Somehow, despite all that has gone wrong for them, the Atlanta Braves are where they expected to be all along – in a postseason spot. Their lead is just 0.5 games over the New York Mets, but armed with one of the easiest schedules in the sport down the stretch, the Braves are seen as the favorite to land the third Wild Card spot in the NL.
Assuming they take care of business, the Braves will have to trim their active roster down from the 28 players they’re allowed in September to 26 by the time that the postseason begins.
The roster cuts will mean two players currently on their roster will not be on the team when the postseason begins. The fact that players like Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley might be back by then creates the possibility of more roster cuts. These four players in particular should not be on Atlanta’s postseason roster if/when they make it.
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4. John Brebbia, RP
This one might not be fair since John Brebbia hasn’t played in a game for the Braves yet, but based on what he did with the Chicago White Sox, Brebbia should not be on Atlanta’s postseason roster.
The right-hander had a 6.29 ERA in 54 appearances and 48.2 innings of work for the White Sox this season. No, pitching on what will likely be the worst team in MLB history didn’t help, and his 4.43 FIP suggests that he was unlucky to have an ERA that high, but Brebbia looks like the worst reliever in what’s turned out to be a really formidable Atlanta bullpen.
What should really seal Brebbia’s fate is the fact that he has allowed nine home runs in under 50 innings this season, and he has issued 17 walks as well. The walks aren’t a major concern, but he has allowed way too many home runs. One big swing can change the course of any given game or series in the postseason, and Atlanta can’t be relying on Brebbia if his home run problems persist.
Perhaps he’ll flip a switch going from the worst team to a contender. We’ve seen players like Gio Urshela and Whit Merrifield magically flip the switch when they put on the Braves uniform. Until he proves it, though, Brebbia’s White Sox performance was nowhere near good enough to be worthy of holding a postseason roster spot.
3. Adam Duvall, OF
This is a tough one, as Adam Duvall has been on their active roster all season long. The Braves thought they were getting Duvall at a bargain price of $3 million to be their fourth outfielder and get some starts against lefties, and it’s hard to blame them — he was tremendous in 2023 and had a strong track record with Atlanta. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out well at all.
Duvall got off to a roaring start against southpaws, and played so well to the point where he was thrust into an everyday role when Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered his season-ending injury. Unfortunately, his struggles against righties were glaring from the jump, and Duvall hasn’t really found it ever since his early-season surge.
Overall, he’s slashing .185/.245/.329 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI in 99 games and 323 plate appearances. His .871 OPS against lefties is impressive, but is way down from where it was earlier in the year. His .406 OPS against righties makes him unplayable full-time.
Duvall makes sense in a platoon role, but there’s one big problem. Ramon Laureano has emerged and has looked far better than Duvall who has four hits in his last 34 at-bats, three of which came in one game. Laureano is platooning with Jarred Kelenic in left field, and the other two spots are occupied by Michael Harris II and Jorge Soler, full-time players.
With Laureano pounding lefties as he has, there is no need for Duvall, who hasn’t started a game since August 22, nearly two weeks ago as of this writing. Hopefully the Braves realize that come October.
2. Luke Williams, IF
Luke Williams has spent a substantial amount of time this season on Atlanta’s active roster, yet he has appeared in just 27 games, has 30 plate appearances, and has a total of five hits.
Williams can play a variety of positions around the diamond and can run, but there are two things to keep in mind when it comes to his roster spot.
First, Albies and/or Riley should be back by October. Second, even if the Braves plan on using Williams as a pinch runner, he isn’t the best option. Atlanta has Eli White, a player who hasn’t seen much MLB action but ranks in the 91st percentile in sprint speed according to Baseball Savant while Williams is in the 78th percentile.
If White is the better runner and the Braves get infield depth back to force one or both of Whit Merrifield and Gio Urshela to the bench, what’s the point of rostering WIlliams? There is none.
1. Luke Jackson, RP
Jorge Soler might not be the best fit in Atlanta considering how subpar his glove is, but his bat has been a welcome addition since the Braves got him at the trade deadline. Some sense could be made of the deal to bring him back. Attaching Luke Jackson to the deal, though, never made much sense, and the Braves are figuring that out the hard way.
Jackson had a 5.40 ERA in 36 appearances for the San Francisco Giants earlier this season and has only struggled even worse since returning to the Braves, as evidenced by his 7.20 ERA in nine appearances since the trade. He has allowed nine runs (eight earned) in 10 innings of work, which is obviously not good enough.
Brian Snitker loves to use him, for whatever reason, but the Braves have a guy like Daysbel Hernandez in the minors more worthy of a spot, and will also be moving a starting pitcher to the bullpen if they roll with the traditional four-man rotation in the postseason.
Jackson was an important piece of their World Series win in 2021, but it’s 2024 now. He isn’t the same guy, and the Braves need to realize that.