Atlanta Braves Demoting Ryan Flaherty the Right Move for Atlanta

The Atlanta Braves have outrighted Ryan Flaherty ending his time on the Braves bench for the time being. A good move giving Atlanta more depth than they had with Ryan on the team.

Ryan Flaherty was one of the early success stories for the Atlanta Braves. Ryan started out hot at the plate and played good defense for Atlanta. As the season wore on his bat became cold bringing his average down .222 when he was designated for assignment.

For now,  Flaherty has accepted his Triple-A assignment giving Atlanta time to let him rejoin the team. The only catch for the Braves is the fact they would have to clear a 40-man roster spot to add Ryan during September call-ups.

Flaherty had a great impact on the Braves hot start but his inability to hit and Johan Camargo’s superior defense limited his use.

Charlie Culberson has taken over as the team’s utility man and has had a much bigger impact offensively.

Culberson and Camargo both offer the team more positional flexibility. Flaherty’s bench spot will likely be taken by a pitcher or outfielder once Kurt Suzuki proves himself fully healthy.

The Braves are holding onto a 3.5 game lead in the National League East over the Phillies.  The East has quickly become a two-team race as we head into the final month of the season.

Sending Flaherty down will offer the team a more useful player as they attempt to hold onto their division lead.

With two series left at the end of the season against the Phillies, the National League East winner is likely to be decided in the final week of the season.

Promising exciting baseball as the Braves attempt to break through to the postseason after pushing themselves back into relevance this season.  Sending Flaherty down was a wise move, one that pushes the team closer to the postseason.