Braves manager Brian Snitker isn’t sure who’ll bat fourth behind slugger Freddie Freeman this season, but ‘Snit’ sounds certain about not dropping Freeman one spot to hit in that position.
All of the lineups Snitker has conjured so far have Freeman remaining in the third spot, the manager said Friday.
“Freddie’s still hitting third right now, yeah,” Snitker said. “I like him up there in the first inning. And I’ve always said, there’s something about that Atlanta Braves No. 3 hole. The guy going in the Hall of Fame (Chipper Jones) kind of set a precedent on that being, ‘You know what, that’s a guy -- a big spot.’ That might change going forward, but right now I like Freddie hitting third.”
Snitker said with current personnel, he might bat the catcher fourth, whether it’s Tyler Flowers or Kurt Suzuki. He also mentioned right fielder Nick Markakis, who hit in the cleanup spot in 36 games last season when Matt Kemp was out of the lineup with injuries. Kemp, who hit fourth in 104 games last season, was traded to the Dodgers in December.
Flowers had the third-most starts in the cleanup spot last season with nine, followed by Matt Adams (seven) and Adonis Garcia and Kurt Suzuki with three apiece. Adams left as a non-tendered free agent, and Garcia was released so he could sign with a team in South Korea.
The Braves explored free-agent and trade possibilities to add a power bat this offseason, but haven’t found one with a suitable price via trade or with a potential salary that would fit within their remaining available payroll.
“On any given day it could be the catcher that’s hitting fourth,” Snitker said. “I don’t think there’s anybody that’s totally penciled in there, it’s probably matchups and who we’re playing, things like that. I don’t know, we’ll let the spring play out a little bit, and it’ll probably become a little more clear. But right now when I sit and look at potential lineups, that’s one of them that I’ve thought of. ...
“I’m comfortable with Nick hitting (fourth) again. Freddie had pretty good numbers with Nick hitting behind him. So we’ll just see. I don’t think I’m etching anything in stone right now, kind of play with it and see what that feel is when we start.”
