Braves Promote Two Veteran Bats to Opening Day Roster

The Atlanta Braves have added two veteran spring training bats to the opening day roster. They announced they have signed infielders Dominic Smith and Kyle Farmer to one-year, split contracts.

At the time of this article’s publication, the dollar values of these contracts are unknown. When those numbers come about, they will be updated accordingly.

Smith, in particular, was expected to be added. He had been having a solid spring training for himself and became a prime candidate to join the staff once Jurickson Profar was suspended for the entire season due to a positive test for PEDs.

Through 12 spring training games, Smith is batting .242 with a .706 OPS, a home run and four RBIs.

Farmer isn’t too surprising. He brings veteran experience to the table, and he’s been crushing it in spring training. Through 12 games played, he’s batting .400 with a .931 OPS, a home run and five RBIs.

While Smith is an option against right-handed pitchers, he provides another option who can be maximized against left-handers.

Smith can provide an option in the outfield and as a designated hitter. Farmer is an option in the infield but has seen action in both the middle infield and third base. He’s a utility option. If they need to make a late-game substitution, they can call upon him.

A split contract indicates that a player is paid based on the number of days he spends in the major leagues. His salary is prorated based on the number of days he’s on the active roster divided by the 187 days on the regular-season calendar.

This gives the Braves the flexibility to add them to the roster without having to lock full salaries in. Based on this type of contract, it seems like both will stick around for as long as they need to and could be cut when another player is ready to be activated.

The next couple of days are going to be crucial for deciding the opening day roster. Smith and Farmer are just the start of it. The pitching staff needs to be finalized as well, including a starting rotation spot.

We’ll see how it all shakes out. We should have a full idea of what the roster and roles on the roster look like in their entirety soon.

The Braves are set to play an afternoon game in Fort Myers against the Boston Red Sox. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. with Chris Sale on the mound.

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