The Braves demoted struggling Johan Camargo to Triple-A on August 16 with hopes he’d regain his swing and his confidence.
That seems to be happening so far.
The 25-year-old infielder is hitting .455 after eight games with the Gwinnett Stripers. He was hitting .222 for the Braves.
Camargo has a homer and eight RBIs in Gwinnett and has struck out only five times in 33 at-bats.
Camargo and the Stripers lost to Durham 3-0 Saturday night but Camargo went 2-for-3 and played third base.
Camargo struggled mightily with the Braves after he was moved into an every-day role following an injury to shortstop Dansby Swanson.
He hit .164 with a .250 on-base percentage in 18 games since Swanson was injured. Even more concerning, his defense had regressed.
Camargo was seen as a super utilityman who would play regularly entering the season, but that plan never materialized. The Braves hope he can right himself before returning - likely in September - so he can be an asset to the bench by October.
“I wish I could tell you (what’s gone wrong),” Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “There are a million things I could tell you. We can craft all kinds of narratives. Was it not playing during the winter like he did the year before through late January? Was it not getting regular reps, playing time here? Was it trying to press when he was playing and did get those starts? Hard to say.
“But like anything else, we talked to him about going down, getting his regular at-bats and getting his timing back. He’s still a young man with all the ability in the world. He should get back to what he was.”
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