The Utilityman Equation: Who Loses Out for the Braves?

If the Braves set out to add flexibility, who loses opportunities in the lineup?

(Today’s newsletter comes thanks to a question from Marek Ramilo of Driveline Baseball)

In a game where pitchers are pushing 104 miles per hour, hitters are putting the ball in play at 122 miles per hour, and starters are breaking 250 strikeouts in a season, there’s one number that quietly stands right with those as incredibly impressive: 782.

That’s how many consecutive games Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson has started since last being out of the lineup on May 2nd, 2021. That includes all 648 possible games in his Braves tenure since being acquired in early 2022 via trade from the then-Oakland Athletics. He’s a true modern-day iron man, already 12th on MLB’s all-time consecutive starts list and if he plays every game in 2026, will pass Stan Musial (895 games) for 8th. As long as he’s not dead and nothing’s broken, he’s going to play.

But that’s also not a trait unique to Olson. Several Atlanta Braves have joined Olson in the 162-Game Club for a season, including Marcell Ozuna (2023), Dansby Swanson (2022), and prior to Olson’s addition, Freddie Freeman & Nick Markakis (2018). Several Braves have also come up just short, including Ozzie Albies (160 games in 2019), Austin Riley and Dansby Swanson (160 games in 2021), and Ronald Acuña Jr. (159 games in 2023).

Posting every single day is ingrained in Atlanta’s DNA and culture.

It helps that Atlanta’s managers, dating back decades, have been on board with the practice. But with the Braves set to hire a manager as far removed from the Bobby Cox coaching tree as they’ve had since Cox retired after 2010, could that change?

And if it does, who stands to lose playing time?

Let’s talk about it.

We’ve speculated on adding a utility bat

Atlanta’s stated needs, per President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos, are shortstop (if Ha-Seong Kim does not return), the rotation, and the bullpen.

A right-handed hitting outfielder, per Anthopoulos, is “not a front burner” need as they enter the offseason.

And because of that, I’ve begun to wonder if the Braves end up looking for more of a true utility-type profile instead of a pure outfielder for their bench, especially if their funds end up being limited. With the designated hitter role coming open and injuries an unfortunate but inevitable part of baseball, having a starting-caliber glove with a decent bat that can slot into any of several positions gives Atlanta more depth than they’ve had in a while.

And getting that player to join Atlanta, if free agency is the route that they end up here, all comes back to the designated hitter role. “It’s hard to sign a quality backup because of the lack of playing time,” Anthopoulos told me last year in spring training, as the Braves were preparing to have Luis Guillorme serve as their primary infield backup. “We have guys that want and expect to be in the lineup every day, and it’s just hard for some players to agree to come here only to wind up on the bench six days a week.”

But there’s no designated hitter signed for next season, as incumbent Marcell Ozuna is heading to free agency. Let’s look at some of the potential adds as a utility bat and determine who currently on the roster would lose out on playing time in that scenario.

(Housekeeping: Positions are where they’ve taken the field anytime in the last three seasons, while the “market value” projections in AAV for free agents are courtesy of Spotrac and the arbitration projections are courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors).

Willi Castro, free agent

$10.9M AAV; SS/2B/3B/LF/CF/RF
Watch out: Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, Jurickson Profar (defense only)

Castro’s probably the premier utilityman on the market this winter, bringing in a strong arm and good speed with baserunning acumen.

The only problem here is that he struggled at the plate this season, hitting just .226 with 11 homers and an 89 OPS+. It’s not a great platform year by any means - he’d rather take the .247 average, 102 OPS+ All-Star campaign of 2023 - but he’s capable of filling in anywhere you need him on the diamond and represents the highest caliber of options this winter on the free agent market.

Pros: Experience at every position but catcher and first base, history of above-average performance, can handle shortstop well enough
Cons: Poor offensive and defensive performance in 2025, perceived cost

Ryan O’Hearn, free agent

$11.4M, RF/LF/1B
Watch out: Jurickson Profar, whoever would back up Matt Olson (if that were to ever need to be a thing)

O’Hearn’s coming off of an All-Star season in 2025 where he was traded at the deadline to the San Diego Padres as part of their push to see if they could chase down the Los Angeles Dodgers. He feels like a prototypical “corner masher” profile, albeit one with a better batting average (.281 in 2025) and lower slug (17 homers this season) than most.

Despite being listed at 6-2, 220 and playing first base, he’s surprisingly athletic - his sprint speed is over 27.5 ft/sec and he’s a good fielder, albeit at lower value defensive positions.

This one actually makes a bit of sense - the Braves don’t have another starting-caliber corner outfielder in case Acuña or Profar go down, although Eli White could potentially surprise us with everyday playing time. His highest and best use would be as Matt Olson insurance, rotating with Profar through the DH spot and left field otherwise. At that Spotrac price, though, I don’t see the Braves pulling the trigger.

Jose Iglesias, free agent

$1.4M; 2B/3B/SS/LF (two innings)
Watch out: No one, really

Jose “OMG” Iglesias parlayed a huge 2024 season with the New York Mets, one where he put up 2.5 fWAR/3.1 bWAR in just 85 games, into a $3M deal for his age-35 season with the San Diego Padres. Lightning did not strike twice in a bottle here, though, with Iglesias dropping from 2024’s .337/.381/.448 slash with the Mets (136 OPS+) to just .229/.298/.294 with the Padres (66 OPS+). At this point in his career, he’s predominantly on the left side of the infield, spending a majority of his time at second base and yet still coming in as a negative defender via Statcast for the first time in his career. A signing of Iglesias is likely for a bench role/clubhouse vibes guy rather than true utility usage.

Jorge Mateo, free agent

$3.08M; SS/CF/2B/3B/P (one inning)
Watch out: any non-Ha-Seong-Kim shortstop

I’ve always had an irrational love for Mateo, one of the league’s fastest players but one that can’t seem to figure out a consistent offensive approach. Bumped from the starting shortstop role in Baltimore by Gunnar Henderson, he’s played all over the infield and some centerfield as the team looked to take advantage of his speed.

He’s also a career .221 hitter, however, and has never really figured out how to draw enough walks (below-average 5.2% walk rate for his career) to take advantage of his 99th-percentile speed and excellent baserunning acumen (106 career stolen bases).

Brendan Donovan, Cardinals

$5.4M; 2B/LF/3B/RF/SS/1B
Watch out: Ozzie Albies, Jurickson Profar, backups at third and first

Donovan’s one of the aspirational inclusions on this list, likely only coming to Atlanta if the Braves make a godfather offer for Sonny Gray and most of his $40M in guaranteed money ($35M in 2026 salary, $5M buyout of $25M club option for 2027).

But he’s been one of MLB’s most productive hitters during his four seasons, sitting on a career .282 line and 117 OPS+. He can play virtually everywhere on the diamond except catcher and centerfield, even capable of sliding over to cover shortstop occasionally. Being able to kick Burleson to virtually any position that needed to be covered for the rest of the game is a useful talent to have, making Donovan my #1 option off this list.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, free agent

$5.3M; SS/3B/2B/CF/LF/RF/P
Watch out: Nick Allen

If you want to talk about covering anywhere, Kiner-Falefa has played everywhere in his career but first base and was even a catcher early after he debuted, with a combined 73 games behind the plate for the Texas Rangers in his first two seasons in the league.

He’s still shown the chops to be a solid, if underwhelming, starting shortstop, grading out slightly below average defensively. The real issue here is the bat - the 30-year-old IKF hit .262, but with just a .631 OPS and had a statcast card that, at least on offense, had almost as much dark blue as Nick Allen’s.

I don’t hate the idea of IKF as a veteran add, but it’s to be a bench piece or injury replacement, not an everyday player that rotates through several spots.

Other journeyman, bench depth profiles:

Free agents: Tyler Wade, Luis Rengifo, Gio Urshela, Jon Berti, Paul DeJong, Adam Frazier, Cavan Biggio, Nicky Lopez, Amed Rosario, Ildemaro Vargas, Chris Taylor