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Post Chipper Jones Era: Is David the Wright Solution?

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Saturday September 22nd, 2012

    

John Burns:  As you all know, the almighty Chipper Jones will be retiring from baseball after this season. He is it calling it quits after 19 seasons in the Majors. The 40 year-old Chipper Jones has been one of the best players in baseball for a longtime. With his outstanding career numbers, it is no question that one day he will be inducted into Cooperstown. A lock to be a first-ballot inductee. Jones has been part of Atlanta’s organization for 22 years after being drafted number first overall to the Braves in the 1990 MLB Draft.  That is a lot of years at the hot corner, as well as some time spent in the outfield.

How will Atlanta recover without Chipper playing third every day? Are there any possible replacements? Besides his play on the field, can his leadership be replaced? This might shock a lot of you… but could David Wright be the one to replace Chipper in Atlanta?

David Wright is having a career year and many people believe that he will be dealt or leave to free agency after this year. After starting the first half hitting .351, he has cooled off and only hit .255 since the All-Star break. Wright is still hitting over .300 and has 82 RBIs on an awful New York Mets team. Just like Wright, the Mets had a strong start to the season, but then tailed off.

If Wright does reach free agency or the Mets make him available, he will be a hot commodity. Many teams, if not most, will look into the possibility of bringing in a gold glove third baseman still in his prime. Believe it or not, David Wright will only turn 30 this winter. Atlanta will most definitely be one of the teams in on Wright if he is made available.  The Mets will be hesitant to move Wright within the division but Atlanta should make a strong push for Wright. They have some interesting minor league pieces and could put a package together to entice David Wright to be moved south.

The market for third baseman is very poor this year. The most noticeable upcoming free agent third basemen are Kevin Youkilis, Mark Reynolds, and Scott Rolen. Both Youkilis and Reynolds have club options that are iffy to be picked up at this point. The same goes for David Wright, who has a $16MM club option with a $1MM buyout. New York will most likely pick up Wright’s option and try to trade him this winter or at the deadline. That’s only if New York wants to get rid of their superstar. If it comes down to Wright, I think that he will want to test the market, rather than sign an extension with a new team. The only way he skips free agency is if the Mets sign him to an extension this winter.

David Wright is too good of a ballplayer to be on a losing team almost every year. What a replacement that would be. If the Braves can somehow land David Wright, all Braves fan will rejoice. It is a great way for Chipper to go out also, with his team prepared to play in the playoffs and have an All-Star replacement ready for him. It might sound too good to be true, but do not be surprised to see David Wright playing the hot corner for the Braves next year.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*)

 John Burns- MLB reports Intern: I play 1st base and catcher. I am a diehard Phillies fan. I was born in Philadelphia but now live in Virginia. I come from a huge baseball family and just love the game. My cousin was drafted by the New York Mets in the 2008 MLB draft. My favorite players are Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, and Ryan Howard. I tweet all the time and you can follow me on twitter (@JohnBurns_MLB)***

 

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