ATL All Day
Fansided

Adonis Garcia: Future with the Atlanta Braves?

By Jonathan Savitske

facebooktwitterreddit

Adonis Garcia has had his fair share of playing time following the trade of Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe to the New York Mets at the end of July.

Since the trade, Garcia has played in 35 games, primarily utilized as the Atlanta Braves’ starting third-baseman. The long-time journeyman has batted .260 with 7 homers and 11 RBI’s, while owning a gaudy .481 slugging percentage.

-= Related: Hector Olivera to Make Braves Debut Against Marlins =-

Adonis Garcia has also become arguably the Braves’ most clutch hitter during this dismal stretch of their schedule, hitting 4 clutch home-runs to keep the Braves in games. His timely hitting has given the Braves the desire to maybe test his versatility in the month of September, and to evaluate whether the Cuban infielder’s bat can be kept in the lineup while auditioning him at other positions around the diamond to assess if he may have a future beyond this season with the club.

Live Feed

MLB Rumors: Braves striking out, Ohtani spurned Giants, Soto-Yankees extension
MLB Rumors: Braves striking out, Ohtani spurned Giants, Soto-Yankees extension /

FanSided

  • The cause and effect of the Braves alluring additions of Kelenic and Fletcher House That Hank Built
  • The 6 best Atlanta Braves who were never recognized as All-StarsHouse That Hank Built
  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto update: Yankees on, Dodgers question, Braves wild cardCall to the Pen
  • World Series Odds: Which Teams Have Value after Shohei Ohtani Signing?Betsided
  • Braves finalize coaching moves after Wash-led exodusFanSided

    • With Hector Olivera set to make his debut on Tuesday against the Marlins, Adonis Garcia will most likely find his playing time at third-base diminished over the next month. Because his bat has been one of the few bright spots during the Braves hideous stretch of losing 13 out of their last 14 games, Fredi Gonzalez may try to see if Garcia can man other positions on the field.

    One option for the Braves in regard to Garcia would be to place him in left field. Following the trade of Jonny Gomes to the Kansas City Royals on Monday evening, Adonis Garcia could fill the void of providing a righ-handed bat at the position. He could platoon with Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, and could start when the Braves oppose a lefty.

    More from Atlanta Braves

    Another option for the Braves would be to see if Garcia has the range to play second base. Jace Peterson, though highly regarded as the second baseman of the future within the organization, has struggled of late, batting only .174 in the month of July and .238 in the month of August. Peterson clearly needs more time to develop, as he has demonstrated issues in hitting curveballs and sliders throughout this season.

    Adonis Garcia could start at second base for the Braves, providing a better look for the club when evaluating his potential and his future. Fredi Gonzalez has discussed his faith in Garcia’s ability to man other positions, stating:

    "“”We love [Garcia’s] bat,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I’ve explained this to Garcia, he’s done everything we want him to do offensively and he’s been really impressive. We know he can play third and we know we can run him out there in left field. One of our scouts who had scouted him a long time ago, said this guy can play a little second base.”"

    The primary obstacle with experimenting with Adonis Garcia at other positions is obviously his defensive capabilities. While playing as the Braves’ starting third-baseman, Garcia has accrued 6 errors in 31 games played at 3rd, including 3 errors during a game last week against the Colorado Rockies during a Mike Foltynewicz start. Those three errors cost Folty and the Braves the game. His defensive deficiencies will be especially apparent in the Braves intend to utilize Garcia at second base instead of Jace Peterson.

    -= See Also: Adonis Garcia: From Journeyman to Unsung Hero for Braves =-

    It has become clear that Adonis Garcia is now well regarded within the Braves organization. With the club out of playoff contention, Fredi Gonzalez can tinker with the Braves lineup to experiment in different situations with Garcia. Though it is difficult for Braves’ fans to see the team in this dire position, there are still silver linings such as this which reaffirm our love for the game of baseball.

    Next: Manny Banuelos Recalled, Starting Tuesday vs. Fish

    More from ATL All Day

    Home/Atlanta Braves