It’s high time the Atlanta Braves found a replacement for former great shortstop Orlando Arcia. Arcia was good in 2023, hitting.264/.321/.420, but that was his only successful year in recent memory. Last season, Arcia was almost unplayable for the Braves. He has performed considerably worse throughout spring training.
Arcia has only two hits in 28 spring training at bats, both of which are singles. The Braves could go to the Boston Red Sox to find a quality infielder to replace Arcia. The Red Sox have plenty of talent but not enough roster spots. In the infield, Boston plans to start Trevor Story at shortstop, but if necessary, it may move Story and play top prospect Marcelo Mayer there. Mayer has an OPS near 1.000 in the spring and is significantly cheaper than Story.
Trading Story would be a massive risk for the Red Sox because if Mayer doesn’t break out or isn’t ready for the major leagues, their lineup will suffer significantly. However, some may argue that Story has not been healthy enough since joining Boston to be considered a “loss” if traded in either direction. If Mayer isn’t ready for the majors, the Red Sox could proceed in the same way they did last season, when the $140 million shortstop was injured.
A deal for Story would certainly cost the Braves a top pitching prospect, such as Hurston Waldrep, as well as another top prospect, Nacho Alvarez Jr. It would not be inexpensive, but Atlanta must enhance the position if it is to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League.
