Major League Baseball

What will Gattis' role with Braves be in 2015?

Published Oct. 3, 2014 8:28 a.m. ET

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Cory McCartney

ATLANTA -- Fredi Gonzalez has a simple solution for one of the biggest questions surrounding the Braves lineup going into next season.

If Christian Bethancourt is penciled in to become the primary catcher, how will the manager keep Evan Gattis and his power bat in the lineup?

"You wish you could call (new MLB Commissioner Rob) Manfred and say 'Hey, can we go to the American League?" Gonzalez quipped.

A move to the Junior Circuit, where Gattis could be used as a designated hitter, isn't going to happen, leaving Gonzalez to come up with more practical answers. But in the days after a disappointing season, it hasn't been a point of his focus.

"I've not thought anything about Gattis as far as how many games is he going to catch next year, is he going to play another position or that kind of stuff," Gonzalez said. "We've talked about it internally, a lot."

Finding some clarity may be critical for a team that was severely lacking in producing the long ball this past season.

The Braves ranked 11th in the National League with 123 home runs in 2014, and Gattis' 22 trailed only Justin Upton's 29 among all Atlanta players, despite having 240 less trips to the plate than Upton. In fact, only the Reds' Devin Mesoraco had more HRs (25) than Gattis among players with less than 475 plate appearances.

As valuable as Gattis' bat was, the 23-year-old Bethancourt seemingly established himself as the Braves backstop going forward, catching 18 of the 25 games in September. Meanwhile, Gattis made just five starts and saw action in six other games in a final month in which he missed time due to strep throat and a kidney stone.

Gonzalez talked of the everyday catcher playing 130-140 games, which could fetch Gattis 100 at-bats in a backup role. But to get him closer to 140-150 games would likely take a return to the outfield if Bethancourt has, in fact, seized the catching job going forward.

"That's an option," Gonzalez said.

In his rookie season of '13, Gattis saw more trips to the plate (183) as a left fielder than he did as a catcher (162). He played 342 1/3 innings that year in the outfield and caught for 349 2/3 and was also at first base for 33 innings.

This past season, Gattis exclusively played in the field at catcher. Of his 401 plate appearances, just 16 came outside that starting role, with 12 as a DH and 14 as a pinch hitter.

Gattis' work in left field wasn't pretty as far as numbers go with minus-10 defensive runs saved and he had a UZR/150 of minus-24.1. He hasn't played the position since Game 4 of last year's Division Series against the Dodgers, but a return to a split role is a possibility, especially if it means getting Gattis at-bats.

"That's an option," Gonzalez said. "He's not a train wreck out there by any means. You don't know if the ball is going to be hit to him, but you know he's going to get 3-4 at-bats."

The only problem there though, is the logjam the Braves already have in the outfield.

When Gattis played significant innings in left field in '13, the spot was open due to a reshuffling of the outfielders with B.J. Upton benched. He remains the team's main center fielder, under contract for three more seasons, with his brother Justin in left and Jason Heyward in right.

Should the Braves enter spring training with those same pieces in place it creates even more of a conundrum if the goal is get Gattis into 140-150 games.

That logjam in the outfield and the long-awaited arrival of Bethancourt could see Gattis have plenty of suitors -- if the Braves considered moving Gattis, who is inexpensive as he's not yet arbitration eligible -- especially among AL teams where he could catch, play in the outfield and DH.

But the clearest answer right now is there simply isn't one.

"When you've got a bat like his, eventually, you've got to figure it out," Gonzalez said. "Those (power hitters) ain't walking around. There's only three guys in the National League with more than 30 home runs."

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