Johan Camargo ended the regular season seemingly off the Braves' radar. He didn’t play in a game after Sept. 5 and was assigned to the alternate training site in Gwinnett County on Sept. 9.
But he showed up again this week, starting for the Braves at third base in the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Fortunately, now I’m here,” Camargo said through an interpreter before Game 4 on Thursday. “I think everyone is going to have their moments. I know mine will come, so you just have to keep the faith.”
Camargo was added to the Braves' NLCS roster Tuesday, replacing left fielder Adam Duvall, who suffered a season-ending oblique injury in the second inning of Game 1. Camargo was in the starting lineup at third base for games 3 and 4 as Austin Riley moved from third to left field and Nick Markakis sat out against left-handed starting pitchers.
Camargo hadn’t played in a game in 38 days before starting in Game 3. He went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the ninth inning of the Braves' 15-3 loss, his first career postseason hit after going 0-for-15 against the Dodgers in a 2018 Division Series. In the sixth inning Wednesday, he ran 115 feet down the left-field line to make a sliding catch of a popup, narrowly avoiding a collision with Riley.
“That was a wreck waiting to happen right there,” manager Brian Snitker said Thursday. “I’m glad he caught it and more glad they didn’t collide.”
Camargo, a 26-year-old switch-hitter, has struggled since having what appeared to be a breakout season as the Braves' starting third baseman in 2018. He hit .272 with 19 home runs, 76 RBIs and an .806 OPS (on-base-plus-slugging percentage) in 134 games that season. But he slipped to a .233 batting average and .663 OPS as a utility player in 2019 and to a .200 average and .611 OPS in 35 games in the shortened 2020 season.
He got most of his playing time this season at second base while Ozzie Albies was on the injured list. He was sent to the alternate site when Albies was activated.
“I’ve never been one to really hang my head when these things happen,” Camargo said of that demotion. “Fortunately, right now I can be a part of this, and I can try to contribute in any way I can.”
Camargo is one of nine players on the Braves' current NLCS roster – almost one-third of the 28-man roster -- who were assigned to the alternate training site for portions of the season. Three of them were in the starting lineup Thursday: Camargo, center fielder Cristian Pache and starting pitcher Bryse Wilson.
Other alternate-site alumni on the Braves' NLCS roster include starting pitchers Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright, relievers Jacob Webb and Huascar Ynoa, utilityman Charlie Culberson and infielder Pablo Sandoval. Markakis also worked out at the Gwinnett stadium as he prepared to return to the team after opting out at the start of the season because of coronavirus concerns.
The alternate camp was necessary because the pandemic canceled the minor-league season.
“That was a tough situation for those guys, for the players, the coaches that ran it, but I think they did as good as they possibly could with the simulated games and keeping guys in shape,” Snitker said.
Depth in the organization, beyond the players on the big-league active roster at any particular point, is a priority of Braves general manager/president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos. He saw how such depth helped the Dodgers during the two years he worked in their front office before joining the Braves.
“That is something I learned to value and appreciate,” Anthopoulos said. “The Dodgers are extremely deep.”
The Braves dipped into their own depth when Duvall was injured.
“I just honestly feel grateful for the opportunity to be here,” Camargo said. “I’m grateful that they saw this potential in me and wanted me around.”
