On his blog, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman discussed the decisions the Braves have to make regarding the final spots in the bullpen and bench.
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As Bowman says, it is too early to really get a feel for who the favorites are in the different battles. But for arguments sake, I’ll say Joe Thurston will be the choice for final bench spot. He’s probably the least talented in terms of offense, but he provides another backup at the middle infield positions. If Escobar goes down for a couple days and Infante is starting at shortstop, who are you going to have backing him up? As long as Heyward makes the team, I figure this battle will come down to Thurston and Brooks Conrad.
The bullpen will be a fun one to follow, and so far Bobby Cox seems very impressed with Jesse Chavez. One arm Bowman didn’t mention is Scott Proctor. He was orginally slated to be out until May, and it very could end up that way, but Cox mentioned last week that Proctor is ahead of schedule and it’s certainly possible he could be ready by Opening Day. If he’s ready, I think it’ll end up being him and Chavez. If Proctor needs more time, then I’m going with Michael Dunn.
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