SAN DIEGO – With Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman set to return from the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, playing time could become scarce for newcomer Nick Swisher.
Swisher, a veteran outfielder/first baseman acquired from Cleveland along with outfielder Michael Bourn in an Aug. 7 trade that sent Chris Johnson to the Indians, started six of the past nine games at first base. Joey Terdoslavich started the other three games in that period including Tuesday when the Braves faced Padres right-hander James Shields, who’s given Swisher trouble in the past.
With Freeman back, it’s unclear how much playing time Swisher will get for the remaining 43 games on the schedule. What is known is that Freeman is likely to play every day, or just about every day, as long as he’s healthy.
“I don’t know,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Swisher’s playing time. “It’s going to be challenging, to say the least. Between him and Jonny (Gomes) and Bourny, it’ll be challenging. We’ll figure it out.”
Neither Swisher nor Bourn has hit much since the trade, but Bourn has played terrific defense in left field, and Swisher’s surgically repaired knees have reduced his mobility and could make it difficult for him to play much in the outfield.
Right fielder Nick Markakis plays every day, and center fielder Cameron Maybin is having a career-best season and not likely to come out of the lineup for many games, although Bourn could get an occasional start in center if manager Fredi Gonzalez wanted to give Maybin a rest.
Since the trade, Bourn was 2-for-24 (.083) with a double, one RBI, two walks and five strikeouts in eight games before Tuesday. Swisher was 3-for-22 (.136) with a double, a home run and four RBIs in seven games since the trade, with three walks and eight strikeouts.
Both are signed through the 2016 season. Bourn, 32, is owed $14 million next season, while Swisher, 34, is owed $15 million. The Indians gave the Braves $15 million as part of the trade, to balance out the remaining money owed to Johnson and to Bourn and Swisher.
Despite the money that each is owed, it’s not a certainty that Bourn and Swisher will both be on the Braves’ 2016 opening day roster.
