Recently, the Atlanta Braves found out that Jeff Francoeur would be stepping away from the booth for a while as the color analyst. Shortly after that, CJ Nitkowski was named as the Braves new color analyst. Nitkowski worked in the same role for the Texas Rangers last season, as he got to witness the Rangers win the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Nitkowski appeared on MLB Network on December 27th to talk about the offseason priorities of his new team, the Atlanta Braves. If he had any say in what the Braves were pursuing the most, he would choose to bring in one more starting pitcher and more pitching depth.
He even touched on a few more topics, including what could be a battle for the starting job in left field as the Braves traded for Jarred Kelenic from the Seattle Mariners. Kelenic will be battling with Vaughn Grissom for that starting job. Grissom has never played in left field, but he is getting some outfield playing time during winter ball in Puerto Rico. Kelenic is projected to be the starter but Grissom could be used as a platoon player.
I still think there is a world where AA uses Grissom as trade bait for another starting pitcher. As he has said before, Grissom's bat is ready. He can go somewhere and be a really good designated hitter but as far as his defense is concerned, he is just not there yet. Not at shortstop, second base, or in the outfield.
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