Atlanta Braves Must Remember Johan Camargo Earned Playing Time

Spring Training for the Atlanta Braves is underway and with it questions about the season to come. One big question facing the team will be where Johan Camargo factors in?

Johan Camargo was one of the underrated contributors for the Atlanta Braves last season. He hit .272 driving in 76-runs while hitting 19-homers during an injury shortened season.  He made it clear he was the starting third baseman and a part of the Braves future.

All of this went out of the window when the Braves signed third baseman Josh Donaldson. A move that I still love, and believe to be a good one for the young franchise.

However, it is fair to wonder how this sits with Camargo. He had made it clear he wants to start and help this franchise continue in the right direction. He has earned a starting role, though there isn’t any arguing if healthy Donaldson is a huge upgrade.

For the Braves, they must find a way to keep Camargo’s bat in the lineup consistently. Letting him play all around the infield and giving him a chance in the outfield. Keeping the team’s veterans fresh and sharing shortstop duties to get his bat in the lineup.

Johan Camargo is extremely talented and will offer the Braves versatility they lacked last season. Depth is a huge part of success for any postseason hopeful. The Braves were witness to it last season playing the Dodgers in the first round of postseason play.

The Dodgers lineup shuffling and flexibility gave them what seemed to be limitless lineup combinations to throw at Atlanta on a nightly basis. While simply moving Camargo to a super utility role won’t achieve this, it is a step in the right direction.

Providing Atlanta with depth and a better team if they can keep Camargo happy shuffling him in and out of the lineup. The Braves 2019 roster has more flexibility, flexibility it will need to win an ever improving NL East.