Erick Aybar’s latest slump got the veteran shortstop bounced from the Braves lineup Sunday for just the second time in the past 17 games.
Aybar was 2-for-26 (.077) with no extra-base hits, no RBIs, no walks and eight strikeouts in his past eight games, and also grounded into four double plays and made three errors during that period.
After a dreadful first 2 ½ months this season, Aybar showed signs of a resurgence before this latest funk. In 19 games from June 13 through July 4, he hit .323 with five doubles, one homer, eight RBIs and a .405 on-base percentage.
But since hitting his first homer of the season in the July 4 game at Philadelphia, he’s reverted to early season form. He had consecutive games with four and three strikeouts July 8-9 against the White Sox, and he’s grounded into a double play in each of his past three games.
Aybar also made a throwing error to home plate in the ninth inning when the decisive run scored to cap the Rockies’ 4-3 comeback win.
Among the 197 major leaguers who had at least 250 plate appearances before Sunday, Aybar ranked 195th in batting average (.210), 194th in on-base percentage (.261) and dead last in slugging percentage (.263).
The Braves got Aybar, 32, from the Angels along with pitching prospects Sean Newcomb and Chris Ellis in a November trade for shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Aybar is making $8.5 million this season in the final year of his contract before free agency.
The Braves thought he’d be a solid one-year bridge at shortstop, or at least play well there for a few months so they could trade him in July if they were ready to bring up top prospect Dansby Swanson (or Ozzie Albies, though Albies has since moved to second base).
But after the Braves heard some trade interest in Aybar during his recent promising three-week stretch of hitting, the return to terrible performance has presumably cooled those conversations.
