What's the long-term plan for shortstop and catcher for the Braves?

Bill Shanks talks about what the future may hold for catcher and shortstop

What will happen this season at catcher? Travis d’Arnaud replaces Brian McCann, while the player who had the most at bats last season at the position, Tyler Flowers, returns as the main backup.

Catcher is one of the positions that is a question mark for the long-term. d’Arnaud is under contract for two years, and then we should know whether William Contreras of Shea Langaliers could be the next starting catcher for the rest of this decade.

The other position that is somewhat a question for the long term is shortstop. Dansby Swanson is 26 years old, and he just went through arbitration for the first time. He’s a bit older than Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Ozzie Albies, the two young players who got long-term contracts with the Braves last season.

But is Swanson the long-term answer at shortstop? Could the Braves want to keep the hometown kid in his own backyard for years to come? If Swanson stays healthy this season, he could surpass the numbers he had last season when he hit .251 with a .325 OBP, 17 home runs, 65 RBI and 121 hits in 545 plate appearances.

Swanson just has to stay healthy, which has been an issue as he’s averaged 136 games played the last three seasons. They don’t need him to miss 25 games, so that must be his main goal this season.

Listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 p.m. ET on Middle Georgia’s ESPN. You can listen online at TheSuperStations.com. Follow Bill on Twitter at @billshanks and you can email him at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.