Braves Position Battles

Coming into the 2008 season there are still many things to be decided for the Atlanta Braves. Here are some of the key position battles that will play out in Spring Training and possibly the early part of the season.

Left Fielder
It seems that Matt Diaz will be the primary left fielder next year, as he has been great in platoon roles each of the last two years. The question will be whether or not he will man the position by himself or be involved in a platoon again. I beleive that the Braves will continue what they have had going and platoon him again. Brandon Jones will most likely be the man who is patrolling left with him.

Back-up Catcher
The competition will be between Brayan Pena, Javy Lopez, Corky Miller and Clint Sammons. I think Lopez will win this job as long as he plays reasonably well in spring. Pena and Miller will again play in the minors, as will Sammons. Sammons has the brightest future among the three, and likely will be in Atlanta in a year or two, although he might still only be competing to backup Brian McCann.

Last Bench Spot
The Braves will have a Catcher (Javy Lopez), a First Baseman (Scott Thorman), a utility (Omar Infante) and an Outfielder (Brandon Jones). The final choice will likely be between Martin Prado, Josh Anderson and Brent Lillibridge. I think Lillibridge will get the nod because he has the ability to play 6 positions (2B, 3B, SS, OF) while Prado is limited to INF and Anderson to OF.

Fifth Spot in the Rotation
There are many candidates for the final rotation spot, which could wind up being two spots if Mike Hampton is unable to go. Chuck James, Jair Jurrjens, Jo-Jo Reyes, Buddy Carlyle, Jeff Bennett, Charlie Morton and Matt DeSalvo. James will likely get the first shot, he struggled last year in the number 3 role. Jurrjens, Reyes and Morton all need more seasoning, at least for part of the year. DeSalvo, who was previously with the Yankees, will likely spend time in the minors, and will be something like 10th on the starting pitcher depth chart. Carlyle pitched well in spots last year, but doesn't have the stuff to consistently compete with the others in the organization. Bennett is out of options so he will likely end up in the bullpen, and he could get a long look for a starting spot being that he impressed Bobby Cox last year and got in great shape this offseason.

Bullpen
7 pitchers will make it in the bullpen, and there are many options. Instead of listing them all, I will count down the top seven. Rafeal Soriano, Peter Moylan and Will Ohman are all locks. Jeff Bennett and Blaine Boyer are both out of options, so they will likely make the pen so the Braves don't lose them. Tyler Yates throws hard, and is liked by Cox, although he struggled often last year. Manny Acosta is a young and talented pitcher with a nasty slider. Those seven will likely start out in the pen. Yates should be in the minors, as he has struggled, and I think that Royce Ring would be much more deserving of the spot. With all of the options that the Braves have coming into this season (including Mike Gonzalez coming back in June/July) it will be unlikely that Yates or any other pitcher will be able to go through major struggles and keep their job.