Atlanta Braves free agents: Pass or pursue on all five player options
By Josh Wilson
Eddie Rosario, LF: Club option $9 million
If the role Eddie Rosario were filling for the Atlanta Braves was Chief Magician, this would make a lot of sense, because the vanishing act 2021 Rosario pulled off was nothing short of deceptive. In seriousness, Rosario has struggled immensely on the offensive side of things, despite being a generally serviceable defender in left field.
In the series against the Phillies, Brian Snitker resorted to starting backup left fielder Kevin Pillar, and honestly, who could fault him? Rosario had jogged out a few deep Phillies balls and made his inclusion in the lineup entirely unjustifiable considering he was providing nothing on the offensive side of things.
Rosario went 1-for-7 in the NLDS against the Phillies. Shockingly, that was a slight improvement from his 0-for-8 against Philadelphia the year before.
Rosario was a once NLCS MVP. He went 23-for-60 in the 2021 postseason. What happened?
The Braves don't need to play the game of trying to diagnose Rosario any longer, and they shouldn't. In my opinion, go after Tommy Pham.
Verdict: Hard pass