SAN FRANCISCO — Adam Duvall and Ramón Laureano are safe.
When the Braves reinstated Michael Harris II from the injured list Wednesday, they decided to option outfielder Eli White to Triple-A Gwinnett to create a 26-man roster spot for Harris. And to get Harris back onto the 40-man roster – players on the 60-day injured list don’t count toward the 40-man roster total – they designated right-hander Parker Dunshee for assignment.
That Duvall and Laureano survived the roster move is not overly surprising. Duvall, in particular, has really struggled this season, which made it seem like he might be in danger. But in these situations, the Braves often opt to preserve their depth. White has minor-league options, and Duvall and Laureano do not.
“Yeah, he has options and we wanted to keep inventory,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of White. “He did a really nice job here in his role. When I talked to him this morning, I said, ‘It’s just about (how) you got options.’ We can’t go out anymore and make trades for guys. We’re trying to keep as many guys in the system as we can.”
Instead of designating Duvall for assignment and paying the remainder of his $3 million salary, the Braves sent down White. This way, they keep everyone in the organization.
Laureano has hit well in spots, but has played poor defense in spots. Still, at this point, he might give the Braves more than Duvall, who’s batting .178. The Braves were starting Duvall against lefties, but he sat against a left-handed starter Tuesday because Snitker wanted to give him a day to clear his head. On Wednesday, Duvall wasn’t in the lineup when the Braves faced another lefty. (Jorge Soler started in left field and Laureano was in right field.)
“I mean, he’s been struggling,” Snitker said of Duvall. “I look at, like, the last 10 days or whatever. It’s not for lack of effort and trying and working, I’ll tell you that. He probably does that to an extreme. He’s gonna have to take them when they come and hopefully get himself back going.”
Over his last 10 games entering Wednesday, Duvall is 1-for-28 with 17 strikeouts.
Here’s why this decision might be difficult for fans to swallow: White can play terrific defense and features speed on the bases. He provides value to this roster. On Tuesday, he made what probably was a game-saving catch on a hard-hit liner to the wall in center field to rob the Giants of extra bases with no outs with the score tied in the ninth inning.
Duvall hits lefties well, but if he isn’t starting against one, where is his value? It could be in the clubhouse, sure. And he might be a threat to run into a home run every now and then, which could be valuable. But at this point, Laureano is playing much better than Duvall.
The Braves’ outfielders now: Harris, Duvall, Laureano, Soler and Jarred Kelenic.
On most nights, Harris will start in center field and Soler in right field. Snitker can platoon the left-handed hitting Kelenic with someone in left field, and at this point, the better option for the right-handed side of that arrangement would be Laureano. Entering Wednesday, Duvall had hit .240 with an .826 OPS in 100 at-bats against left-handed pitching, but probably isn’t outplaying Laureano at this moment.
With Harris back, White probably wouldn’t have played much. Now, he can stay ready by playing every day for Gwinnett. And while the Braves have five outfielders, including their every-day center fielder, it was fair to wonder whether they would keep White to use him as a defensive replacement for Soler or even Laureano.
On Sept. 1, rosters expand and teams will carry 28 players. At that point, the Braves can bring up White, if they so choose. Their decision to keep the depth makes sense, even if White might offer more value than Duvall right now.
In the middle of June, Harris suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain. The Braves have played without him ever since. As much as they’ve missed having one more regular in their batting order, his glove is what might make the biggest difference for them. Kelenic and Laureano admirably filled in at center field, but both couldn’t make plays here or there that it seemed Harris would’ve completed.
And in about a month, the Braves should get Ozzie Albies back.
Slowly, they are getting healthy.
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