With Ha-Seong Kim’s rehab assignment over, shortstop Jim Jarvis’ future with team unclear

How has the past month in the big leagues been for Jim Jarvis?

“Fast,” he said, without hesitation, in a conversation Saturday with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Jarvis is assured at least one more game, Sunday’s series finale against the Nationals. He may get more, either this week or later this month or down the line, but the long-term future is unknown. Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim was reinstated from the injured list Saturday night, and the team has 48 hours to determine if they want to release him, designate him for assignment, trade him or add him to the major league roster.

Jarvis, meanwhile, certainly made an impression on his teammates, his coaches, his manager and the fans. The one they call “Jimmy Baseball” hit .273 with an on-base percentage of .325 since his second call-up began July 2.

The 25-year-old never had a lack of confidence that he could hang with the Braves, even though he hadn’t made his MLB debut until May and hadn’t played above Double-A until this season.

“I think that it’s more just getting more comfortable,” Jarvis said. “I think confidence is — if you’re kind of basing it off results, you’re not in a great spot. It’s more internal.

“But it’s definitely just about the comfort in the locker room and with routines throughout the day that lead into, I guess you could say, more confidence. It’s more just comfortability.”

It seemed as if the Braves had found their long-term solution at shortstop with Jarvis. Mauricio Dubón started at the position at season’s outset while Kim recovered from a January finger injury. Then Kim returned and hit an abysmal .068 over 27 games before feeling discomfort in that same injured finger.

Jorge Mateo has also played shortstop some as well, but not with the consistency and quality of Jarvis. Jarvis’ above-average arm strength has helped him be a part of 20 double-plays turned in his 25 games.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Jarvis, of course. On July 25 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Jarvis dropped two pop-ups in a game the Braves lost 3-2 to the Orioles. The next day Jarvis made five assists on five chances and started a double play.

At the plate, he dropped a pair of sacrifice bunts and drew a walk.

“I mean, it’s one of those things like whether that was in high school or Little League, I’m gonna be pissed at myself. Obviously, it’s magnified because it’s in the big leagues. But regardless of the situation, that’s just unacceptable. It’s something that I know shouldn’t happen and won’t happen.

“I had a good conversation with Yaz (Braves outfielder Mike Yastrzemski) during the game about it, and it’s one of the things you just gotta flush. You can’t let it sit too long.”

Jarvis’ potential demotion would be undoubtedly disappointing for the former Alabama standout, and perhaps just as much so for those in the stands who have come to enjoy his play. But the fact Jarvis has options remaining, and that Kim is on a one-year, $20-million contract, makes more sense from a business perspective to bring Kim back to the roster — even if he did hit just .200 with nine strikeouts in 13 games for the Stripers.

If Jarvis does end up being sent back to Gwinnett, there’s always a chance he could return to the club when the roster expands in September.

“Right now Jarvis is handling himself really well, particularly on the defensive side,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Friday. “It’s always good to have more options, right? And that shortstop position has changed a lot this year. There’s been a lot of change to that position based on injuries, based on performance, and all kinds of things. We’ll see what happens moving forward. But right now, (Jarvis) is playing well.”

If Jarvis was concerned about his future with the big-league club Saturday, he didn’t let on, going through his normal pregame routines and batting practice at Truist Park. But he made an error on a routine ground ball in the top of the third inning (although he erased that miscue by starting a 6-4-3 double play).

And then in the fourth inning, Jarvis was charged a second error when he went to backhand a hard-hit ball by CJ Abrams and couldn’t make the play cleanly. At the plate, Jarvis connected for a two-out single in the bottom of that inning — then was picked off first to end the frame.