Braves: 3 upgrades Atlanta still needs to repeat as World Series champions
By Tim Boyle
2) The Braves could use a position player with high OBP numbers
The Braves are somehow second in team home runs this season. Only the New York Yankees have more. Braves hitters, through 64 games, have 97 home runs. Most of the power has come from third baseman Austin Riley who suddenly has 18 of them on the year. The other dingers have been spread out pretty evenly with several players already at 8+.
What the Braves don’t have is an exceptional team at reaching base. They’re around the middle of the league in this particular statistic. Finding a high OBP guy to add into the mix on a regular basis could pay off huge for them.
Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ is among the league leaders in OBP at .383 through his first 60 games played. A versatile player who can play all outfield positions and even several spots on the infield, he might be the ideal player for the Braves to target. Happ could easily give the team innings in left field regularly and possibly even become a solution for them at second base in Ozzie Albies’ absence.
A player even more likely to get traded, Andrew Benintendi, could fit in as a left-handed bat used exclusively in the outfield. The Braves are a very right-handed team with first baseman Matt Olson and outfielder Michael Harris II as the only regulars swinging from the left side. For a little more balance, Benintendi can be a left field upgrade over Adam Duvall whose struggles this year at the plate have been noticeable.