Under manager Brian Snitker, the Atlanta Braves have become known for the reliability and durability of their starting nine. Of course, it helps when that nine is among the most talented in baseball, with stars like Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and more. But as a matter of organizational philosophy, this team is going to play more or less the same guys just about every day, injury notwithstanding: In 2023, for instance, eight of Atlanta's nine regulars played at least 138 games, a shocking number in today's MLB.
Which is what makes the team's lineup against the San Diego Padres on Friday night such a surprise. We're just one game into the 2025 season, and already Snitker has decided to change things up a bit — not because of platoon advantages or anything like that, but because he's clearly growing tired of one of his starters in particular.
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Braves, Brian Snitker already growing tired of Orlando Arcia
Braves fans have been tired of shortstop Orlando Arcia since last season, when he slashed a dismal .218/.271/.354 over 158 games. Replacing him was item No. 1 on most fans' offseason to-do lists, but that upgrade never came, as Atlanta didn't (or didn't want to) have the cash to compete with the San Francisco Giants for Willy Adames and the middle-infield market was otherwise dreadfully thin.
Still, while understandable enough, entering 2025 with Arcia still slotted in at the 6 seemed ... suboptimal, at best. And those concerns grew even louder after he tallied just five hits over 43 plate appearances in spring training. It seems like the Braves agree, because we're not even in April yet and Snitker is already doing something he rarely does: using his bench.
Player | Position |
|---|---|
Jurickson Profar | LF |
Austin Riley | 3B |
Matt Olson | 1B |
Marcell Ozuna | DH |
Ozzie Albies | 2B |
Michael Harris II | CF |
Drake Baldwin | C |
Nick Allen | SS |
Jarred Kelenic | RF |
Nick Allen will get the start at shortstop on Friday night, batting eighth against Padres righty Dylan Cease. Acquired to little fanfare way back in November, Allen impressed the team in camp, so much so that he not only made the roster but warranted Snitker talking about playing him with relative regularity in the regular season.
Just one game in, he's already making good on that promise. Although to be honest, that says more about Arcia than it does about Allen, who has a career 55 OPS+ (100 is league-average) across parts of three seasons in the Majors. Allen also hits right-handed, like Arcia; there's really no reason to be giving him a start in this spot, at this point in the year, other than wanting to give someone other than Arcia a chance.
Which is fair enough. It feels like Arcia has been given a sufficiently long leash at this point. But Allen isn't any more of a long-term solution, and Atlanta is going to have to find one sooner rather than later to avoid a weak point in its formidable lineup.