Thursday night, the inevitable happened. According to a source, the Braves have informed shortstop Dansby Swanson that he will be optioned to Triple-A. The highly-touted prospect, who entered the season with 38 games of Big League experience under his belt, has struggled for the majority of the 2017 campaign. After bursting onto the scene last August, Swanson’s playing time has been limited of late. Part of that has to do with his struggles. But a big part of his limited playing time has to do with the emergence of Johan Camargo, who proved he was close to Major League ready this Spring.

So, what’s next for Dansby? Well, for one, he’ll get a chance to play every day at Gwinnett. Sitting on the bench wasn’t doing him any good. So now he’ll have the opportunity to get four or five at bats a night and work on some things in the Minors. Was there too much expected of Swanson coming into the season? His face was on billboards and in commercials. The team even had a bobblehead night for him in June. He’s a great story, hometown kid, first round pick, Braves fan. But, his struggles weren’t a small sample size.

Dansby will be fine. He’s struggled, but what great Big Leaguer hasn’t? There’s two ways a demotion to the Minors can go. Some players view it as a wake up call. Some will mope and pout. From being around Swanson for the last year and a half, I know he will handle this like the pro he is. We’ll see Dansby again. Likely sooner rather than later. But for now, this is a great chance for him to get back on track and hit the reset button. It was a move that wasn’t unexpected. Heck, if you ask Dansby, I’m sure he saw the writing on the wall. But again, I have no doubts he will handle this like a pro and be better for it in the long run.

@KevinMcAlpin covers the Braves for @680_The_Fan and the @BravesRadioNet.