ATLANTA — Nacho Alvarez Jr. had dreamed of this moment since he was a kid, so he wasn’t about to be late. And you never know with Atlanta-area traffic. So, he arrived early at Truist Park for his major-league debut Monday.
Very early.
Alvarez got to the ballpark just after noon, more than seven hours before the first pitch of the series opener against the Cincinnati Reds, and at least two hours before most other Braves players arrived. The rookie even beat habitually early bird Brian Snitker to the park, which undoubtedly pleased the Braves manager.
“He came to my locker because I was in here already,” Alvarez said, smiling. “And he just gave me the gist of it — hitting second, playing second. I mean, I didn’t think I’d be hitting second, but just got to keep playing my game.”
Before we go any further, Alvarez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and three groundouts and didn’t have any balls hit to him in the 4-1 loss. It was the third loss in four home games since the All-Star break for the Braves, who slipped to nine games behind the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies.
Alvarez did have a 100 mph groundout to third base — Noelvi Marte made a nice play — and a first-inning comebacker that Reds All-Star Hunter Greene fielded behind his back before throwing to first.
So, this wasn’t a total fairytale come to life. Debuts seldom are. It was a chance to get his feet under him, get acclimated, take it all in, and be ready to show what he can do when things feel more normal.
Nacho Alvarez, 21, is making his MLB debut tonight for the #Braves and said his parents are stuck at the airport in Orange County (Calif.) after their 1 a.m. flight was cancelled. That sucks.
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) July 22, 2024
“It wasn’t the result I wanted, but I just went out there and had some fun,” he said. “That’s all I can control, honestly. I feel like I put some good swings on Greene and it just didn’t go my way today. I didn’t feel overpowered.”
Alvarez, a 21-year-old shortstop who’s the best position-player prospect in the organization, was called up to fill in at second base after Ozzie Albies fractured his left hand attempting to make a tag in the ninth inning Sunday.
“It’s surreal,” Alvarez said a few hours before the game. “Something I dreamed of since I was a kid. And I mean, it sucks my (parents) are not going to be able to be here because of all the stuff that’s going on and all the systems are down. But it’s just a dream. Like, I can’t really explain it. I showed up today and I honestly couldn’t believe it. But I’m here now, so I got to do my job.”
His parents, Ignacio Sr. and Maria, were stuck at the airport back home in Orange County, California, after their 1 a.m. flight was canceled. Alvarez said after the game that his parents had just taken off on another flight and would be at Tuesday’s game. All of his four older brothers were at the game and he talked to them afterward.
He didn’t know if his brothers were going to make it or not, but they arrived before the game. One of his brothers said they didn’t come down to talk to him from the railing before the game because they would’ve started crying — much as parents and Alvarez himself did for what he estimated was about 10 minutes after he called them Sunday and told them he was going to the majors.
“Thankfully they didn’t come down, because I would have started crying, too,” Alvarez said of his brothers. “That’s the last thing I need. It was great to at least have someone here.”
A fifth-round draft pick in 2022, Alvarez said he wasn’t surprised to be summoned from Triple A to the majors so soon, even though he spent the entire 2023 season at High-A Rome. And even though it was to play a position he hadn’t played in any of his 222 minor-league games, not even for an inning.
“I don’t count things out with these guys — they like to move people fast,” he said of the Braves. “And it was never going to be a surprise for me. I was always ready and I believed in my abilities.”
But despite saying he’s known “since the jump” in high school that he had major-league talent, and despite his performance at Gwinnett and solid showing as a non-roster invitee at major-league spring training, Alvarez acknowledged he was nervous after arriving at Truist Park.
It wasn’t because he would be playing second base, his position for three seasons in high school in Fontana, California. And after 25 minutes of early work Monday afternoon with Braves bench coach Walt Weiss, Alvarez said the footwork and throws required of a second baseman felt normal again.
His nervousness was the type of jitters that virtually every player experiences before his debut in The Show. And a couple of Braves veterans, shortstop Orlando Arcia and DH Marcell Ozuna, saw the nerves and did something about it.
“(Arcia) and Ozuna just took me over there and kind of calmed me down,” Alvarez said, nodding toward the side of the clubhouse where those veterans have their lockers. “I was honestly a little nervous and they could tell. So, those guys really helped me. … They said how they came up around the same age as me and, like, just don’t make it bigger than what it is. Going out there and seeing the field, it was awesome.”
If he learned anything in his debut, it’s how much faster the major-league game is, especially with Reds burner Elly De La Cruz tripling on the second at-bat of the game and scoring on a sacrifice fly that wasn’t deep enough to right to score many other major-leaguers. That, and how much better big-league pitching is than most Triple-A arms.
Greene limited the Braves to two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in seven scoreless innings, and when he exited he had the 45 highest-velocity pitches by anyone in the game on either team, all between 97.4 and 99.6 mph.
Braves starter Reynaldo López, a first-time All-Star, allowed seven hits and four runs in six innings including a third-inning homer by No. 9 hitter Will Benson on a 1-1 hanging changeup. Lopez topped out at 97.3 and averaged 94.8 mph with his four-seam fastball, down from his season average of 95.4. He got only four whiffs on 16 swings with the fastball.
He was 7-2 with an MLB-leading 1.71 ERA and .209 opponents’ average through 16 starts, but López has allowed 18 hits and seven runs in 12 innings over his past two starts, losses at San Diego and against the Reds.
“I felt good and healthy,” López said through an interpreter. “Ultimately, that’s the most important thing. I felt the same, but you’re right, I’ve given up more hits. Up to this point, I’ve felt good this whole season. I haven’t felt like there’s been stress or fatigue on my arm. And I’m happy that I was able to at least cover the six innings and not have to go to the bullpen too early.”
The Braves called up Alvarez because they have a need and because he’s raised his offensive performance significantly since a midseason promotion to Triple-A Gwinnett six weeks ago, batting .336 with seven homers, 24 RBIs and a 1.007 OPS in 28 games.
The defensive readiness was never in doubt. The Braves saw that in spring training this year, where he was a non-roster invitee. And after the offensive surge at Gwinnett, the Braves decided to bring him up and see if he’s ready to play every day while Albies is out, which is expected to be about eight weeks. Alvarez credits his offensive breakthrough to an adjustment with his hands in the load part of his swing, a tweak made with minor-league hitting coordinator Chris Antariksa on the day of the promotion from Double A.
The Braves also signed veteran utilityman Whit Merrifield on Monday, 10 days after the 35-year-old, three-time All-Star was released by the Philadelphia Phillies. He’ll be another option at second base should Alvarez falter, but the Braves will give the rookie a chance to show what he can do.
A grounder struck a finger on Merrifield’s throwing hand during early work Monday, in a development that seemed perfect in this star-crossed season for the Braves. Injured before he even put on a Braves game uniform. He was checked out by the team hand specialist before the game and was available to hit late, but Snitker wasn’t sure if the finger would be good enough for Merrifield to throw Tuesday.
If healthy, the Braves should probably consider using Merrifield for a game or two at first base, where Matt Olson is mired in the worst slump of his career, batting .126 (14-for-111) with two homers, six RBIs and a .397 OPS his past 30 games — the worst average and OPS among MLB qualifiers in that span.
Olson has played in 557 consecutive games, the longest streak in the majors and the second-longest since 2000. But if ever there was a time for that to end, now is probably it.
(Photo of Nacho Alvarez Jr.: Brett Davis / USA Today)
