Yasiel Puig Signing Off After Positive Test for COVID-19
The major league baseball season, all 60 games of it, is slated to get underway next Thursday, July 23. We’ve seen some big names (Buster Posey, David Price) opt out of playing this season in an effort to maintain their health and avoid potential pratfalls. There are going to be faces in new places this year. Gerrit Cole is now a Yankee, Mookie Betts will be wearing Dodger blue and Corey Kluber will be dealing for the Rangers as opposed to being the ace of the Cleveland Indians’ rotation.
One of the teams that was dealing with multiple players that have opted out is the Braves, who lost Felix Hernandez and Nick Markakis during the offseason. While the loss of Hernandez wasn’t a big deal given the depth that Atlanta has in their starting rotation, losing Markakis took a proven commodity out of the outfield group as he has been a fixture in right field over the last several years. Earlier this week, the Braves seemed to patch that hole by signing Yasiel Puig to a one-year deal. However, it now appears that they’re scrambling to find a solution once again.
It was announced on Friday that the deal with Puig was off, at least for the short term, as he tested positive for COVID-19. The deal that was struck was contingent on him testing negative and being available for the season start next week. As a result, he remains a free agent. Puig stated on social media that he didn’t have symptoms and felt fine. He also said: "I will be quarantined until I receive two negative test results, which I hope will arrive shortly,” on his Twitter account. How much of an impact does this have on Atlanta? Well, for starters, it takes a proven veteran that has a track record of contributing both with his bat and his glove out of the mix.
In order to replace Puig in the lineup, that’s going to be something to watch. Puig would have slotted in to be the starting right fielder but with him out of the mix, manager Brian Snitker is going to have to do some shuffling around. As it stands right now according to most depth charts for the Braves, Ronald Acuna Jr. will shift from center field to right. That could strengthen the corner outfield spot for Atlanta but one has to be concerned about whether it will hamper them overall.
Should Acuna Jr. move to right, that would push Ender Inciarte into center field duties. He played in just 65 games last season and hit a career-low .246 with five homers, 24 RBI and seven steals in eight attempts. After hitting between .278 and .304 in his first four seasons, Inciarte dropped to .265 in 2018 before tumbling further last year. He’s also dealt with injuries that have taken a toll in the last couple of years and was a -1 in defensive runs saved last season, marking the first time in his career that he was negative and just the second time that he was below 15 defensive runs saved in his career.
As for left field, that could be a push between Marcell Ozuna, who the Braves got from St. Louis in the offseason, and Adam Duvall. Ozuna is a bat that Snitker is going to want to keep in the middle of his lineup on a regular basis, so he could conceivably flip between left field and the DH slot this year. Duvall is a pretty league-average player that has 541 games of major league experience but has to show he’s more productive at the plate. He does have a mark of 45 defensive runs saved in his career so he can play the field. Austin Riley could be a factor but he’s going to have to prove that he can hit more consistently, especially after cratering to a .161 mark with two homers and eight RBI over 87 plate appearances in the second half of the season. Pitchers seemed to figure him out as he posted a .257 mark with 16 homers and 41 RBI in 187 at-bats before the break.
It’s a tough blow for the Braves but they do have capable depth to step in and contribute. How the Braves juggle their outfield if they don’t go after Puig again will be critical in a tough NL East this season.
