LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Grapefruit League opener is always welcome after a week or two of batting practice and fielding drills, but Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez is particularly excited this year. With multiple position battles at hand, things could be a bit more interesting and intense than usual amid the palm trees and sunshine.
“I think this exhibition season is going to be fun because there’s a lot of competition, and competition is good,” said Gonzalez, whose Braves play host to the Mets in a Wednesday opener at Champion Stadium. “It’s going to be fun watching that materialize. Especially now you’ve got Melvin (Upton Jr.) out, and you’ve got (Nick) Markakis we’re taking it slow with, you’ve got a job at second base that’s going to open.
“So there’s a lot of spot where you’re going to see guys getting after it.”
Center fielder Upton injured his foot last week and is expected to miss up to two months, and right fielder Nick Markakis had neck surgery to repair a herniated disk in December and was only cleared to begin running last week. Gonzalez remains confident that Markakis will be ready by the April 6 season opener, but he won’t play in the early part of spring training.
Eric Young Jr. and rookies Eury Perez and Todd Cunningham are the leading candidates for the center-field job to start the season and and a fourth-outfielder job beyond that, and former Yankee farmhand Zoilo Almonte figures in the mix in right until Markakis is ready to play. Almonte could be a leading candidate for some form of platoon in left field with Jonny Gomes after Markakis is ready in right.
Non-roster utility candidate Kelly Johnson will get outfield and infield work, Joe Terdoslavich might get a look at a corner outfield/backup first-base role, and top young center-field prospect Mallex Smith will get some playing time this spring.
At second base, free-agent signee Alberto Callaspo was penciled in for the opening-day job before showing up to camp out of shape and overweight. He still could work himself into condition and get the job, but Callaspo is now going to have plenty of competition from prospects Jace Peterson, Phil Gosselin, and possibly top prospect Jose Peraza, 20, whose spring debut will be the most anticipated among many fans and some Braves officials.
The Braves want to make sure they don’t rush Peraza and indications are that he’ll get some more time in the minor leagues this season before they consider bringing him up. But Gonzalez doesn’t downplay or dismiss the chances of the phenom getting consideration for the opening-day roster. In fact, Gonzalez contributes to the growing buzz.
“He’s a special guy,” Gonzalez said. “He’s not coming in to just have fun and experience his first big-league camp.”
Gosselin, Peraza and the Braves’ other top young middle-infield prospects, non-roster invitee shortstops Johan Camargo and Daniel Castro, have all worked at both second base and shortstop in early drills. Not because they’re considering switching Peraza back to his original shortstop position (or moving one of the others to second), but because they want the youngsters to have a chance to play more innings while in major league camp.
With Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons recovering from a strained oblique and expected to miss at least the first few spring-training games, the Braves will have plenty of innings this week that they can give to some of the younger kids.
Young will play center field and bat leadoff Wednesday against his former Mets team, but Gonzalez decided not to announce the rest of the lineup a day early. Veteran fifth-starter candidate Wandy Rodriguez is scheduled to pitch the first two innings for the Braves.
