Braves pulling out all the stops to try and fix reeling offense with bonkers lineup
The Atlanta Braves are in one of the more intriguing spots ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline. They have a few obvious holes that they need to fill, most notably in the outfield. Since they haven't filled the hole just yet, manager Brian Snitker is getting a bit creative in their outfield and in their lineup.
Ever since Ronald Acuña Jr. went down with a torn ACL early in the season, Atlanta has been left without a notable leadoff hitter, specifically against left-handed pitching. Jarred Kelenic has been the traditional leadoff hitter, but against lefties, Snitker is getting creative now.
On Sunday afternoon, Snitker kept his word to getting creative with the lineup card.
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Braves get creative with Sunday lineup card, Duvall leading off
The creative lineup card is both something that the fans can enjoy, but also a bit concerning.
Here's the lineup card in question for the Sunday game against the Mets:
Snitker said he might go outside the box with a lineup, and Duvall batting leadoff certainly would qualify as outside the box. #Braves vs. Mets finale Sunday. pic.twitter.com/poDassFez6
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) July 28, 2024
The first thing to notice with the lineup is the leadoff hitter, Adam Duvall. Throughout his career, Duvall has taken over 3,300 at bats. Of those 3,300 at bats, 11 of them have come as the leadoff hitter in the lineup. Snitker opted to bat Duvall lead off in an attempt to shake things up.
Some are questioning this decision because Duvall is slashing .193/.254/.345 on the season. But that's a small snapshot of what Duvall is this season. He's slashing .270/.371/.551 with seven of his ten home runs in just under 100 at bats. He's been mighty impressive against southpaws this season and Snitker responded by batting him leadoff.
The bigger area for concern here is that the Braves clearly need a leadoff hitter, specifically one to hit leadoff against lefties. They've been in the market for outfielders and even middle infielders, but they haven't pulled off a big trade just yet.
Most pundits expect Atlanta to stay aggressive in the coming days as the trade deadline draws closer. Pursuing a controllable player that can come in and hit leadoff while platooning in the outfield would be a dream come true for the Braves. They could even look into adding the switch hitting infielder, Luis Rengifo, from the Angels due to the way Nacho Alvarez has struggled so far.
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