Something smells fishy about this. And white bears tend to eat fish, so we'll see if Fredi G is being truthful about anything he says. If Fredi G is telling the truth, this is certainly welcome news to have Evan be back where he belongs, and that is, behind the dish. Of course for me, I will take him in any position if it means he can still be kept a Brave.
I don't know....You be the judge:
For now, Braves would start Evan Gattis at catcher, B.J. Upton in center
By Matt Snyder | Baseball Writer
Evan Gattis is still the man behind the plate for the Braves. (USATSI)
SAN DIEGO -- The Atlanta Braves are obviously still in the process of reconfiguring their roster under the new leadership of club president John Hart, but as things currently stand, manager Fredi Gonzalez would be using Evan Gattis at catcher and B.J. Upton in center in his everyday lineup heading into the 2015 season.
Gattis could also play in the outfield with youngster Christian Bethancourt serving as the backstop, but that isn't Gonzalez's preferred route at this time. So Bethancourt will be the backup.
"With Christian it's just an opportunity," said Gonzalez. "There is no reason for him to go back to Triple-A. I think as we stand right now, and I say that literally, 2:30 Pacific time on Tuesday, Gattis is going to be the guy behind the plate, which is fine. You can bring Christian in. Looking ahead, I think we'll manage Evan the same thing we did last year, three games, give him a day off, and bring him along that way and kind of help him get through a Major League season. You plug in Christian in those games, and I think he could learn from the Major League level under [pitching coach] Roger [McDowell] and be in a big league atmosphere and learning how to run a pitching staff and preparing himself for a Major League game, I think it would be good for him."
Bethancourt is just 23 and has only 118 MLB plate appearances under his belt, but he's been a highly-touted prospect for a few years. If Gattis or Justin Upton are traded, he's going to be counted on to immediately be inserted into the starting lineup (in the latter case with Gattis moving to LF).
As for the outfield, Gonzalez had this to say:
"[Justin] Upton in left field, [Nick] Markakis in right field, and BJ in center field right now, and hopefully we get him turned around. Then you could go a couple different directions in the outfield for a fourth outfielder."
In his two years with the Braves, B.J. Upton has combined for a .198/.279/.314 line. He's on a five-year, $75.25M deal, too, so this is obviously an albatross-type situation.
Still, after having traded Jason Heyward, the Braves don't have a viable defensive option in center right now aside from Upton. Neither Justin Upton nor Markakis should be playing there. Gattis certainly shouldn't. Zoilo Almonte and Joey Terdoslavich belong on the corners and that's about it unless they wanted to summon the unexciting Todd Cunningham from Triple-A.
Honestly, though, this seems like quite an incomplete offseason. In reshaping the roster, the Braves are trying to shed B.J. Upton and I can't imagine they'd be pleased if they didn't have a better alternative to man center come opening day. Call it a work in progress. As already mentioned, they could also trade Justin and move Gattis to left field or deal Gattis himself. The situation is fluid.
Still, as things stand, it's Gattis behind the plate and the elder Upton in center for Atlanta. At least in the case of the latter, this can't make Braves fans happy.
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