It’s no secret that the Braves organization is looking to the future but manager Fredi Gonzalez said he’s still trying to send out lineups that give the Braves the best chance for victory.
That’s why Hector Olivera is splitting time at third base with Triple-A call-up Adonis Garcia, and struggling second baseman Jace Peterson is in a platoon with Daniel Castro. It’s why A.J. Pierzynski is the regular catcher instead of Christian Bethancourt and veteran Nick Swisher is getting the bulk of the time in left field.
Olivera, Peterson and Bethancourt may end up being lineup regulars in 2016 but they aren’t producing like it now so Gonzalez is trying to find favorable match-ups.
“Winning is part of developing, also,” Gonzalez said. “I think it’s a big part. Sometimes you get away from the winning concept and say, ‘Oh, this is instructional league. We are playing for 2016, 2017.’ You win, you produce, you get a chance to play.”
Olivera’s part-time status is drawing the most attention because the Braves traded a lot of assets to get him at the deadline. In exchange for Olivera the Braves sent the Dodgers a good left-handed starter (Alex Wood), their closer (Jim Johnson) an established bullpen lefty specialist (Luis Avilan) and one of their top minor-league prospects (Jose Peraza).
But in 12 games with the Braves entering Wednesday Olivera was hitting .225 (9-for-40) with 10 strikeouts and had a .311 on-base percentage and .325 slugging percentage. Meanwhile, in 44 games played since being called up Garcia was hitting .277 (43-for-155) with a .288 on-base percentage and .490 slugging percentage, including eight home runs.
The Braves expect more from Olivera after he plays winter ball and goes through spring training. He missed all of spring camp this year as he waited to sign as a free agent and then sat out nearly two months because of a hamstring injury.
“I want to see him play,” Gonzalez said of Olivera. “That’s the hardest thing coming in every day. And what do you tell Garcia? Do you tell Garcia he’s not part of the future?”
Gonzalez said that in addition to trying to win games for the Braves he has an obligation to those teams still in the hunt for postseason berths.
“I know the New York Yankees are watching and the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets—everybody,” he said. “I don’t want to go in there and say, ‘You know what, we are playing for 2016.’ I ain’t going to do that. I come in every day and try to put the best lineup that can win a ballgame.”
