The Travis Demeritte show in Atlanta started out with a bang. Out of necessity, he was thrust into action, and for a while, he was arguably the Braves’ best player. Following a May 14th win over the Padres, Demeritte was hitting .327 with three homers and team-leading .914 OPS. Not to mention, he was also one of the better defensive outfielders on the roster. His emergence was a pleasant surprise when the Braves desperately needed a jolt, but regression was always in line, and it’s come in a big way over the last week-and-a-half.
Demeritte is hitless in his last seven games, going 0-for-28 with zero walks and 12 strikeouts. On the season, his WAR is down to -0.5, batting average to .217, and OPS to .616.
Travis Demeritte in his last seven games 0-for-28 with zero walks and 12 strikeouts.
That brings his WAR down to -0.5 on the season, batting average to .217, and OPS .616
It was a nice story, but the Braves need to find another outfielder
— SportsTalkATL.com (@SportsTalkATL) May 23, 2022
For his entire career, Demeritte has been an AAAA player — someone who thrives in AAA but can’t seem to find consistency at the major-league level. That doesn’t mean he’ll never achieve anything in the majors. Sometimes, it just takes a little while for guys to figure it out, but right now, the Braves can’t afford for him to try and figure it out while they are chasing down the Mets in the NL East.
It’s time for Demeritte’s at-bats to go to someone else, and while the Braves don’t have a ton of outfield options that I love, putting Ozuna in the field more permanently and letting Contreras DH on most nights makes the most sense. Eventually, Eddie Rosario will be back, which will make things much easier. But for now, Demeritte should only be used sparingly — if at all.
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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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