Braves fan favorite's roster spot definitely comes with a catch

For all intents and purposes, outfielder Forrest Wall will be on the Atlanta Braves' roster for Opening Day. A series of moves made by general manager Alex Anthopoulos over the last week have indicated as such. First, sending down Bryce Elder and Huascar Ynoa means Reynaldo Lopez won the No. 5 starter job. Now, sending down more players including David Fletcher and Eli White means it is Wall.

As Justin Toscano of the AJC wrote, this move may only be of the temporary variety for Wall, as well as relief pitcher Jackson Stephens, who ended up with the last bullpen spot. Wall only debuted with the Braves last year, but he is well on his way towards becoming the fan favorite of Stephens. I refer to the relief pitcher as the Braves' 12th Man, as he looks like he could be hanging out at the Chop House.

Wall was rewarded with this final roster spot based on how good his spring is. With Luis Guillorme locking up the utility infielder spot, it did not make sense for Fletcher to get the other roster spot. Given Ronald Acuña Jr.'s knee, as well as the new platoon in place in left field between Adam Duvall and Jarred Kelenic, there could be more playing time in the outfield in a somewhat of a rotational role.

Odds are, the 26th roster spot will be churned between guys like Fletcher, Wall and White this season.

Forrest Wall to make Atlanta Braves' Opening Day roster, but with a catch

What you have to remember about the Anthopoulos/Brian Snitker era of Braves baseball is they rarely play their reserves. While Snit and AA will reconfigure the lineup every so often to address its high-end potency, you rarely play if you are not a star infielder or outfielder. Good luck manning first or third base under any circumstances, as Matt Olson and Austin Riley have the corners all locked down.

Basically, Wall will be on the team as a glorified reserve. If they need a defensive replacement or a base runner late in games, he will have his number called. This is why his time up with the Braves may only be temporary. Although he is not a kid anymore, as he is firmly in his late 20s, more regular at-bats could be had at Triple-A Gwinnett just down the road. Atlanta often uses this to its advantage.

His role will be a thankless job, but this is what you sign up for to play for the Braves: To win a lot of games during the regular season and pray to God you don't choke again in October. If not for the 2021 season, this would be the most miserable fanbase in all of baseball. Thanfully, Braves Country is relentless and is looking forward to what should be another great year of baseball in the southeast.

To the window, to the wall, all of Braves Country is ecstatic to see Wall make the Opening Day roster.