanta while the supply has since gone down. Like many things, it’ll come down to how AA manages his assets and payroll.
That’s why you saw many clamor for JD to return because even though it’s likely it’ll be an overpay on the backend, it was the safest and best bet the Braves could’ve made.
Considering Arenado’s massive salary this is a big overpay. One of them for Nolan is probably fair.
To me, Austin Riley is the wild card of the 2020 Atlanta Braves. They were at their best when him and Duvall had their respective hot streaks which took Atlanta’s lineup five deep.
If Riley can be an asset with the bat then Atlanta’s lineup could potentially go 7-8 deep come postseason time. Entering last season’s NLDS you could really only feel completely safe about their top four (Acuna, Albies, Freeman, JD). Swanson and Duvall were pleasant surprises, but Riley has the highest offensive ceiling outside of this year’s first four and will be an X factor as to how far this team can go as currently construction imo.
I could see Camargo at third and Riley in LF if they both keep hitting.
Ozuna plays LF
We need to be playing both of them at 1B as a backup to Freddie… sure, I’m told not worry… but I’m worried about his injury ..
We’ll just play the shift every AB, take advantage of Camargo having SS experience. Albies becomes 1B. We’ll be fine.
Wouldn’t this story have been better served by providing Riley and Camargo’s spring numbers?
They’ve had 13 ABs, so no, not really.
You can have a swastika as your pic? Subtle.
Or is that some new anime thing foreign to me?
Sincerely,
Old Fart
That’s a Hindu symbol, if I’m not mistaken. Not the Nazi symbol.
Its an excuse to be racist.
The swastika or sauwastika is a geometrical figure and an ancient religious icon in the cultures of Eurasia. It is used as a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions, especially Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
You can Google at least 20 different ones affiliated with a religion. None of them are inherently racist.
But hey. Let’s let some awful people 80 years ago ruin 200,300,400,500s of years of the symbol meaning something different. Not even the same symbol lmao.
Hey, I’m all for knowledge and factual accounting…but associative impressions are real too. I’m not flying the stars and bars to show my southern pride, regardless of if it was a symbol of racism to me in the context it served when I was growing up.
Riley would probably match Arenado numbers in Colorado.
Big strong kid in Colorado’s rarified air where sliders and curve balls don’t work so well? Riley should be the president of this trade’s fan club.
2019: most HRs per park in MLB
#3 – COL
#5 – ATL
Riley doesn’t need high-elevation to get a HR, they are moonshots. He has contact issues, which will be still a problem the higher you go above sea level.
Agreed, Run. He was completely overmatched at the plate by the end of last season. Unless he just rips it up this spring, I feel like AAA is the best place for him.
I’m concerned about the offense this year. Ozuna’s capable, but losing JD hurt the team. 5-8 is going to be a roll of the dice, too.
JD was only really good June-August. The team won the division in May-June. I wouldn’t worry too much.
Yah. I’m sure moving to Colorado would immediately drop his strikeout rate by 20 points and double his walk rate.
You need to make contact to take advantage of the altitude.
Nolan Arenado wasn’t a very good player at 21 either.
I’d like to add- Arenado’s rookie season, he got into 133 games for an OPS+ of 81 at age 22. Riley’s was 21 and had an 86.
Good luck to LoMo. He gets a lot of unwarranted crap, but the guy was a class act in Tampa Bay! He also played pretty well.
A prime example of players that flop immediately after leaving Tampa bay, a la Steven Souza Jr. and Evan Longoria.
Don’t forget Chris Archer! Goes to show you that the Rays can do some things other teams cannot. Weird.
I don’t recall the “out” clause he had in his deal being known til now. The only issue with it, to me, is it would have allowed the brewers to stash him at least to see what smoak does for a couple weeks when games count.
I can’t blame LoMo for not wanting to play in AAA
It’ll be funny if he doesn’t make any MLB team after taking his ball and going home from the Brewers because he didn’t want to play AAA.
I’m sure he has done enough to be content with saying MLB or nothing.
He has but he may get nothing.
I’ll bet he’s considered the possibility of not catching on with another big league club, and decided he’s ok with walking away rather than attempting to prove he’s worthy of a call-up from AAA down the line.
If he was 22 years old and made took this kind of stance then yeah, it’d be worth a chuckle.
IMO, Riley should be an automatic demotion. Camargo is the better player right now, and keeping Riley on the Braves is a waste of service time.
Past that, he’s looked awful. His K/W is incredibly bad. And there is no downside to a demotion. If/when he learns the strike zone, you can always promote him.
His service time has already started so where he plays has no bearing on that. Also, just because Riley struggled last yr, doesn’t mean he will this yr. He worked all off-season on shortening his swing. That should help him cut back a lot on strikeouts, just have to see if he can lay off the breaking ball.
I have nothing against Morrison personally, but he’s just not very valuable to an MLB team. His defensive value is non-existent and he plays with a below average to poor bat. Sure, there’s nothing left to prove at AAA for him… or any other AAAA player.
Morrison turned and impressive first half of 2017 into an extra couple years in the big show and a few million dollars before he retires or moves on to a different career.
LoMo has been more than a AAAA player. He’s had big league success. It’s been streaky big league success but a 4A guy is a guy who rips up AAA and can’t hit in the bigs.
Not arguing, but he’s had only one year in the majors where he had a decent WAR. I’m not rooting against him, but I don’t hold out hope that he makes a ML roster.
Agreed. I think the fact that he hit a combined .187 in the majors the past two years indicates the type of hitter he is. He’s made 19 million since 2011—hope he invested well.
LoMo is 3rd or 4th on the depth chart at 1B. I guess he could try to catch on in Japan when he’s released.
How did the Nazi symbol be approved by the MLB guys here ?
Poor taste !
Probably cuz it’s not a Nazi symbol.
The swastica has a long history. In Chesterarthurs case, that particular symbol is an Asian Indian religous symbol that I THINK represent harmony but Chester could probably answer it better.
Sadly, the rich history of the symbol has been lost to the Nazi’s use of it. It very well MIGHT be wiser to have not approved the symbol but Im pretty sure they use filters rather than anyone giving approval.
Well, looks like Logan Morrison should be aiming for either the NPB or KBO at this point.
Who cares about LM? Yelich extension!!!!!!!!!!!!!