out in left field
To borrow a line from the movie “Moneyball,” when someone hits a ball to left field against Atlanta this season, will there be anyone there to pick it up? The trade of Justin Upton opened the door in left for Evan Gattis, the former Mississippi Braves slugger. But now Gattis, too, has been dealt away. Who plays left? Zoilo Almonte? Say it ain’t so. Perhaps, ex-M-Braves standout Joey Terdoslavich will get a long look in spring training. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound switch-hitter doesn’t show up on the prospect charts, but he has power, which Atlanta needs, desperately. Terdoslavich, who hit .315 with five homers for the Double-A M-Braves in 2012, is rated the best power hitter in Atlanta’s minor league system by Baseball America. He hit 33 homers the last two seasons at Triple-A Gwinnett. Todd Cunningham, who also played in Pearl in 2012, could vie for Atlanta’s left-field job, but he’s not a power guy and looks better suited to center field. Also out there are Cedric Hunter, who had a good year for the M-Braves in 2014, and Cuban signee Dian Tascano, though neither is on the 40-man roster. … The Gattis trade did bring into the Atlanta system a candidate for the M-Braves’ third-base job: Rio Ruiz. Ruiz hit .293 with 11 homers at high Class A Lancaster in Houston’s system in 2014. Now entering his fourth pro season, he could be ready for Double-A. A 6-2, 215-pound lefty hitter, Ruiz also becomes the “third baseman of the future,” with Kyle Kubitza also having been traded.