4 gutsy players who shouldn’t make the final postseason roster

Somehow, despite everything that has gone wrong for them, the Atlanta Braves are where they expected them to be all along – in a postseason spot. Their lead is just 0.5 games over the New York Mets, but armed with one of the easiest schedules in the sport, the Braves are seen as favorites to clinch the third wild card spot in the NL.

Assuming they take care of business, the Braves will have to trim their active roster from the 28 players allowed in September to 26 by the time the postseason begins.

The roster cuts will mean two players on their roster will not be on the team when the postseason begins. The fact that players like Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley could being back by then creates the possibility of more listing cuts. These four players in particular shouldn’t be on Atlanta’s postseason roster if/when they do.

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This may not be correct as John Brebbia has yet to play in a game for the Braves, but based on what he did with the Chicago White Sox, Brebbia should not be on Atlanta’s postseason roster.

The right-hander had a 6.29 ERA in 54 appearances and 48.2 innings of work for the White Sox this season. No, pitching on what will likely be the worst team in MLB history didn’t help, and his 4.43 FIP suggests he was unlucky to have such a high ERA, but Brebbia looks like the worst reliever from what turned out to be a really. formidable Atlanta bullpen.

What should really seal Brebbia’s fate is the fact that he has allowed nine home runs in under 50 innings this season and has also issued 17 walks. Walks aren’t a major concern, but he has allowed too many home runs. One big change can change the course of any game or series in the postseason, and Atlanta can’t rely on Brebbia if its home problems persist.

Maybe it will go from the worst team to a contender. We’ve seen players like Gio Urshela and Whit Merrifield magically make the switch when they put on a Braves uniform. Until he proved it, though, Brebbia’s White Sox performance wasn’t nearly good enough to be worthy of a spot on the postseason roster.

This is a tough one because Adam Duvall has been on their active roster all season. The Braves thought they were getting Duvall at a bargain price of $3 million to be their fourth outfielder and get some starts against lefties, and it’s hard to blame them — he was terrific in 2023 and had a strong record with Atlanta. Unfortunately, it didn’t go well at all.

Duvall got off to a great start against southpaws and pitched so well to the point where he was thrust into an everyday role when Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered his season-ending injury. Unfortunately, his struggles against righties have been spectacular from the jump, and Duvall hasn’t found it since the start of the season.

Overall, he slashed .185/.245/.329 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI in 99 games and 323 plate appearances. His .871 OPS against lefties is impressive, but it’s much lower than it was at the start of the year. His .406 OPS against righties makes him unplayable full-time.

Duvall makes sense in a platoon role, but there is one big problem. Ramon Laureano has come on and looked much better than Duvall, who has four hits in his last 34 at-bats, three of which have come in one game. Laureano floats with Jarred Kelenic in left field, and the other two spots are occupied by full-time players Michael Harris II and Jorge Soler.

With Laureano hitting lefties the way he has, there’s no need for Duvall, who hasn’t started a game since Aug. 22, nearly two weeks ago as of this writing. Hopefully the Braves realize that come October.

Luke Williams has spent a substantial amount of time this season on Atlanta’s active roster, yet has appeared in just 27 games, has 30 plate appearances and has five total hits.

Williams can play a variety of positions around the diamond and run, but there are two things to keep in mind when it comes to his roster spot.

First, Albies and/or Riley should be back by October. Second, even if the Braves plan to use Williams as a runner, he is not the best option. Atlanta has Eli White, a player who hasn’t seen much MLB action but is in the 91st percentile in sprint speed, according to Baseball Savant, while Williams is in the 78th percentile.

If White is the best runner and the Braves get back the depth to force one or both of Whit Merrifield and Gio Urshela to the bench, what’s the point of signing Williams? There is none.

Jorge Soler might not be the best fit in Atlanta given how weak his glove is, but his bat has been a welcome addition since the Braves brought him in at the trade deadline. The deal to bring him back might make some sense. Attaching Luke Jackson to the deal, however, never made much sense, and the Braves are finding that out the hard way.

Jackson had a 5.40 ERA in 36 appearances for the San Francisco Giants earlier this season and has struggled even worse since returning to the Braves, as evidenced by his 7.20 ERA in nine appearances since the trade. He allowed nine runs (eight earned) in 10 innings of work, which obviously isn’t good enough.

Brian Snitker loves to use him for whatever reason, but the Braves have a guy like Daysbel Hernandez in the minors more worthy of a spot, and they’ll also move a starting pitcher to the bullpen if they run the traditional four-man rotation. in the postseason.

Jackson was a big piece in their World Series win in 2021, but now it’s 2024. He’s not the same guy, and the Braves need to realize that.