The Atlanta Braves are watching their playoff hopes slip away.
With a roster stacked with talent but plagued by offensive inconsistencies, one player’s role has sparked heated debate among fans and analysts.
His elite defensive skills have been a bright spot, but his struggles at the plate are raising questions about whether his glove is enough to justify his spot in the lineup.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report captured the heart of the issue in a recent analysis, arguing that the player should be benched.
“When Atlanta traded for Nick Allen last November, it knew it wasn’t acquiring any sort of middle-of-the-lineup thumper,” Miller wrote.
“Among the 323 players who made at least 700 plate appearances from 2022-24, his .537 OPS while with the Athletics was the worst in baseball. Knowing to expect that lack of offensive production doesn’t make it any more acceptable to just continue living with it, though. Allen has played substantially above average defense for the Braves. There’s no denying that. As far as the advanced defensive metrics are concerned, he is probably the National League’s Gold Glove shortstop at this point.”
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“But since the beginning of May, the 26-year-old is 19-for-104 with a .478 OPS,” Miller continued.
“He is almost exclusively batting ninth in the order, with no home runs and just 13 RBI for the year—for a team that notably isn’t getting much out of the second base, left field or center field spots in its lineup, either. At what point is Allen’s value added on defense no longer offsetting the value subtracted on offense? Complicating Atlanta’s answer to that question so far has been the complete lack of a Plan B. It already cut Orlando Arcia, and current backup Luke Williams has a .444 OPS in his extremely limited playing time with the Braves dating back to 2023. But Nacho Alvarez Jr. is coming. Atlanta’s top position player prospect made his Triple-A debut on Friday after being out of commission with a wrist injury since February. As soon as he is physically fit for the job, it should hand him the reins at shortstop and hope his roughly .800 OPS in his minor league career can solve some of the team’s woes.”
The Braves’ decision on Allen is complicated by their lack of depth at shortstop. However, hope lies in Nacho Alvarez Jr., a top prospect who could provide the offensive spark Atlanta needs. Alvarez’s recent return to Triple-A after a wrist injury has fueled rumors that he could soon challenge for the starting role.
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