The injury that landed Travis d’Arnaud on the 10-day injured list yesterday appears much worse than originally expected. Per David O’Brien of the Athletic (via Twitter), further testing remains on the docket, but the Braves know enough to move d’Arnaud to the 60-day injured list today, per the team. In addition, Alex Jackson, who replaced d’Arnaud in yesterday’s game, has also landed on the injured list with a strained left hamstring.
Just like that, the Braves have undergone a complete line change at the catching position. Along with William Contreras, the Braves selected the contract of Jeff Mathis. The veteran defensive specialist joined Atlanta on a minor league contract at the end of March. It is not hyperbole to label the 38-year-old Mathis a defensive savant behind the plate. His defensive wizardry has propped up a 16-year career despite a paltry .194/.253/.300 batting line across 3,006 plate appearances.
Interestingly, the Braves also have Tyler Flowers lurking within the organization. Flowers took on a strategic role with the Braves this season helping to integrate analytics into in-game preparation for the Braves’ catchers. While it’s largely assumed that the 35-year-old’s playing career is done, both Flowers and the Braves left open the possibility that he could return to active duty this season. Certainly, the ranks are thinning in Atlanta, and speculatively speaking, they must be considering whether it might be time to give serious consideration to a Flowers return.
For now, however, it seems Contreras will get the bulk of the playing time in Atlanta. The 22-year-old went 4-for-10 in a cup-of-coffee last season. Fangraphs had him as the sixth-ranked prospect in Atlanta’s system prior to this season. He is the younger brother of Cubs’ standout Willson Contreras.
The legend himself.
Nightmare scenario
What that s*^% …
Alright, I need Jeff Mathis to play 2b on my “All Older Than Me Team.” He played 3 innings 3 years ago. Before now, I had Albert Pujols at 2b, he played 1 game at 2b in 2008. I turn 37 in 2 days. I am surprised this exercise is this difficult.
In case you’re curious, the pitching staff is pretty solid.
C: Kurt Suzuki
1b: Joey Votto
2b: Jeff Mathis
SS: Brett Lawrie
3b: Yadier Molina (one game in career)
LF: Nelson Cruz
CF: Brett Gardner
RF: Miguel Cabrera
Honestly, maybe Pujols is better at 2b because of a better bat.
Last year this was much better. I had Markakis, Choo, and Pence in the OF, and I had Howie Kendrick at 3b and Robinson Cano at 2b. Respectable team. I don’t think I can do this next year, even if I get Cano back.
Do you mean Jed Lowrie? Brett Lawrie is still 31.
Ah yes, Jed Lowrie.
If Pujols played even an inning at any other pos. than 1B at this point, his nickname would be “The Statue”
Right. Albert Pujols did play an inning of 3b in 2019.
I can’t believe this is that hard. In 2007 I was 23, and I certainly wasn’t creating these teams at that time. I remember that year the Mets had 4 guys in their 40s start a game. Glavine P, Alomar C, Alou LF, and Conine 3b. Barry Bonds, Craig Biggio, Steve Finley, Kenny Lofton, Julio Franco, and Omar Vizquel still roamed MLB at that time as well. I could easily create a team for a guy who was 37, even 40.
If only you were 2 months younger, you could get Yuli Gurriel at 2B/3B.
Yep. And Max Scherzer is only slightly younger than me. But my pitching staff is pretty good.
Also, Sean Kazmar Jr. who came up briefly after 13 years since his last MLB appearance. He plays multiple infield positions, and is only slightly younger than me.
I’ll bet Travis d’Arnaud tore a ligament in his thumb and will need surgery. If so, he wouldn’t be available till at least August.
Imagine having to face Ronald Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman, Marcell Ozuna, and then Jeff Mathis. Has to be the deadliest 1-4 in all of baseball.
Jeff Mathis
If Mathis bats 100, he would out hit Alex Jackson.
Have a feeling this season won’t suddenly improve. Even if we make the playoffs out of a bad division, just don’t think it’s our year. Good chance to see what Braves may have in Contreras.
On another note, we’re in Acuña’s fourth season, his third of a 10 year contract. I know there’s still plenty of time, but just a reminder that it does fly by.
On Opening Day I figured the Phillies 1st, Braves 2nd, Marlins 3rd, Mets 4th, and Nationals 5th.
All teams in MLB have weaknesses. But nothing like the NL East. I watched a lot of games from the 5 teams in April. All have so many holes I’m no longer sure who’s worse. Have 2 things figured……
1. The Marlins are the only team that have the potential for multiple guys on their roster to improve quite a bit in 2021 as so many are young.
2. The bullpen that is the least terrible will probably take the division.
Maybe the Braves could use a little Sanchez action?
L O L
I make them good deal. 2 pizzas, 4 hot dogs and all you can drink cola on the table.
Man, Atlanta has had some absolutely brutal luck with injuries this season. I think Contreras might do alright as a fill-in, though. Depth is getting thin though without rushing Langaliers.
Did Lucroy get picked up by anyone?
did he burn his bridges in Milwaukee?
Possibly. Refusing to go to Cleveland before being dealt to Texas was probably a breaking point
Don’t worry, not a bit, AA is a genius. I hope he is thinking about the 2021 winter meetings .
The success the Braves have enjoyed under AA is largely thanks to the efforts of the Wren and Coppolella regimes. He’s had some big hits (Donaldson and Ozuna) and some big misses (Hamels, Smith, and Smyly) He’s largely shied away from moves that could put the Braves over the top when it’s obvious they are in a “go for it” window (ask the Cubs, Rockies, Indians, and any other team except the Yankees or Dodgers how long those last). Sure, he gets some credit for signing Acuña and Albies but even I could’ve negotiated those deals. He also saw everyone of his starters minus Fried get hurt or demoted and responded by “trying to for weeks” to acquire…Tommy Milone. (Yes, I used quotation marks because that is something he said.) And again, he rushed to overpay Drew Smyly for $11 million on November 16 when his closer (Melancon), outfielder (Duvall), and veteran arm (O’Day) all signed for around the same price. Not to mention Shane Greene still being out there.
So, yes. He was given the keys to a car and told to enter it in a car show. But instead of trying to win it, he’s rested on the fact that he’s got a good enough car regardless.
Why are you people so miserable. It’s Sunday. Go outside, may help.
On the bright side, if the Braves suck it up all year, it will increase the chances AA is kicked out the door. Even better, maybe just maybe new ownership rumors begin. But that likely wont be the case because people keep bouncing off the meaningless season last year.
The only silver lining this year is Acuna.
Anderson is not consistent at all.
Otherwise this team is plain bad.
Is it too late to teach Pablo Sandoval how to catch?
If by too late you mean can you go back to 2008 when Sandoval was actually able to squat behind the plate? Then yes, it’s way, way too late
If Jonathan Lucroy still available he might be a nice stopgap for this season.
This team is absolutely horrendous right now. If they don’t win a World Series in the very near future then the rebuild was a complete waste. The 2013 team won the division and the 2014 team was in contention until they had a very rough September. Those teams weren’t good enough to win it all though. That’s why they tore it down and started to rebuild. If they simply just keep coming up short of the ultimate goal then the rebuild was pointless. It was just three years of not being anywhere near competitive for absolutely no reason. That doesn’t sit well when you simply end up right back where you were before the rebuild. If they win a World Series then the years of being awful are actually worth it.
Braves were so bad before the rebuild that they couldn’t win a post-season series. They had no internal starting pitching back then. Their ace was Julio and they lacked the cash to sign expensive top tier pitchers. I don’t call that satisfactory.
The Braves didn’t win a postseason series in 2018 or 2019 either and last year isn’t the same because they beat two .500 teams that wouldn’t have even made the postseason in a normal year. This team is better on paper than the 2013-2014 teams but they still haven’t accomplished the ultimate goal so it’s a moot point.
If you think every outcome other than winning a ws is a failure of a rebuild, you were likely to be disappointed no matter what. Only one team a year can win that.
The rebuild gave the Braves a pretty solid core of controllable players, I think that’s the goal of a rebuild.
No one is suggesting that they should win the World Series every year or even every five years but you can’t call it a successful rebuild if they win zero. The whole point of the rebuild was to put together a team that isn’t just going to lose in the first or second round every single year. The Braves already had that before the rebuild…with losses in the first round in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
I’ll put it this way. Any decade without at least one World Series title is a failure. Say what you will about the ’90s Braves underachieving because they underachieved a lot but they at least won a championship. The (Atlanta) Braves can’t say that for any other decade.
You guys are all numbskulls. If Mookie doesn’t make that unbelievable catch in game 7 last year good chance Braves win it all. I know it’s a slow start but I have a feeling things will get much better. It’s mostly Freeman and others not hitting much but after tonight it seems that might change. Putting Alex Jackson on IL is a blessing. They should just cut him altogether. Only complaint I have with management is him. They can’t admit to themselves they made a mistake about him. Have a little faith for christsakes and quit being Debbie Downers.