Braves DFA Chase d’Arnaud, call up Lane Adams

It is no secret that the Braves bench has been awful. The motley crew of Chase d’Arnaud, Emilio Bonifacio, the catching duo of Kurt Suzuki and Tyler Flowers, and others have performed quite poorly to start the season. Apparently just because you have the ability to play 4-6 different positions doesn’t mean you can do so well nor does it mean that you can contribute offensively....but I digress.

Given some close and late situations where the ability to put the ball in play was required and the bench has failed to do so in addition to their overall not-goodness, the Braves opted to make a change.

Between d’Arnaud and Bonifacio, it is a bit surprising that Bonifacio wasn’t sent down given how bad he has been as a pinch hitter....but none of the bench options thus far have played well so there is that. Also, with Ryan Howard lurking in AAA as a viable bench bat option as well, it is possible that Bonifacio will join d’Arnaud in being designated for assignment in the relatively near future.

As for Adams, he is an intriguing player who can steal bases and provide a bit of pop off the bench while being able to play all 3 outfield positions. He does have some swing and miss to his game though, but fortunately he does also have a 10% walk rate as well. In Gwinnett this season, he is slashing .333/.352/.588 in 13 games so far this season. His only taste of MLB action came in 2014 with Kansas City where he played in 6 games as had a total of three hitless at-bats.