Today is a test day for the Atlanta Braves.
The starting lineup for the position players is already known, and yesterday’s Grapefruit League game may serve as an early look at the Opening Day lineup. However, there are still a number of unanswered questions regarding the bench composition and which players are in the major leagues vs AAA Gwinnett.
And tonight, behind new starter Chris Sale, the lineup is loaded with possible depth players, as is typical for a road game in spring training. Hopefully, this will provide some answers for the team.
Here is Atlanta’s lineup for their Tuesday game in Bradenton, Florida against the Pittsburgh Pirates:
CF J.P. MartÃnez, 2B David Fletcher C. Sean Murphy
DH Jordan Luplow
RF Eli White
3B Philip Evans (LF) Luke Williams, Sr. Velazquez Andrew
1B Casteel Ryan
Chris Sale, SP
With Luke Williams, a bench player from the previous season, playing left field and NRI Jordan Luplow at designated hitter, it’s an intriguing outfield setup.
Williams has played in the outfield before, having played 155 MLB innings there in 2022 while with the Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants. However, in his combined time with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Braves last season, he only played one inning in left field.
According to the tea leaves, we’ve talked about what Atlanta’s bench would look like in 2024, knowing that Forrest Wall is expected to be the third player on the bench in a “speed and defense” role and that Travis d’Arnaud and Luis Guillorme are locks. Is Williams going to be Atlanta’s final bench position as an outfield/infield flex player? His left field lineup placement could indicate that Atlanta is trying to determine what kind of four-player bench they will have on Opening Day and wants to make sure he can still handle both corner infield and corner outfield spots.
The Pirates will start the game with a lineup that is primarily composed of MLB regulars, as is customary for home teams in spring training: