Braves face challenge in improving bench

Yes, the Atlanta Braves have a problem.

We knew going into this season the bench was a question mark. Now, through only 17 games, it’s a full-fledged issue. It’s more than just a concern, it’s a big dilemma.

The Braves’ pinch-hitters are 2-for-25 this season, with two runs batted in. That’s a .080 batting average, with a .148 on-base percentage.

It’s not just the way the players have performed as pinch-hitters. When the bench players have gotten the chance to play, they’ve not performed well at the plate as starters or substitutions.

Kurt Suzuki, Anthony Recker, Chase d’Arnaud, Emilio Bonifacio, Johan Camargo and Jace Peterson are the six players who have been on the bench for the Braves this month. They are hitting a combined .189, 17 hits in 90 at-bats, with no home runs and seven RBI.

The Braves signed Ryan Howard to possibly be an option. Howard had his first game action in a Braves uniform Saturday with Triple-A Gwinnett. He may be needed sooner rather than later.

Sure, Howard is not the MVP Ryan Howard from years ago, but if he can be a threat off the bench in the late innings it will help the Braves. At this point, anything will help.

It’s easy to wonder why the Braves didn’t bring back Kelly Johnson and/or Jeff Francoeur, two players who started last season on the Atlanta bench. Both are still available, and both would seem to be an improvement on what has happened so far.

Now, don’t think for a minute that general manager John Coppolella is not trying to fix this. He’s likely on the phone talking or texting a trade proposal as you read this story. Coppy knows this is a mess, and I have faith he’s going to make this better.

I do wonder, however, if Coppolella is running into an issue in trying to trade for bench help. Teams know how good Atlanta’s farm system is, and they’ll undoubtedly try to take advantage of any problem the Braves have.

Let’s say Coppy has pinpointed a player that may be available, but the team he’s talking to asks for a prospect in the 15-20 range on Atlanta’s top 30 prospect list. Well, a player that may be ranked, let’s say 17th in Atlanta’s system may be a top 10 prospect for many other organizations.

Do you want Coppy to give up that type of prospect for a fourth outfielder, in a season when the Braves are not going to win the World Series. Yes, I wrote it. While the Braves can be competitive and they will be much better than last season, this is not a World Series team. It’s just not ready for that — at least not yet.

This is a problem for any GM that has the best farm system in baseball. Teams will want to take advantage of the situation if the Braves have a big need by jacking up the price. So Coppy must be careful in his trade discussions.

Coppolella is going to find help. Maybe he signs Johnson or Francoeur or someone else that is still lingering on the free agent market. Maybe he makes that trade for a bench player. This is going to get better at some point, since it can’t get much worse.

This story was originally published April 23, 2017 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Braves face challenge in improving bench."