The Nate McLouth Conundrum

Nate McLouth is set to be activated from the DL tomorrow, perhaps much to the chagrin of many Braves fans. His return, however, strikes up a set of new and interesting problems to begin pondering solutions to. 



First of all, with Jordan Schafer having played admirably (note I did not say excellently) in McLouth's stead, do the Braves demote Schafer again in favor of the lesser defense of McLouth? Well, it seems like this won't become a problem until Martin Prado is completely healthy. So the Braves have a couple more weeks to ponder this question. However, when the time comes, it seems Schafer will be Gwinnett bound.


Next up on the docket, under the assumption that McLouth does not light it up in his return to the lineup, we must consider potential replacements for him. There is the simple rout of taking Schafer's defense as an upgrade. However, it does not solve our biggest issue, which is offensive production from the position. A trade will be made to upgrade somewhere in the outfield and centerfield seems like the likely spot to upgrade considering Prado's production in left and Heyward's potential in right.  


With that in mind, having McLouth man the bench as a $6.5M would be an epic waste of money to the Braves. If they are unable to keep McLouth in the starting lineup they will have to find a trade to rid themselves of at least part of that salary, and this is where I come in. In the following paragraphs I'll list some potential destinations to send McLouth to.




Cleveland Indians


The Indians top my list of potential destinations because they fit both the offensive need and the desire for lower priced talent. They started the year hot, but have slowed as of late allowing the Detroit Tigers to run them down in the division. 


In the mediocre AL Central, they should be good enough to hang tough with the Tigers long enough to become buyers at the deadline and McLouth could potentially interest them if they are not willing to relinquish better packages of prospects to land guys like Josh Willingham or Hunter Pence.

The Indians are set in centerfield and left with Grady Sizemore and Michael Brantley respectively, and will likely be patient with rightfielder Shin Soo Choo. However, how patient can they be? They have Austin Kearns who has not hit worth a lick this season and may need another capable outfielder to spell Sizemore and Choo down the stretch. 




Chicago White Sox


The White Sox make my list because they have been better of late and could stand to upgrade in their outfield on the cheap.


Juan Pierre hasn't been the same Juan Pierre in the past and is hitting just .255, .318, .298. Not hitting or drawing walks, Pierre has become a noodle armed liability on both sides of the ball. 


Alex Rios also presents the ChiSox a weird problem. As much as they want to respect Rios' production from last season, his .204, .258, .298 line makes Pierre seem like a God among gods. 


Both of these positions would be upgraded by McLouth, even if by a marginal amount. 




Seattle Mariners


The Mariners are sticking around in the AL West. They're also sticking around while fielding Franklin Gutierrez in centerfield featuring his .193, .230, .265 line. If the Mariners are having issues scoring runs, it's not all because Ichiro is not hitting like....well, Ichiro. It's because they are fielding a team with offensive albatrosses like Franklin Gutierrez, Brendan Ryan and Chone Figgins. McLouth could go a long way towards improving their chances in that division. 




Finally, there are some other teams who would benefit from McLouth's presence. Perhaps the Red Sox could use another backup outfielder other than Mike Cameron? Maybe the Blue Jays could stay in contention and seek an upgrade of Rajai Davis? Hell, maybe even the Tigers will want to add more girth to their already cluttered offense and try to jam McLouth's bat in there just because he's not Magglio Ordonez? 


In any event, trading McLouth won't be easy unless he starts hitting. We will have to eat part of his salary to move him and it may be the right course of action to take once Prado is back and healthy and the team starts looking for offensive upgrades.