Braves Release Nick Swisher

As expected, Atlanta has cut 12-year veteran Nick Swisher. This move came after Atlanta acquired 1B/OF Tyler Moore in exchange for Nate Freiman. Swish has hit .249 with 245 HRs over his career, but those days are long gone. He hit .196 in 2015 and only hit a measly .208 in 2014. Swish is also 35, but that isn’t the biggest issue. He’s scheduled to make $15 million in 2016. No team was dumb enough to take Swisher’s contract, so the Braves just did what they had to do to Dan Uggla in 2014 and cut the cord.

 

Swisher is an excellent guy and a great clubhouse presence, but Tyler Moore plays the same positions and has more youth & upside and can be stashed in the minor leagues for the time being. Moore hit .203 in Washington with 12 HRs in 2015, so he needs to get into the cages with our coaching staff ASAP. He’s a career .228 hitter with 24 Home Runs, which is acceptable off of the bench.

Mark Bowman noted that the Braves acquired Moore as a safety net for Freeman, and that he would be a more solid backup than Nate Freiman. This just goes to show that the club had little to no faith in Swisher to give the team solid reps in case Freddie’s wrist starts acting up. Cutting Swisher to play Moore in such a situation may seem like a lateral move, but Moore is only 29 and is scheduled to make $900k in 2016. I’m gonna miss Nick Swisher as a person, but not as a 35 year old who makes $16 million to strike out. Best of luck, Swish!

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