Atlanta Braves news and notes from Wednesday
Well it appears that Orlando Arcia is once again the clear shortstop for 2025 in Atlanta. He has a club option, so could easily be the shortstop next year as well. That said, I don’t think anyone is particularly thrilled with Arcia as the starting shortstop in this lineup, even as he is a serviceable option at a low price. The Braves will need someone else to man the position sometime relatively soon. One of the top in-house options that might be anywhere close might be Ambioris Tavarez, who is dynamic defensively, but has struggled mightily at the plate so far. He was perhaps putting things together at the plate in 2024, before an injury derailed his season. He is definitely a full season away at the very least, but the Braves don’t have a ton of internal options in the upper levels at the position. Nacho Alvarez seems likely to move off of shortstop long term, but he also must be mentioned here, as he still gets some deserved love as a prospect. Where Atlanta’s next starting shortstop will come from in the post-Arcia era is quite unclear, as acquiring a high end shortstop isn’t an easy task either.
Braves News
Stephen expanded on something I noted a few days ago: the Braves bringing in a large quantity of viable relievers to Spring Training in the (fairly reasonable) hope that a few will come through as legitimate options in the majors this year.
Ivan asked what Hurston Waldrep will do in 2025, after coming into 2024 with quite a lot of hype, but struggling both in the majors and in AAA.
Cam Caminiti made Eric Longenhagen’s list of “Picks to Click” at Fangraphs, meaning he thinks Cam will be in the top 100 prospects next year.
MLB News
The Nationals signed former Braves’ prospect Lucas Sims to a $3 million major league deal.
The Rockies signed Scott Alexander to a $2 million major league deal, adding a cheap old reliever who had a solid year in 2024.