5 Braves on the 40-man roster who won’t survive the 2023 season

Braves who won’t survive the 2023 season: No. 1 outfielder Eddie Rosario

One of the more obvious black holes in the Braves’ active roster, there is virtually no chance Eddie Rosario finishes 2023 as a member of the club.

Rosario, 31, is not too far removed from being a productive bat with the Twins over a strong six-year run from 2015 to 2020.

However, last year was a disaster for him and with his contract set to expire at the end of 2023, there’s got to be a solid possibility that the Braves are either going to try and trade him or just outright release him.

After a strong 33-game showing in 2021 that saw him hit seven home runs to go along with a .271 average and 134 OPS+, there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic heading into last year.

In 80 games in 2022, Rosario hit just five home runs and had a batting average of .212, far and away the lowest of his career. His OPS+ was just 64, meaning he was 36 percent below league-average at the plate.

A massive spike in strikeouts (25 percent after sitting between 13 and 18 throughout his career) is the likeliest culprit for why Rosario’s results dipped so far. With the stats he put up last season, a team with eyes on another World Series ring can’t afford to have him taking at bats away from someone who is ready to be more of a contributor.