The Cardinals are expected to be without shortstop Jhonny Peralta for two to three months as the veteran as a torn ligament in his thumb. While they have a potential in-house replacement in Aledmys Diaz, the Cardinals could also look elsewhere for a stopgap. One potential fit: Erick Aybar.
The Braves, though, aren’t interested in trading Aybar, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. GM John Coppolella said that Aybar was “a big part of the Andrelton Simmons trade” with the Angels over the winter. He added, “We’re happy to hold onto Erick Aybar.” More interestingly, Copolella said of Aybar, “We need to win more games this year, and he’s going to be a big part of that.” Only the Phillies are projected to lose more games than the Braves this year, according to FanGraphs.
The rebuilding Braves don’t figure to have much use for Aybar beyond this season, so even if the club holds onto him now, he’ll probably be traded by the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline or the end-of-August waiver deadline. Aybar is earning $8.5 million this season in the last year of his contract, originally signed with the Angels in April 2012.
Last season, Aybar hit .270/.301/.338 with 30 doubles, 15 stolen bases, and 74 runs scored in 638 plate appearances.
