The Atlanta Braves are going to have to fill big shoes at shortstop. Here are some underrated options the Braves could pursue to replace Dansby Swanson.
After seven years playing for his hometown team, Dansby Swanson is moving on to a larger deal with the Chicago Cubs. With the Atlanta Braves, Swanson won a World Series, a Gold Glove Award, and was named to an All-Star team. He can leave proud of what he did for Georgia baseball.
Though Swanson wasn’t quite good enough to be considered one of the best shortstops of all time for Atlanta, there is no doubt that he is one of the best, if not the best at the position since the 90s.
He produced 411 RBI, 102 home runs, and an OPS of .738 during his time in Atlanta. He leaves significant shoes to fill, and the Braves might need to get creative in order to fill them considering the best options at the position are off the table.
Even if the stars were still available, it would be incongruent with Atlanta’s mission to sign them. Atlanta has secured its talent on affordable deals, so it’s not a complete shock that they were unwilling to put themselves in the hunt for some of the star names at the position like Xander Bogaerts or Carlos Correa.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t talent to be found and value-driven moves available for the Braves, though. Let’s look at some dark horse names Atlanta should consider to backfill Swanson’s role.
There are some big moves the Braves could consider — such as maybe hopping in on a trade the Cubs could have made for a Javier Baez reunion — but what are the smaller, yet effective moves that are options for Atlanta to pursue?
Here are three they could mull over, in no particular order.
Dark horse candidates for Braves to replace Dansby Swanson: Elvis Andrus
One of the best shortstops left is Elvis Andrus.
If the Braves go the direction of Andrus, it’s not necessarily a long-term solution. Andrus, a 14-year veteran, was released by the Oakland A’s last year and picked up by the Chicago White Sox. Following his uniform switch, he put up really strong numbers good enough to be featured on the MLB’s list of free agents to make sure you don’t forget about.
Andrus is likely a one- or two-year stopgap solution to Swanson’s departure. He gives the Braves a known, veteran presence and can be a mentor for Vaughn Grissom who could wind up being the next in-house development project for the Braves to ultimately be Swanson’s long-term replacement.
With the White Sox last year, he slashed .271/.309/.464.
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.
Dark horse candidates for Braves to replace Dansby Swanson: Jose Iglesias
In such a stacked shortstop free agency class, it’s understandable that Jose Iglesias has gone forgotten about in the midst of the main storylines, but at this stage in the offseason, he has become one of the better free agents available.
Iglesias is not going to offer the same offensive luster that other available free agents this winter would have, and just like Rojas, he won’t replace Swanson’s bat. He’s a serviceable defender and could play a role similar to what Elvis Andrus could play: A veteran stopgap replacement while the Braves see how Vaughn Grissom develops or continue to survey trade and free agency options this year and beyond.
You’re not looking at someone who can statistically match the production of Swanson on either side of the field with Iglesias, but at the budget Atlanta is working with to sign a Swanson replacement, this is pretty much what they’ll be looking at in order to fill out the roster.
Iglesias has had a tough couple of statistical years following a really strong pandemic season.
Playing in Colorado and on the Western half of the country might just not be for Iglesias. He clicked when he played for the Baltimore Orioles in 2020 over 39 games, and he continued that production with Boston in 2021 after a bum year with the Angels that led to him being released by the team. Then, his season with the Rockies wasn’t good.
Here are his cumulative slash lines over the last three years:
- 2020 (Orioles): .373/.400/.556
- 2021 (Angels): .271/.309/.391
- 2021 (Red Sox): .356/.406/.508
- 2022 (Rockies): .292/.328/.708
Notably, the strong play with the Orioles came in a total of 39 games, and his 2021 season with the Red Sox included just 23 games.
A move back to the Eastern side of the country could be the scenic change Iglesias needs to get his offense back on track, perhaps?