Yesterday the Atlanta Braves announced that Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake were optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. Grissom and Shewmake, up until yesterday’s announcement, seemed to be the two favorites to win the battle to be the Braves everyday shortstop. However, with them both now headed to Gwinnett it looks like Orlando Arcia is the new favorite to be the Atlanta Braves everyday shortstop come opening day.
Now, Orlando Arcia is a solid player, but let’s face it he isn’t a Dansby Swanson who played in all 162 games last season, was an All-Star, hit at least 25 home runs with at least 85 RBI’s the past two seasons, and right now is arguably the best defensive shortstop in all of baseball with a gold glove to prove it. Originally what made Braves fans okay with the Braves letting Dansby Swanson walk this offseason was the fact that Vaughn Grissom was waiting in the wings, and Grissom looked like a young up and coming stud at times last season while he was filling in for an injured Ozzie Albies.
During his time in the big leagues, Vaughn splashed onto the scene and eventually his bat cooled down some, but you knew the potential was there offensively and defensively. Also, the reason Grissom was called up in the first place last season is because of Orlando’s struggles at the plate while he was trying to fill the hole at second base during Ozzie’s injury. Again, Grissom saw early success at the plate and cooled down, but only being twenty-one years old, having a really big upside offensively and defensively made Dansby Swanson going to the Cubs in the offseason not sting as much because there seemed to be a plan.
When Freddie Freeman left there was an obvious back-up plan, and it seemed to be the same way with Dansby, but after yesterday’s news that is all in question. Now, it seems like the Braves might regret their decision not to bring Dansby Swanson back, and it seems like Braves fans now have a right to be frustrated. Earlier today The Morning Shift gave their take on Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake being optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Mike Johnson tries to make some sense of the move by calling it “organizational depth”, but does admit that he was “dumbfounded” by the decision. Mike also says “It just seemed like the writing was on the wall that one of these guys was going to be the shortstop of the future…”
Tiffany isn’t as concerned about the move by the Braves saying “You look at the guy [Orlando Arcia] he’s still got a cannon for an arm, and so I think offensively it’s not that big of a concern when you look at the lineup that they have.” Tiffany also talks about the idea of batting Arcia lower in the lineup, possibly the nine hole, to take some pressure off him offensively, and really just have him focus on the defensive end.
Beau Morgan wasn’t thrilled with the move by the Braves, and brought up the fact that Dansby Swanson was reportedly prepared to come back to the Braves on a more “team friendly deal”, and that the Braves could’ve brought Swanson back for less than what the Chicago Cubs signed him for.
Beau also talks about needing to be sure about who the future Braves shortstop is, and how that won’t be accomplished with Orlando Arcia as the everyday shortstop saying “Okay my future at this position is not Orlando Arcia, it’s either Braden Shewmake or it’s Vaughn Grissom, and I need to figure out if Vaughn Grissom is going to be the guy because if not his bat is so valuable why can’t I find another place for him like left field.”
Beau finishes his thought by saying "Why am I not using him now, that’s the problem for me, why are we waiting when we can go ahead and figure out what we have and let’s move forward with the future, instead I feel like I'm in neutral.”
Mike, Tiffany, and Beau finish the conversation by debating whether or not this was an “organizational depth” move like Mike and Beau believe, or if this move was made because the Braves are seeing something, or maybe not seeing something, from Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake that warranted them being optioned to Triple-A like Tiffany believes. The only thing that seems clear right now is that there is a fog of uncertainty around the future of the shortstop position for the Atlanta Braves, and you can’t help but think this should’ve been avoided by bringing Dansby Swanson back.