The Braves don’t have many holes on the roster, but the DH is one of them. When Atlanta traded William Contreras, it left the team without an obvious option. With Spring Training right around the corner, this is the perfect time to look at FanGraphs‘ projections for the 2023 season, continuing my series and moving to DH. Below are the previous parts of the series.
- Catcher
- First Base
- Second Base
- Shortstop
- Third Base
- Left Field
- Center Field
- Right Field
- Starting Rotation
- Bullpen
Designated Hitter
The Braves’ obvious options on any given day for the DH role are Marcell Ozuna, Eddie Rosario, Sean Murphy, and Travis d’Arnaud. That’s not incredibly inspiring, especially considering what Wild Bill would’ve brought.
Ozuna and Rosario are looking to bounce back from their respective seasons, and I feel confident one of them will be a productive player in 2023. Rosario’s 2022 shouldn’t be held against him too much; the man had eye surgery. I’m sure it’s not easy to see and hit a baseball that sometimes looks like a ping-pong ball. Ozuna, on the other hand, had no excuse. I’m optimistic at least one will experience positive regression, and it wouldn’t be surprised if both turned it around.
Murphy and d’Arnaud are excellent hitters… for catchers. The duo gives the Braves elite production behind the plate, but as DHs, it’s a bit different. Teams are sending Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper, Yordan Alvarez, and Giancarlo Stanton. Murphy and d’Arnaud aren’t comparable offensive players to those guys.
As of right now, it’s the second-weakest position behind left field, according to FanGraphs. The site projects the Braves to get the 25th-most WAR from their DHs. They expect Marcell Ozuna to receive the most plate appearances with 252, followed by d’Arnaud (231) and Murphy (147).
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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