Braves Jason Heyward backup plan emerges after homegrown star signs elsewhere

The Atlanta Braves had a chance to bring hometown hero Jason Heyward back to Atlanta after the Los Angeles Dodgers chose to DFA him, but opted against doing so, as the outfielder just inked a deal with the Houston Astros.

Heyward would've made some sense on Atlanta's roster as a potential depth outfielder to help them. He hasn't had a great season, but with Ronald Acuña Jr. done for the year and Michael Harris II banged up again, the Braves could use all of the help that they can get.

While Heyward would've made some sense, he was far from the perfect option, considering he's another left-handed hitting outfielder (they already have Harris and Jared Kelenic) and the fact that he's just an outfielder.

Abraham Toro might not be nearly as big of a name as Heyward, but he might be a better fit for the Braves roster. Fortunately enough, he was just DFA'd by the Oakland Athletics. Alex Anthopoulos has an opportunity to pounce and improve Atlanta's bench, and he shouldn't pass on it.

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Braves should strongly consider bench addition after Jason Heyward whiff

Even with their injury woes, the Braves, somehow, are more set with their outfield depth than their infield. That's because they've had to deal with even more injuries in their infield with Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley notably on the shelf for possibly the remainder of the regular season.

They've gotten some surprisingly awesome production from veterans who were struggling previously in Whit Merrifield and Gio Urshela, but who knows how long that'll last? If they cool down and/or suffer an injury, the next man in line is Luke Williams, a player who has spent a lot of time this season on their active roster but has a total of 17 at-bats in 22 games played. Is that really what the Braves want? It probably shouldn't be. That's where adding a player like Toro who has played more can help.

Toro has played in 94 games this season for the A's and while his .643 OPS is nothing to write home about, he has far more experience than Williams, making him at least a little bit more trustworthy in spot starts or if he had to get extended run. His .728 OPS against left-handed pitching is also something the Braves can get somewhat excited by.

What makes Toro particularly enticing is that he's a switch-hitter who has played in four different positions this season alone including three of the four infield spots. He's primarily a second and third baseman, which ironically are positions of weakness on this Braves roster right now.

Toro is far from exciting but would represent an upgrade, albeit a minor one, over Williams. In what will presumably be a tight finish in the NL Wild Card race, the Braves need any advantage they can get. Upgrading their bench by making a simple swap like this could help more than fans might realize.