3 Braves who won’t be on the roster by May 1

Alex Dickerson will only be on the big-league roster until Ronald Acuña Jr. returns

Simply put, Alex Dickerson was never going to be long for the big-league roster to begin with in Atlanta. He became the guy to fill in for Ronald Acuña Jr. on the Opening Day roster. Atlanta needed a fifth outfielder alongside Adam Duvall, Guillermo Heredia, Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario while Acuña worked his way back from a torn ACL. Dickerson was that guy, and that is it.

After his first weekend in Atlanta uniform, Dickerson struggled mightily at the plate. He was 0-for-9 at the plate in 10 plate appearances. While he did walk once, he also struck out three times. His roster spot was always going to be short-lived, but he could retain it slightly longer than May 1 if Acuña needs an extra week or two to get ready. Keep in mind he will start DH-ing upon arrival.

The idea here is Acuña will get called up sooner rather than later because of the DH being universal. His bat should be good upon being recalled, but it may take a few weeks before the Braves’ brass feels confident about putting him even in right field. Atlanta probably needs him to play center, but expect Heredia to spell Duvall when he needs a day off from playing in the field.

Dickerson’s time on the Braves’ active roster is solely contingent on Acuña’s recovery from injury.