The Atlanta Braves have locked up just about every key member of their future with one notable exception: shortstop Dansby Swanson. He is a free agent now and will command a big deal after making his first All-Star team.
It will understandably take a big contract to re-sign Swanson but complicating matters for the shortstop is that Atlanta may already have someone they can play at that spot moving forward. According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, the Braves still would like to re-sign Swanson but may have his potential replacement on the roster in Vaughn Grissom.
“While it seems more likely the Braves would go for an external option if Swanson were to exit, Anthopoulos pointed out Orlando Arcia was the Brewers’ everyday shortstop just a few years ago. He also said there may reach a point when Vaughn Grissom might be deemed ready to be an everyday shortstop at the big league level,” Bowman writes.
Grissom got the call-up to the big leagues in August after Ozzie Albies got injured. The 21-year-old posted a slash line of /.291/.353/.440 in 41 games while playing both second base and shortstop.
Swanson is valuable on both offense and defense, so the Braves' interest in bringing him back makes total sense. They can get away with putting Grissom at shortstop and letting him find his footing, though, since they have stars all over the rest of the roster.
The Braves have already started making offsesaon moves but all eyes will be on the Swanson situation.
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