TAMPA BAY, FL– What’s going on in Atlanta? I compare last year’s Braves lineup with what most likely will be the 2023 lineup.
2022 Lineup vs. 2023 Lineup
RF: R. Acuña Jr. — RF: R. Acuña Jr.
SS: D. Swanson — SS: T. Grissom
1B: M. Olson —1B: M. Olson
3B: A. Riley — 3B: A. Riley
C: W. Contreras or T. d’Arnaud — C: S. Murphy or T. d’Arnaud
2B: O. Albies — 2B: O. Albies
LF: M. Ozuna/E. Rosario/A. Duvall — LF: M. Ozuna/E. Rosario/J. Luplow
CF: M. Harris — CF: M. Harris
DH: A. Duvall/M. Ozuna — DH: M. Ozuna
The 2022 starting pitching rotation remains the same in Atlanta entering 2023, with Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, and Spencer Strider solidifying the top five. Along with Kenley Jansen departing for Boston, agreeing to terms with the Red Sox on a 2-year/$32 million deal, Raisel Iglesias will step in as the main closer in the Braves bullpen.
While the above lineup changed at times, with players in different positions across 2022, it is the lineup that won the National League East Division over the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.
You will note that the 2023 lineup has two new additions — Vaughn Grissom most likely will take over at shortstop for the departed Dansby Swanson, and newly acquired Sean Murphy will share the catching duties with Travis d’Arnaud.
Obviously, Grissom might not match Swanson’s offense or defense, but in 2022 he was a valuable replacement for Ozzie Albies while he was on the IL. If you compare William Contreras to Murphy, their offensive statistics are about the same.
Contreras Murphy
Career Games 154 329
Home Runs 28 46
Runs Batted In 69 147
If you double the total games Contreras has appeared in and do the same with home runs and runs batted in, Contreras could have 56 home runs and 138 runs batted in. Pretty close to Murphy’s statistics.
Image Credit: Atlanta Braves/MLB
Contreras is a free agent in 2028 (five years) and Murphy is a free agent in 2026 (three years). Contreras is 24 and his salary is $700K per year, while Murphy is 28 and making $3.3M per year. Overall, I think the Milwaukee Brewers got a lot for a little.
I am not disputing Murphy’s talent, but rather showing Atlanta gave up more to obtain the same statistical value. Other factors such as “managing” the game from behind the plate, work ethic and clubhouse “presence” cannot be determined with stats but are an important factor that, as a writer, cannot be determined.
In another move, the Braves added outfielder Jordan Luplow, whose career batting average is a bit above the Mendoza line (.200) and his power is less than average. The Braves won 101 games with Duvall, Rosario, and Ozuna sharing left field duties. So the question is, will the Braves win more games with the addition of Murphy and inserting a “homegrown” Grissom at shortstop, which is why I say ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.’
One final note before I ‘beat the horse to death’, is the Atlanta Braves have given up nine players (mostly prospects) in the past two years to obtain two.
