In a surprise move Saturday, the Atlanta Braves assigned Joe Benson and optioned Todd Cunningham to Triple-A Gwinnett. One of the two was expected to act as the backup center fielder on the Opening Day roster.
With the moves, the only sure bets for Atlanta's Opening Day bench are infielders Alberto Callaspo and Phil Gosselin, utility star Kelly Johnson and backup catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
The Braves may look outside the organization to find a backup outfielder, or as Mark Bowman of MLB.com suggests, Pedro Ciriaco could be the man.
Sounds like the #Braves might fill that final bench spot with Pedro Ciriaco. But they're still evaluating potential trades
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 4, 2015
In 57 spring at-bats, Ciriaco hit .368 with two doubles, a triple, a home run and 14 RBI. He was third on the team with 21 hits.
The deadline for teams to send their finalized 25-man, Opening Day rosters to the league is 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
