Ranking The NL East: Second Basemen

Aug 28, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman

(7) throws to first base against the Los Angeles Angels during the fourth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

5. Alberto Callaspo (Atlanta Braves) 

 For the 31-year old second baseman, the Braves will be the fifth team that Callaspo will play with as he enters the tenth season of his career. He has spent the last year and a half with the Oakland Athletics. Last season, Callaspo hit .223 with four home runs and 39 RBI’s in 127 games.

One of the highlights of the season for Callaspo last season was his RBI single in the top of the 12^th inning of the AL Wild Card that gave Oakland the lead for only a short moment.

The Atlanta Braves, who now have their baseball operations led by GM John Hart, signed him to a one-year, $3 million contract back in December. When you look at his career numbers, the switch-hitter is a career .284 hitter against lefties as opposed to a .259 average against lefties.

Callaspo is a player that gives the Braves flexibility in terms of being able to play third base as well as second. Last season, he played in 46 games at second, 32 games at third base, and 19 games at first base.

According to Fangraphs, Callaspo is projected to hit .250 in 2015 and have a WAR of 0.4 In fact, Callaspo isn’t even projected to get the most at-bats at the position. That is Jace Peterson, who played 27 games with the Padres last year before being dealt to Atlanta in the trade for Justin Upton.

When you look at the Callaspo signing, it looks to be a one-year stopgap to allow time for Peterson and Jose Peraza, who was recently named the top second base prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. Eventually, the Braves could find themselves higher on this list in future years if those prospects pan out.

Next: Number Four?