3 dark horse Dansby Swanson replacements for Braves
By Josh Wilson
Dark horse candidates for Braves to replace Dansby Swanson: Miguel Rojas
While the Braves need to first scour the free agent market to see what they can acquire on their own without involving other teams, it could be worth seeing if the Miami Marlins would be open to sending over Miguel Rojas.
Miami is in a precarious spot and probably willing to at least listen to offers on most of their roster.
The Red Sox and Twins have inquired with the Marlins about the availability of Rojas, but Ken Rosenthal reported (subscription required) that the Marlins are prioritizing keeping their pitching and defense (which Rojas is adept at), so he might be a tough squeeze. Furthermore, the Marlins probably don’t want to trade within their division if they can help it.
That said, Miami and Atlanta did strike a deal the year the Braves won the World Series.
Rojas was second among shortstops last season in defensive runs saved behind Jeremy Pena of the Houston Astros.
His bat wasn’t as good, ranking 21st in wRC+ (Swanson ranked seventh last year, for comparison). But it’s workable, and the Braves have offense in other parts of the roster already. Austin Riley peppered his name on every imaginable offensive leaderboard last year. He and Matt Olson were second and third in the MLB in extra-base hits.
Since it would take a really strong offer to convince the Marlins to trade such an asset to a division rival, consider this one a dream, but something the Braves would be wise to at least pick up the phone for.