Braves manager Brian Snitker stopped short of calling it a platoon, but sure made it sound like Jose Bautista’s time as the every-day starting third baseman may have come and gone quickly.
Ryan Flaherty was in the lineup Friday against the Marlins for the first time since May 2, and Bautista was out of the lineup for the first time since the Braves brought him from Triple-A on May 4.
Bautista, 37, has not shown much while going 3-for-20 with one double, one RBI, four walks and four strikeouts in six games for the Braves before Friday, including four starts at third base and two as designated hitter in the interleague games at Tampa Bay that began the current trip.
Meanwhile Flaherty, the veteran utility player who got off to a tremendous start this season before going through a lull and then picking things back up, went a week without playing before replacing Bautista late in Thursday’s 9-2 Braves win.
“Just to get him in there,” Snitker said when asked Friday about starting Flaherty. “I don’t want him (getting rusty). Guy’s been doing good. We’re trying Jose, but I don’t want to just completely (not play Flaherty) because we’re going to need him.”
In 25 games as a third baseman this season before Friday, Flaherty had a .318 average (28-for-88) with seven extra-base hits (two homers), a .406 OBP and .443 slugging percentage. Despite not playing for a week, he replaced Bautista in a sixth-inning double-switch Thursday and almost immediately beat out an infield hit and made an impressive defensive play on a hard-hit grounder.
If they are to continue playing Bautista in hopes that the former Blue Jays slugger can recapture some semblance of his old form, it would seem to make sense to play him against left-handers. Dating to the June 28, Bautista has hit a paltry .148 (36-for-243) against right-handers, with eight homers, 34 walks, 74 strikeouts and a .543 OPS in 82 games.
In that same period he hit .233 (20-for-86) with two homers and a .708 OPS against lefties. No great shakes, but at least significantly better than his righty stats.
Flaherty had a .321 average (26-for-81) this season against right-handers with two homers and an .872 OPS before Friday, and was 2-for-8 against lefties.
Charlie Culberson also has started to hit lately and gotten some starts at third base.
“I don’t know. It just depends on how long Flaherty sits for,” Snitker said of the platoon possibility. “I’ll probably play Jose tomorrow (against) another lefty. I don’t know what I’m going to do Sunday. But I just want to get Flaherty in there. He’s doing good, made a great play going right in there, got a hit, so I just wanted to get him more involved.
“We brought (Bautista) here, I wanted to give him a chance, give him a few games in a row before started to ... (Snitker didn’t finish the thought). He had a good day of extra work (Thursday with infield instructor Ron Washington); on those days he doesn’t play he can get that in, and stuff like that.”
The Braves played five consecutive games against lefty starters through Thursday after previously facing only four lefties all season. They face another lefty starter Saturday in the Marlins’ Jarlin Garcia, then will face right-hander Jose Urena in the series finale.
Flaherty hit .294 with two homers and a .379 OBP in his last 15 games as a lineup regular through May 2.
The Braves signed Bautista to a minor league contract in hopes that he could provide some right-handed power, but since they made that move the need has all but evaporated as they’ve been the most productive offense in the National League and gotten plenty of power from Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Nick Markakis, rookie phenom Ronald Acuna and Kurt Suzuki.
It’s not the first time Flaherty has played well and been displaced by a player coming back from injury or a new addition to a roster.
But this year he was particularly impressive when he had a chance to get extended regular playing time at one position. He was asked if that made it harder to accept than usual.
“Like I said, there’s 12 position players that want to be in there every day, and if you don’t this game isn’t for you,” Flaherty said. “But with that being said, when you sign up for a utility role that comes with it. That’s part of the game. You adjust as the roster adjusts. At certain times you may be playing a different position. They may sign a guy and he may play only one position. You never know. And then injuries – it’s always something going on, and you just stay ready.”
Bautista was brought up from Triple-A on May 4 and started six consecutive games – four at third base, two at designated hitter -- before he was out of the lineup Friday. Before Friday, fellow utility man Culberson made three starts at third base since Flaherty last played at all.
Asked about trying to stay sharp while not playing on a regular basis, Flaherty said, “You do what you can. It’s not the easiest thing in the world, but somebody’s got to do it. Do your best. ... People ask all the time, what do you do to stay ready? You can name off 10 things. I don’t know if any of them work.”
