Last year the Atlanta Braves took Dan Uggla off their roster for the National League Division Series. Unable to find a trade the Braves were left with Uggla to start the season.
Things have not improved for Uggla at the plate and now the Brave have grown restless. That likely means more bench time for the 34-year-old who is owed roughly $24 million over the next two seasons.
Over the last 12 games Uggla is hitting just .114 with a .188 on-base percentage. Of course Uggla’s struggles go back longer than that. Uggla has batted just .185 with a .655 OPS in the 266 games he has played since June 1, 2012.
The Braves have been taking Uggla out of their lineup and according to MLB’s Mark Bowman that trend will continue with more playing time going to Ramiro Pena and Tyler Pastornicky in the next couple of weeks.
Another option for the Braves is the promotion of Tommy La Stella who has had a strong start to the season at Triple-A Gwuinnet. The promotion of La Stella may be blocked by Uggla’s presence as both players are only able to play second base. If the Braves were to promote La Stella they likely would have to make a decision on Uggla first.
