The Braves made a roster move before beginning their homestand Friday, selecting infielder Luke Williams and optioning outfielder Forrest Wall to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Williams, 27, appeared in seven games for the Braves a year ago, going hitless in nine at-bats. But his value is his versatility; he’s handled every position but catcher, which has helped him appear sparingly over the past three seasons for the Phillies, Giants, Marlins, Dodgers and Braves. Like Wall before him, he could appear as a pinch-runner but won’t play much as the last man on the roster.
“Luke can play all the infield positions, the outfield,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He can be that runner we were using Forrest to do. It’s an opportunity, too, to give (Wall) - we talked about it in spring training too, that if he went weeks without an at-bat, we might have to send him back and let him play a little bit. Because at some point in time, he might need to do that.”
Wall, 28, made the Braves’ opening-day roster – his first time achieving such – and has appeared in two games. He’s known for his speed. In Gwinnett, Wall can play regularly. “I think it’ll be a good opportunity for him to go out and get every-day at-bats,” Snitker said.
The Braves open a nine-game homestand Friday with the defending champion Rangers. They’ll also host the Marlins and Guardians. After this weekend, the Braves will have faced each of the final four teams remaining from a year ago (Phillies, Diamondbacks, Astros, Rangers). So far, they are 8-1 in those games.
Albies progressing accordingly
Second baseman Ozzie Albies (toe fracture) is “doing a lot better than I thought he was going to be,” Snitker said. “Everything is looking really good there. Even the day after (the injury), he was moving around better than I expected.” Albies, the team hopes, will be back in a couple weeks.
