Braves hoping rookie Jim Jarvis can save them at shortstop

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane to 11 months ago: the Braves — expected sellers at the trade deadline — decided to essentially stand pat. In fact, they actually added just as much as they sent away, acquiring reliever Tyler Kinley in a trade with the Rockies.

The only player they traded was Rafael Montero, which really wasn’t much of a trade at all. Had he been retained, he almost certainly was heading towards a DFA. The fact the Braves were able to acquire anything for him was a shock, and the player they got in return was none other than shortstop Jim Jarvis.

At the time, nobody really batted an eye. Jarvis was far from a highly touted prospect — a 24-year-old that was struggling to hit at the Double-A level. However, he began to show signs of improvement after joining the Braves organization, and things really took a turn for the better this season, as he’s hit .313 with an on-base percentage over .400 and an .868 OPS over 76 games for the Gwinnett Stripers.

All of that has led to Jarvis’ most recent promotion. We saw him earlier in the year when he made his MLB debut, but that always felt like a means to an end until the team got to full strength. This time, the promotion feels a lot different. The Braves are relying on him to be their starting shortstop, at the very least, until Ronald Acuña Jr. returns from injury and Mauricio Dubon can slide back to the infield.

That’s not something anybody — inside or outside of the organization — expected to be saying just 11 months after acquiring him for a reliever that posted a 5.50 ERA over 36 appearances for the Braves last season.

Will it work? We’re about to find out, but it’s not as if Jim Jarvis has very big shoes to fill. The Braves shortstop situation has been a complete and total nightmare. Ha-Seong Kim is currently robbing the organization of $20 million, recording just five hits in 73 at-bats. With a hit last night, Jarvis now has as many hits at the major-league level as Kim since May 22nd, and it’s not as if Jorge Mateo has been much better, hitting just .121 with a .323 OPS since the start of June.

Jarvis essentially has to show up to the park alive and breathing to provide as much as the duo of Mateo and Kim, but the Braves are hoping for much more, at least until reinforcements arrive in the coming weeks.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire