With an eye on upgrading their outfield, the Atlanta Braves have turned their focus towards free agent A.J. Pollock, formerly of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the Braves are in discussions with Pollock and noted that he’d likely man right field for Atlanta.
ATL continues to be in discussions on OF A.J. Pollock, among other FA OF. If they got him, their lineup could look something like this, depending on where Acuna bats:
LF Acuna
3B Donaldson
1B Freeman
RF Pollock
2B Albies
CF Inciarte
C Flowers/McCann
SS Swanson— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 10, 2019
Replacing the production that Nick Markakis gave the Braves a season ago would not be easy. He hit .297/.366/.440 with 14 home runs. Based on 2018, Pollock would not match Markakis’ ability to get on base. He hit .257 and sported a .316 OBP for the Diamondbacks last season.
Where Pollock would be a big upgrade is in the power department. He slugged .484 and hit 21 home runs while playing only 113 games (Markakis, by comparison, played in all 162).
The concern with Pollock is his injury history. He’s topped 150 games only once and his career (2015) and 130 only once more (2013).
But it’s also worth noting that he’s predominately been a center fielder through his career. Playing the far less strenuous right field obviously wouldn’t eliminate the possibility of an injury, but it would decrease it.