The Braves seem to have righted themselves after their record dropped to 61-56 following a loss to the Rockies on August 11. They’ve won 12 of 16 since.

However, they have one significant flaw that they haven’t been able to fix this season no matter what they’ve tried. 

Braves right fielders have cost the team 19 runs in Defensive Runs Saved. Their -19 matches the worst total for any team at any position. The White Sox entered today having gotten -19 Runs Saved from their shortstops.

You don’t want to be sharing a leader spot with the 2024 White Sox.

The Braves have one of the biggest defensive weaknesses for a team contending to win the World Series.

They’re not the only ones with a defensive issue. 

The Phillies have had problems at both right field and shortstop where Nick Castellanos has had his annual regular season issues and Trea Turner has taken a considerable dip in performance. The Brewers also have a veteran shortstop not playing up to his usual standards in Willy Adames. Gleyber Torres is once again well below-average defensively at second base for the Yankees. The Diamondbacks have a similar problem to the Braves in center field where no one has a positive Runs Saved total, and the player who’s there the most, Corbin Carroll, has -6 Runs Saved.

The current Runs Saved breakdown in right field for the Braves is Ronald Acuña Jr. -7 (out for the season), Jorge Soler -5 (in only 15 games), Ramón Laureano -4, and Adam Duvall -3.

For now, the Braves have accepted the trade-off of offense for defense and are starting Soler regularly in right field. He’s rewarded them with an .868 OPS. But they know he’s not a good option late in a game, even though he threw a runner out at home yesterday. 

In all 3 games of their recently-concluded series with the Twins, he was pulled, once at the start of the 6th inning and twice entering the 7th inning. In all 3 instances Laureano moved from left field to right field.

Laureano and Duvall both have good track records (Soler doesn’t). Laureano actually saved 9 runs with his right field defense last season and had 5 Runs Saved there in 2024 before coming to the Braves midseason. His value is often centered around the value of his arm. 

Despite having a positive Runs Saved total overall in right field this season, he has -4 Range Runs Saved in right field in 2024. To his credit, he did make two very nice catches to preserve a ninth-inning lead against the Phillies last week.

Duvall has had as many as 18 Runs Saved in left field and 7 Runs Saved in right field in a season. But given both his defensive numbers and his sub-.600 OPS, he’s not done a lot to merit considerable playing time.

Soler has a combined -10 Runs Saved in right field in just over 350 innings over the last two seasons.

Castellanos proved in the past that in a small sample a statistically problematic defensive player can have a good few weeks in the postseason. But that’s not exactly something you want to count on. 

It’s entirely possible that in two months the Braves could be on the verge of winning a World Series and that this was a non-issue. The Braves are very good defensively at the infield corners with Matt Olson and (when healthy) Austin Riley. Michael Harris can chase down balls in center field. Their defense is generally pretty good elsewhere. 

But if there’s one play to be made to win a game in October and you’re a Braves fan, you’re probably gonna be a little nervous if the ball is hit to right field.