With Josh Donaldson off to the Minnesota Twins on a four-year deal, the Atlanta Braves had a huge hole in the middle of their lineup, prompting the short-term investment in Marcell Ozuna on a one-year, $18 million deal. Ozuna will be the left fielder, with Ronald Acuna Jr. likely to split time between center field and right field, and with Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis and Adam Duvall sharing time in the third spot.
The Braves intend to go into spring training with Johan Camargo and Austin Riley lined up to share third base unless one of them wins the job outright, and Atlanta has confidence that this could happen.
Camargo played well in 2018, posting an .806 OPS, but last season, with Donaldson set at third and Dansby Swanson off to a good start at shortstop, Camargo didn't play much early in the season -- and with intermittent playing time, he didn't perform well. He was sent to the minors in August, worked on his swing and looked better when he returned -- but then fouled a ball off his shin, suffering a fracture.
Riley was promoted to the big leagues in May and did big damage initially but then struggled, in keeping with his history; at every level he's played, there's been a period of adjustment. Mark Monaghan, his high school coach in Mississippi, said that Riley's ability to cope with adversity is one of his best traits as a player, and that part of Riley will be under examination this year: In his final 49 games last season, he batted .173, with 67 strikeouts in 164 plate appearances. He'll be 23 in April and like many young players, he'll need to make adjustments.
But if Camargo and/or Riley don't hit and the Braves' current third-base plans evaporate, there likely will be other options on the market. There will be potential solutions available, such as:
Nolan Arenado, Rockies. GM Jeff Bridich declared the other day that Colorado is keeping its franchise slugger, and Arenado responded unhappily, saying he felt disrespected, not by the trade talks that Colorado engaged in, but perhaps by the team's struggles to put together a contender. Reading between the lines of what was said and not said, it's not difficult to discern that Arenado wants the team to be better, it doesn't look like the team is going to be better, and Arenado has pushed the conversation about wanting out.
And he has some leverage, in the form of an opt-out clause following the 2021 season. He could just walk away from the last five years of his eight-year, $260 million contract, and while Arenado indicated in a text released through the Denver Post that he's going to stop talking about his situation, the tension isn't going away. Rival executives believe that the Rockies will be open to trade talks during the season, to move on from what could become an expensive, ugly problem.
Kyle Seager, Mariners. The Seattle veteran is nearing the end of his deal with the Mariners, with two years and about $40 million left on his contract. This will be his age-32 season, after a good age-31 season in which he posted an adjusted OPS+ of 112 and a .789 OPS. Because Seattle is rebuilding, the expectation among other teams is that the Mariners will move as much of Seager's contract as possible, perhaps eating some of the deal or (in a less likely scenario) offsetting some of the value with a prospect. Seager might be the most accessible third baseman on this list.
Jose Ramirez, Indians. Cleveland is plowing into spring training with Francisco Lindor penned in at shortstop, Ramirez at third, Cesar Hernandez at second -- and after a 93-win season in 2019, it's possible that Cleveland could contend for the AL Central title again, behind what should be a good rotation. But the division will be as competitive as it has been in years, with the Twins coming off a 101-win season and absolutely stacked in their lineup, and the White Sox figuring to be improved.
As a small-market team with modest financial capability, the Indians' default position on matters of trade is that they will listen. The assumption among many rival officials is that Cleveland will seriously consider dealing Lindor this summer, to extract value for him before his value is affected by his impending free agency in the fall of 2021.
If the Indians fall behind in the Central and prepare to deal Lindor, it would make sense for them to at least consider moving Ramirez, who has a team-friendly contract. At age 27, Ramirez, who is two seasons removed from a year in which he finished third in the AL MVP voting, will make $6.65 million in 2020 and $9.4 million in '21, and his deal contains club options for 2022 and 2023. The Indians could keep him to lead the offense after Lindor's departure, but they might have their own questions about his production given his deep first-half slump last year. And to repeat: If somebody has a good offer to dangle, they'll listen, and Ramirez's contract adds to his already high value.
Kris Bryant, Cubs. The Cubs are open to making deals, and Bryant's name has been floated in the market for the last two offseasons. But because he's in the middle of a grievance, teams aren't completely certain whether he'll be eligible for free agency next fall or in 2021, making it impossible to determine his value. Presumably, that will be resolved before the start of spring training -- but Bryant is coming off an excellent year of production, and the Cubs are fully prepared to open this year with him at third. If the Cubs fade in the very competitive NL Central, they'll likely be open for business on a lot of fronts in flipping talent, perhaps picking up on threads of conversation they've had on Bryant, Willson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo and others.
Donaldson's presence in the Braves' lineup helped force opponents to pitch to Freddie Freeman more consistently and allowed Brian Snitker to comfortably place Acuna in the spot that the young outfielder loves: leading off. Ozuna, on the other hand, hasn't taken a lot of walks -- he had a .328 on-base percentage last year -- and hit into a career-high 21 double plays. Among Ozuna, Camargo and Riley, the Braves need somebody to emerge in the middle of their lineup. If that doesn't happen, Atlanta might become the most aggressive contender diving into the third base market in June and July.