The Braves have officially announced a one-year, $6MM deal to re-sign outfielder Nick Markakis, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). That amount includes a $4MM salary for the coming season as well as a $2MM buyout on a 2020 club option that’s valued at $6MM. Markakis is a client of TWC Sports.
With the move, the Braves have evidently resolved their right field opening by returning to a known commodity. The 35-year-old Markakis just wrapped up a four-year, $44MM deal with the Atlanta organization, during which he appeared in all but a dozen of the team’s contests.
The last season of that pact was easily the best for Markakis, at least from an offensive perspective, as he posted his most productive campaign at the plate since way back in 2012. Ultimately, he slashed a healthy .297/.366/.440 through 705 plate appearances.
Despite the boost in output, Markakis will secure a good bit less than MLBTR had predicted (two years, $16MM). As Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets, though, GM Alex Anthopoulos said that other teams put more years and dollars on the table. Markakis simply preferred to come back to Atlanta.
Regardless, the market was obviously well aware of the various qualifiers to the offensive numbers that Markakis put up in 2018. Most notably, he failed to sustain the eye-popping power surge he displayed to open the season, hitting just seven long balls over his final 545 plate appearances. Markakis finished with a .143 ISO that steadily topped his output over his first three seasons in Atlanta. It seems fair to say there’s good reason to question whether he’ll sustain that; odds are, he’ll regress back toward the league-average-ish overall batting productivity levels he had settled in at over the prior half-decade.
To be sure, a significant portion of Markakis’s reputation has been built on his abilities in the field (as well as his durability). Though metrics haven’t seen him as an extraordinary fielder of late, he did pick up his third Gold Glove award last year.
In the aggregate, though, Markakis seems to be more of a candidate to function as a platoon piece than a true regular — at least for a team that has designs on a repeat division title. He has a lifetime .808 OPS against right-handed pitching, 83 points higher than his output against southpaws.
That would line up nicely with Adam Duvall, supposing the right-handed hitter can rebound from a dreadful second-half run with the Braves. With the team also intending to utilize switch-hitter Johan Camargo at times in the outfield, and center fielder Ender Inciarte also perhaps a candidate to sit at times against southpaws, there should be plenty of mix-and-match opportunities — supposing, at least, that Markakis is asked to play a reduced role for the first time in his 13-year career.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
$6 million seems a little low.
Apparently not.
Agreed…this hot stove is kinda weird.
Will this cause bigger dominos to fall?
No…prepare for more days of nothing
Didn’t he come close to leading the NL in hits? Baseball salaries have been dropping the last few years.
I agree that $4mm for 2019 seems low. That’s the same amount the Sox used to sign John Jay, 33 but soon to be 34, and Markakis is a demonstrably better player. Even with the extra $2mm buyout for 2020, the deal feels like a steal. I wonder if Markakis accepted a lesser offer because he values staying in Atlanta over a richer payday.
Don’t they have Kimbrel money regardless?
Short answer is yes.
i think it’s more that no one offered anything more and he may as well stay in Atlanta where’s he’s been for 4 years. Some teams are holding out for Harper or Pollock and will regret not being able to get Nick at such a cheap rate when they lose out.
For you?
One year seems a little low.
Why? It’s fair.
Hopefully payback for some of the post surgery seasons we endured.
I wouldn’t mind this line-up.
Acuna
Nick
Freeman
Josh
Ender
Ozzie
Swanson
McCann/ flowers
this is what I think AA said he was thinking about the lineup:
inciarte
JD
freddie
acuna
markakis
catcher
ozzie
swanson
“if” he still so continues this pace then at the age of 40, he will become theist underrated 3,000 hitclub candidate ever
Why? Aside from a couple of months last year, Markakis has been consistently below average in every facet of his game, since he moved to Atlanta.
Literally nothing bad about this if you are a Braves fan. They have been super quiet since Donaldson and McCann were signed
Kind of a lateral move IMO, this does leave some money for a Kimbrel signing. Is this what you guys are thinking.
It’s a lateral move in the sense he was finally injury free and put up a 2.6 WAR, even with a terrible second half. That WAR placed him even with McCutchen who just got a 3/50 from the Phils. That and you can’t measure some of the things Markakis does in WAR (working counts, helping batters around him, leadership, playing through injuries, etc.)
Considering Pollock is probably the only OF left with better numbers that is available without giving up prospects, Markakis on a short, team-friendly deal is a very good move.
You’re joking. It’s a bad move in general. The only way that it’s redeemable is if they acquire bullpen help or another starter with the money they still have.
Ugg. They’re not in it to win it. What a joke
What????
Nick is a really nice fit for the braves and he got a fair deal the braves have a nice mix of youth and veterans should contend like they did last year
He’s not Harper.
You don’t need Harper
Trust me you’ll be glad in the future than your team didn’t sign Harper
But he hit incredibly well and is MUCH cheaper so
He also isn’t costing $30M/YR for ten years
Take a look at Harper’s slash and production at Suntrust Park. Small sample size, perhaps, but results nonetheless.
@cold who knows he might have a better year than Harper.
Doubt it.
Some might say even Harper isn’t Harper.
In 4 years…he had 2 good months. It’s not a good deal unless something else is on the horizion ie. an ace.
There is no ace available. Nobody is getting an ace that doesn’t already have one.
For a 1 year $6million deal it is good value. I imagine that is what AA liked about the deal. There are a number of more productive OF’s AA could have gotten but value has been his freaken’ safety word.
Kakes is the base-line for a playoff team. It is not much of an investment and I kind of feel bad for the guy, but appreciate him coming back. That being said, it allows the FO the time to focus on other issues (TOR SP, bullpen, etc.) – though it’s low enough that they could still bring in the right long-term piece or work Austin Riley into the line-up if they’re serious about him being in the OF in spring training (2nd half of the season/Sept).
Not a Markakis fan at all but that’s below what I expected by around six million.
You thought he’d get about the same salary he received when got in his last contract? After averaging 1.4 fWAR over that time? $4 mil seems about right, especially if Cabrera could only get $5 mil from the Rangers.
Where’d he say that at?
He said it was below what he expected by $6 million, so he was expecting a $10-$12 million deal. His last deal was for $11m a season.
Reread it. He said he expect $6mil
No, you re-reread it. Incident is correct.
Not likely he would have the same season. Surprised though he had to settle for one year. Must not have gotten much interest
Help on the way
Awful. Barf.
dude puts the ball in play consistently.
i was hoping the yanks signed him if they passed on Harper. they need a good contact hitting lefty who can play LF.
$6 million after his 2018 performance…good job by the Braves!
He doesn’t even need to repeat his 2018 performance, assuming Josh Donaldson performs close to the way he did in Cleveland.
he won’t repeat 2018
Thanks Captain Obvious
A STEAL if he’s anything close to 3018.
2018
senior editor with the wrong millennium
LOL – I thought for a sec that we might have Nostradamus in our midst
Markakis isn’t an exciting new toy under the xmas tree but he is a good ballplayer that isn’t going to hurt the team with liabilities. He plays every day, gets on base at a decent clip, has a little pop, doesn’t strike out much and he catches the balls he can get to in the OF – all part of playing winning ball. I think $4M is a great value in today’s MLB dollars
For $6 million, he doesn’t need to replicate his start to last season for that to be a bargain. At that rate, it’s kind of disappointing that the Indians and their very questionable outfield didn’t get involved.
Meh… Way to upstage the HoF announcement
This works for me, now come the either SP or Kimbrel move.
Didn’t he come close to leading the NL in hits? Baseball salaries have been dropping the last few years.
hes 35, a bad defender and wasnt very good in the second half
He won a GG in 2018 you simpleton
That was a bit of a joke. He’s an average defender; someone else should have won it.
Yet he was 2nd in DRS for RFers in the NL and a higher DRS and UZR then your recently signed $50m+ McCutchen. Petty comment from a bitter Phils fan
he was 5th in DRS in the NL (min 500 innings) with 2 DRS (the same as Cutch in RF, which has nothing to do with Markakis), and had a -5.8 DEF rating. Meh.
Yes, I am so bitter that the Braves signed Nick Markakis lol.
As a Phillies fan I’m not bitter about the Braves signing Markakis at all. You can have Nick. We’ll be grabbing one of Machado or Harper.
I’m all for the Phillies signing one of those 2. I loved those teams from 2009-2012.
@Brixton Correct. McCutchen was tied with 2 DRS with Markakis and had a -6.8 DEF rating. Meh. Thanks for proving my point that they are pretty similar players. One is making significantly less money.
I love how phillies fans get all hyped up about Harper, like he hasn’t played his whole career in the NL east. we know what he can do, Against the braves he hits 278 most of that off of Tehran, The only team really terrified should be the marlins who he hits 295 off of. other than that its just another day at the park.
@brixton you’re garbage
baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=marka…
He puts the ball in play, gets on base, plays solid RF (won Gold Glove last year), and is a great clubhouse presence, at a very affordable price. Not a bad move. It’s not like there are that many other great options. I’d rather have Nick than take a chance on the oft-injured Pollock. Bryce would stranglehold the team going forward. We don’t need Bryce. How many championships did Bryce bring to a very talented Nationals team?
Like this move for the Braves, can slot him in the 5 hole, also can rotate him, Camargo, and Duvall in the outfield. 6 mil Doesn’t keep the Braves out of being able to make another deal for an OF and slot Markakis into being a 4th OF. Braves still left with plenty of money for a reliever or starter
I dont know why everyone is so mad. Huge braves fan here and I’m glad. He was very useful most of the year and probably would have been all year of he were given regular rest. Which is something the front office had made a point to change for this year. Adding depth.
I’m mad because this isn’t a good move. It doesn’t help the team take the next step. He doesn’t fit well in this particular lineup and his first half and gold glove were a fluke. This was a huge letdown.
I didn’t want him back, but for $6M, why not? But he doesn’t solve our need for a bopper in the middle of the order.
I really expected a bigger addition to the OF than Markakis. I foresee a lot of grumbling coming on this thread.
good news for the NL East. Braves take a step backward.
calm down buddy, i dont know how you can call this a step backwards… you must be a Mets or Phillies fan!
I like Kakes for 6 mil better than Mccutchen for 50 mil LMAoOOOOOOO
Perfect example McCutchen was over paid I would rather gamble on a one year deal than to give him 50mil
They’ll end up with about the same numbers
No trouble filling seats at STP.
He was an all star last season
Good on base percentage doesn’t strikeout much 297 BA good clubhouse guy one year deal worth 6 million that’s money well spent
You nailed it. Kakes is a gamer
Seriously? I like Markakis, I really do. This doesn’t make the team any better though. They spend 30 million dollars on a position they didn’t need to fill and a 35 year old OF. Why Harper isn’t on this team I will never understand. There is no excuse I’ll accept other than they are cheap who don’t want to win. No SP, no RP, no #4 hitter. But hey at least they got Markakis back. They’re jokes. Fourth place finish this year.
A team is cheap if they don’t give Harper $35M a year? They don’t have DH in the NL – there’s nowhere to hide his defense either.
No player will stay with a team for the entire duration of the contract anymore. Give Harper an opt opt after 3 years and another after 5. And if not trade him. If Cano can get traded, anyone can. Needed a cleanup hitter and an impact RF, they got Nick Markakis. It’s a lateral move and doesn’t better the team in 2019.
Say you sign Harper to a 10 year 300 million deal you’ll regret that in the future he’s not what you guys need you have Acuña and Freddy trust me he would handicap you guys mid way thru his deal I would rather spend money on Kuchel
Did you see the numbers Keuchel put up last year? Not good at all.
If anyone thinks that Bryce Harper is gonna be with his next team for 10 years on 1 contract…they are crazy! He’s gonna have at least 2 opt outs in it and will surely test the market again in the next 5 years.
The market is going lower, not higher. He’ll also be older. Why would he opt-out?
Read Harper’s career stats comparison on this link. He is totally over-hyped.
baseball-reference.com/players/h/harpebr03.shtml
Because teams will have just missed out on Mike Trout for 1. Second, Bryce Harper will still be below 30. This market thing is a phase and come time for the new CBA…it will pick back up
Will he have opt-outs? Yes, perhaps 2 or 3.
Will he exercise an opt-out? Maybe, … depends on multiple factors.
Next CBA will address luxury tax, which may enable teams to spend more before being penalized.
Could mean a bigger annual salary for all, especially A-listers.
That’s seems overly simplistic to make assumptions like that. It’s really not a phase just the breakdown and exploitation of an archaic system coming from a contingent of executives that value players somewhat similarly. The Union now has to find a way to force for a new system in which there is an increase in league minimum/shortening of control years etc.
Nobody is really paying for the potential down years of a player, especially an NL team without a DH. So now we are discussing exceptions to the rules. And those exceptions continue to remain minute as there are no major active bidding wars or reasons for teams to grossly overspend among another. Some teams may shuffle salary to stay money neutral, but it’s quite clear corner positional players with questionable defense are not that valued as a whole. If there was ever going to be a year in which teams broke the bank it was going to be this year for these two players for a multitude of different reasons.
Even in discussions of opts outs does anyone still truly believe Martinez or say Stanton are going to opt out? I said it last year about it being unlikely Stanton opts out. When half of the teams are tanking it destroys the economical system. Even a floor won’t assist in this endeavor as it simply just makes the trend of bloated expiring contracts more appealing.
@ SDFriarfan;
Overhyped?
Harper? Are you kidding?!?!?
Listen pal, when he hits a HR he runs around the bases pumping his fist in the air. And when he runs from 1st to 3rd on a single he knocks his helmet off his head and we can see his hairdo flying.
He’s “Mr. Excitement”! He’s a SUPERSTAR!! If you can’t get with early 21st century baseball, go back to your rotary phone and one gear bicycle.
Nobody wants Harper at his price! He is not that good! Last 5 years he is 17th in war and wants to be paid as the best player in baseball. He will cripple whatever team he signs with and will not be worth it in the future! He is all hype
As Big Jim McBob said, … “Hold out for all you can get.”
We have one of the best farm systems in the MLB including a top 10 pitching staff already. One of our prospects will be a ace
Would you rather have a division winning streak like the consecutive one we had before or a 3 year window? playing for the future
And spending so less on COF we can now spend big on other areas
You realize we still have more than 20 mil to spend?
Well let’s hope they use it wisely because the offense may actually get worse next year. I mean, we’re all assuming that Donaldson will be ineffective/hurt, right?
i could be dreaming but this looks like the begining of a trade for an Ace with inciarte in the package, getting a good RF, moving acuña to CF
or is so simple that AA got the cheap road
If you are right that would be an amazing prediction
Cheap road. They always do. All Braves fans heard was how in 2019 they will contend. They did it a year earlier than anyone thought, and then they have this ridiculously cheap offseason. I’m pissed
So, the young guys gained valuable experience in a pennant race in which they win the division. Then the team brings in a good 1 yr stop gap in J. Donaldson, bring back McCann for a yr. Just because they haven’t made a high profile/$$ move people are panicking &/or complaining. They are/were a season ahead of schedule, stick to the plan.
Opening day is over 50 days away. Plenty of time for other deals to go down. We traded Kimbrel and the player formerly known as Melvin to the Padres the day before opening day 2015 if I recall correctly.
A “ridiculously cheap offseason”? 1) It’s freakin’ January. Let’s evaluate it in July. 2) They are spending. If Donaldson does well and Markakis is his usual productive, consummate professional self, you’ll be bragging to your friends about how good this team is by the end of May. 3) There are way too many armchair GMs in the ATL fan base. They’re reigning division champs. It seems a tad ungrateful to be b****ing about them a month before pitchers and catchers report.
The problem isn’t the spending, it’s that they spent minor money on a meh player that doesn’t fit well with the current roster construction.
I’m surprised to see he won the Silver Slugger last year.
That was a complete joke. On merit, he didn’t deserve it.
You’ve already seen his ceiling and it doesn’t move the needle.
Can’t see how this is bad at all. The only thing to consider is if there is a chance to drastically improve the position (which presumably there is unless Harper has already turned them down) then why wouldn’t they be going big? We heard the AA nonsense about not wanting to give up the comp pick because of the previous penalties but the state of that farm system is above board.
So while Nick is a suitable guy for the job he certainly isn’t a game changing move.
Up to the point I feel like the Braves have had a poor off season BUUUT they are still in good shape for 2019. Hopefully for heir sake Alvie’s shakes off his bad second half
We won’t be expecting him to hit 4th next year, so a slightly above average offensive output is fine at that price I think.
Good move by the Braves. Consistent on-base guy. And it doesn’t stop them from any other moves, either now or at the deadline. Nick played in every game last year. Maybe they give him a few days off now and then to keep him fresh.
bham;
If you ever decide to start a newsletter, sign me up.
As long as he isn’t asked to play every day, he’ll be fine. Markakis doesn’t need to play 162 games. The Braves have Duvall and possibly Camargo to share time with in the outfield. It’s not an exciting move, but it’s not a bad move, either.
This is not the legit number 4 guy that we were hoping for. Maybe at 6mil he’s trade bait? I dont know. Just a bit disappointed in this move. It looks like 2nd or 3rd place to me.
You do know they can’t trade him until June 15th or something
Didn’t we already get the legit number 4 guy in donaldson? I’d have kakes 6th, after albies.
Snitker is planning to bat donaldson second and acuna first. Still need a clean up hitter as freeman refuses to bat any where but third and markakis while a fine hitter just does not have the power to bat fourth and protect freeman especially with reliance on the match up bullpens that are the norm now. On top of that the year before last markakis was a negativve defender and last year was rated a sleague average even though he won a gold glove.
I actually heard they’re kicking around to let Inciarte lead off, which would be a huge mistake.
It’s a good deal. Very good actually but as of now I see them as a 4th place team. Duvall can rebound and bat 4th but they need a starter and closer
As a Dodgers fan I’m shocked at all the grumbling over this. So tired of people complainting about players over 30, just because they are. Production is ALL that matters. 6 mil for that production. $ vs value, this is a steal for the Braves.
i dont understand how any1 can see them as 4th place lol…. they won the division last year! They lost nobody from that team besides Suzuki… they added JD and McCann…. BEST TEAM IN THE DIVISION UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE!
I’m a huge Braves fan…but right now we are a third or 4th place team in this division
I think the Nationals may have improved the most, and I’ll be willing to say they’re definitely the favorites to win the NL east, but the Mets and Phillies have not surpassed the Braves yet, although both have gotten better, specially the Mets.
I think if the Mets pitching stays healthy, they are ahead of us. Big if I know but still…
Not an in it to win it type of move but financially it’s more than fine. They’ve moved zero prospects and that’s also fine if they plan on utilizing them for an ace now or for any type of glaring holes before the trade deadline midseason. Bullpen is suspect but they’ll take chances on low cost fillers. Catching Is still suspect considering McCann is a downgrade from Suzuki.
I don’t think other teams value our prospects as much as Braves do. I hope I’m wrong. If Markakis is all we get,Donaldson better play alot of games. Thanks alot AA. What happened to your 70% trade you were working on?
Sigh..it’s a good signing. It really is for the price the Braves are paying. It gives AA what he wants which is value.
The problem is even though your money/production formula works nicely, it just doesn’t move the needle. I think all of us Braves fans were looking for an acquisition that was going to demonstrate that the Braves are competing.
The Astros slipped in 2016 after a playoff year in 2015. They held on to prospects much like the Braves are doing, and it’s paid off for them. I’d like to win the division every year, but I’d rather have a good team for the next 10 years.
There were other options than trades.
Last year was the year they were “supposed” to be competing. They’re ahead of schedule. Stick to the rebuilding plan.
I think the Braves have decided to get a longer look at their prospects. Even if some lose some value (and they will), it’s still better than making a big free agent overpay. Trading a guy that goes on to become an ace for another team is a hard pill to swallow. I’m old enough to remember the Adam Wainwright trade. I’d rather that not happen again.
They did get one whole year of jd drew, though. LOL. It ranks right up there with trading Laroche to make room for thorman. And of course moving chipper to the outfield (causing an avalanche of injuries) to make room for Vinny castilla.
At the very least this takes pressure off the Braves to get a RF. They can still make a trade for a better RF if they want to, and Nick would be an above average NL 4th outfielder/ph/dh.
Atlanta got a home town deal even at 35yrs if age I expected him to sign a 2yr 14/15 million deal somewhere like San Fran or Texas
Like Markakis and glad to have him back but as long as it’s not with plans for the cleanup hitter again. Guess chips are all in on Donaldson bouncing back and being the #4?….Nothing so far has moved the needle to make it back to the playoffs or keep us from getting bounced in first round again if we do. I thought 2019 was the ‘target free agent year’, still a lot of time left tho I guess
Watch out MLB!
At least until June….
Lots of complaining for a guy who could fairly reasonably be the last 3,000 hit club member we see for a while.
Another deal that also leaves lots of money for next Winter. Makes you wonder if AA has someone specific he is hoping to target in future and so he wants to have available money for when the time comes
Not the splash some were clamoring for but a great deal on a known commodity. All positions are now covered with Camargo at super-utility and McCann, Duvall, and Culberson off the bench…pretty solid. It appears AA saw value he couldn’t pass up and now has freedom to spend the savings on the rotation and bullpen.
With the Braves out of the OF market, the prices for players like Pollack will drop. Who knows? If he drops low enough the Braves could jump back in. If they get Pollack and he gets injured, they’ve got Nick for insurance.
I’ll take it at that cost, no down. Especially if he shocks us and performs like last year. The option gives the guy something to play for, so hopefully he’s still motivated. We just needed a solid player in RF, not a dramatic improvement. Our bullpen was and still is the biggest problem heading into this offseason and needs to be address. We needed 2 elite arms and 1 solid one. Now that the pickings are slim from a rich bullpen market, I’m still more concerned about that than markakis playing RF with a waking cane
PUT THIS IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT!!!!! HOW IS HE A STEP BACKWARDS LMAO!!!!!!!!
Markakis, 35, joined OF Dale Murphy (1982-1985) and OF Andruw Jones (2005) as the only players in franchise history to earn a Gold Glove award and a Silver Slugger award in the same year, winning both honors last season after going to his first All-Star Game and hitting .297 with 14 home runs, 43 doubles, 93 RBI and a .806 OPS in 162 games. The right fielder was one of two players in the majors to start all 162 games in 2018, and just the fifth Braves player since the National League went to a 162-game schedule in 1962 to accomplish the feat. Markakis’ 43 doubles ranked as third most in the National League, and he became the first Braves player in franchise history (since 1876) to collect at least 35 doubles in four straight seasons.
He is a year older and the 2 previous seasons he was average at best. If you think that Markakis will repeat 2018 at age 35 you have wacky tobacky in that pipe you are smoking.
so whats that say about Cano and McCutchen.? the difference is Kakes is getting paid 6 mil…. the other 2 are on RIDONKULOUS SALARIES… I WOULD RATHER HAVE KAKES THAN EITHER OF THOSE 2 ALL DAY EVERYDAY
Kakes put up better #s than both of them LMAO!!!!
Stop blaming the mystery pipe.
If you are basing everything off awards people pick at random ( Gold Gloves, All star games, and silver sluggers) Your argument has no merit.
so very much this
using dumb stats and terrible awards to rationalize your argument is silly. He had a great 3 months and then was awful. He is a below avg player.
I never said it was a step backwards… I was in fact saying this is a good deal especially at this value. I’ll take it. Fills the hold in RF we have with a solid bat and doesn’t eat up money. But the bullpen is such a major concern that it’s scary
$6 mil is a joke. What a steal!!
Great clubhouse guy. Whatever role he plays in, glad he’s back with the Braves(for that price). Between McCann and NM that’s a great way to show the young guys how to play.
I think our next acquisition should be Leinenkugel.
He signed with the Tribe.
Good signing. Truth is, Atlanta does not want to rock the boat with a massive, longterm signing. I think the franchise is content on missing the playoffs this year so long as the young players grow for 2020 and beyond. Making the postseason is a bonus to them.
I like the Markakis signing. I was hoping for Pollack… but the money. Yikes. Perhaps, Kimbrel next?
I think he has great value at that price. Of course his defense isn’t what it was, but he is far from a liability. He still makes the plays that a big league outfielder needs to. Offensively, last year was a better year, yes, but in line with his career stats. He quietly is an all-around + for Atlanta. Few have matched his career consistency, and he clearly has some longevity. I think sometimes we need to be reminded that although age effects performance trend, it doesn’t matter a bit if the guy is still putting up his numbers. Many of the greats go out on top. Baseball is a true team sport: you need a good handful of guys with Markakis quality to splash in October, otherwise your two stars don’t mean a thing. This is right there with Asdrubal Cabrera as far as veteran FA value signings this year.
how can you say his defense isnt what it was? he won a GG last year….
One argument from those who don’t support this signing is that his defense is bad. I was trying to give them some leway there, and at 35 year old, I will concede that he may have lost a step. I myself am a big fan of his defense- the defender that he is today. Now, it’s a trend that an aging player long-reputed as a great defender be given a Gold Glove, because it’s awful if he doesn’t get at least three. He was surely more-deserving in past campaigns. It’s similar to how you see an All-Star nod for a player hitting .260 when he hit .315 unexpectedly the season before. But I feel his defense is still quite strong. Please don’t over-simplify this, my good baseball friend.
35 is too young to ‘lose a step’. Sure, some do lose a step. Guys with personal pride just work out more/harder to keep up with aging. Just takes common sense and self control at the dinner table, and commitment to workouts.
insert “This is Fine” meme here
This deal is only good if we sign a high quality late inning guy, or trade for a high quality late inning reliever. Or if we trade for a front line starting pitcher. He is a great clubhouse presence and he posted solid numbers. You could tell he wore down at the end of the season and he was basically an automatic out when he stepped up to the plate in the playoffs. This move did not make us better it just filled a need at a good cost. I hope AA is planning on something big and using the rest of the money to improve the ball club
Looking at this in a vacuum it’s a good deal. Markakis is worth $6 million for sure
The problem is the Braves (and most of the fans) looked at that position as one of two major positions we could upgrade along with catcher.
Instead we didn’t get an upgrade at either. All we did was displaced Camargo who served fine at 3B for a year of Donaldson
I just don’t see how this team has improved going in to next season. Yes we won the NL East but part of that ahead of schedule winning was a lot of other teams dropping the ball, lets just be fair here.
If this signing leads them to adding Kimbrel then alright, at least we will have addressed our weakest point which was the bullpen. However if nothing else really comes all we did was say we’re content rolling the dice on the team improving substantially from an added year of experience, which in my mind is not gonna be enough when you consider we were fortunate as it is that other teams fell apart last year not to mention everyone else made major changes to improve this offseason. Forget about the fact we weren’t even really very competitive in the playoffs either.
100% correct and not just because I agree…lol
If Markakis gets 3000 hits, is he a Hall of Famer?
Yes…
In my opinion, no. Without a knock on Markakis, who I feel should have been invited to quite a few All-Star games, I am a bit of a purest, and that means that baseball has the highest standards for enshrinement of any sport. For instance, I am a Twins fan who is disappointed that Jack Morris made it. Love that this question was asked though, and would love to hear other opinions.
Let’s not get carried away.
here comes JT and Kimbrel
Not so bad, Nick and the Braves show some loyalty to each other and Atlanta got Markakis at is very good price. Camargo can give Nick rest days as can Duval.
This should give AA enough money to still address the bullpen some and/or find a cheaper ( Braves favorite word ) starting pitcher who can give innings.
The Braves way.. cheap but efficient. Unless they spend elsewhere, this team is gearing up for another first round exist.
Gross
I like Markakis, good team player and sure he maybe is slowing but hey he is 35 not 25. My choice would have been Joc Pederson because of his power and he is still 26 but the Dodgers probably are asking for a lot.
Cheap skates
…often lead to ankle injury.
… are rarely needed in Hot’lanta.
False. Google Cascade in Atlanta and you’ll see what I mean.
youtube.com/watch?v=VuNSvP-1DxQ
It’s only 4M for this year….he’ll likely, dollar per production, outperform every RF in the game besides Judge (whose still not arb-eligible).
Because of stat obsession, we’ve lost sight of what being a good player means. Ya, the Gold Glove was a stretch; they usually are. But he won’t do anything dumb out there, nor on the bases. He’ll get his share of OBP, and, unless everybody’s lying, is a clubhouse positive.
Absolutely NOTHING not to like about this deal.
You didn’t watch him after the all star break did you?
People seem to forget we signed Donaldson for 1 yr $23 million. Braves already got their Machado/Harper i.e. big addition this offseason. Donaldson will catapult our already division championship offense to new heights. Bringing Markakis back for cheap is a good move to keep our outfield on par. It’s scary how much potential our offense has.
Extremely disappointed by this move. Nothing against Markakis, but in no way would I expect him to repeat his 2018 numbers, and the Braves need more production, not less.
My biggest hope is that by saving money shopping the budget aisle for Markakis, the Braves allow themselves to spend that money to improve elsewhere.
Please bring something good out of this.
A one year, $6M signing isn’t going to stop them from doing anything else
No offense, but where did I say this move would prevent them from making another move? If anything I suggested that I expected (and hope for) another move.
Wow, that’s cheap and a great fit
With this move I am really expecting a Realmuto trade in the next week or so. I love the move I was saying 2 guaranteed would get it done but 1 w/option is even better. Flows right into the Pache expected arrival.
Only thing he really can’t be the cleanup hitter. That’s why I am expecting JTR.
About time!
I miss him in Baltimore
Does Balt miss Miley? He could be maddening at times.
Decent move – it’s a known quantity. As long as fans are expecting a repeat of 2018.
Remember, this is the same guy that slugged under .400 for 5 straight years leading up to last year.
At least they can plug him in and know they’re going to get, mostly.
I should say, aren’t expecting.
I didn’t realize he has over 2200 career hits. Wow. With another 4-5 years, he could potentially be approaching 3000. Hall of Famer?
No
Nope. He is a very solid hitter, but today’s voters are too focused on ‘bashers’. His career WAR is way down the list, despite being a solid hitter and above average defender most of his career. Those numbers won’t improve as he ages.
Career WAR = 32.4
Needed for HoF = approx 60 with solid peak, 70 if an average yearly guy
Just rough guess above, but he isn’t really close.
Where is this so called deal that is 70% done? Or are we just going to keep signing old veterans that will do nothing for us in 2019. Yes $6 million for Markakis is a good signing, but it’s not what we needed. He’s most likely going to put up stats like his line in the 2h of last year. Very disappointed with this off season to say the least. I understand we dont want to ruin our future to make a play now, but we had to do SOMETHING with the rest of the NL East getting better. I dont see us finishing better then 3rd in our division and we’ll be lucky to get the second wild card.
Realmuto or bust time boys. I have to think we made this signing to save money for other needs (C or RP). At least, that’s what Im hoping for.
The catching situation is already set. Like it or not. It is and will stay as Flowers and McCann.
Their WAR average over the last three years is about 3 when averaged out to 162 games worth of ABs. Well shy of Realmuto, but also not taking into account true platoon splits (Suzuki got almost all AB’s against lefties, which hurt Flowers numbers and that will not happen with McCann).
While Realmuto would be an upgrade, the Braves were never going to give up anywhere near what the Marlins were asking. They knew it so they signed McCann and moved on.
There is a very small chance the Marlins asking price will stay where it’s been when every single club has laughed at what they are asking for. At some point they will take less just like they did last year when they traded away their stars.
Trade for LeClerc.
Bargain.
I like the signing. Solid player on the cheap that checks the boxes for the Braves (good attitude, decent defense, works counts, quiet leader for the young guys, makes players around him better).
One thing I would question is the assumption he will be a platoon piece. Duvall is terrible, just terrible. Compared to Duvall, Markakis hits lefties like Mike Trout. I could see Duvall spelling him for a game a week maybe, or maybe Camargo doing so, just to keep him a bit fresher than last year, but thats it.
Oh .. he slowed down in the second half because he batted fourth, after Freeman, and with no real protection after Kemp was gone. I am certain the heat and humidity didn’t help, but I would put more on losing Kemp as lineup protection. If he bats with protection he should be better again, but if not, then that means he is protecting Freddie and Josh, which should help them (something stats just don’t evaluate).
Overall, not a bad signing. Especially when you stop the nonsense about ‘they could have gotten Harper’ blah blah blah.
Duvall really isn’t as terrible as you make him sound. Overall that is. Yes, he was last year when he came to Atlanta. That’s def not the norm for him. Give him time, a full season in Atlanta and you’ll be happy with his 20 hrs.
I appreciate that, but I really wasn’t just looking at one year. He was a very poor hitter in Cincy as well, and that is possibly the second best hitters park in the majors.
He might get to 20 homers with enough playing time, but his BA, OBP, and leverage numbers are just not good. Fortunately, the Braves gave up very little to get him and he could still break out and approach the medium ceiling some projected him to have five years ago, but it’s looking doubtful.
I really hope you are right. I liked the trade for him last year given the low cost and I am hoping it really pays off for the Braves, but I am not holding my breath on that one.
Great news! I was hoping for this news – solid defender, solid base hitter that moves runners, solid clubhouse guy. No lose deal.
Getting Nick back was good, but let’s not forget who doles out the cash here. Liberty Media is notoriously cheap. Anyone thinking they’re going to empty the Brink’s truck for Kimbrel must be sportin’ some of that medicinal weed..
Calendula?
He has missed 12 games in the last 4 years and he has averaged 153 games a year for the last 13 years. Harper has averaged 132 games as a reference point (since people seem to want him on the Braves). For that price, I can’t imagine another free agent outfielder that is going to give you a better value than this.
His average last year was .297. He has hit above .290 8 out of 13 years in his career. I’m surprised so many people are worried that his production will drop off when he has been so consistent.for so long.
Age means nothing when it is a one year deal and I think the Braves just made a low-risk signing with a very good player for an amazing price.
Great pickup team-friendly productive hitter and gold glove winner solid year last season should be above average again for almost nothing
He’s projected to be well below average…on account that he’s been below average for three of the past four years.
So this means we’re not getting Andruw Jones?
That’s a good value deal for the Braves. 1 year $6m or 2 year $10m. Keeps money available for either bullpen or a starter. Sure isn’t sexy though.
I like this for one simple reason… They are sticking with the process. These one year stop gaps are a revelation to me! We will compete this year as-is, and everyone gains a year of experience. Maybe this time next year we are discussing Soroka or Touissant as a rotation cornerstone with Folty and Newc. Also, McCann, Flowers, Donaldson, Markakis, O’Day, Vizcaino, Teheran, and potentially Gausman if he doesn’t take a step up are all free agents. Literally over 60M freed up to spend on superstars. And they still have money to spend this year! And a huge surplus of valuable “extra” major league ready players in Gohara, Fried, Allard, etc. This is very exciting that they are not going “all in” prematurely. They are building a dynasty.
Exactly I would rather have a division winning streak like we had before then a 3 year window
+we still have over 20 mil to spend, maybe they plan to trade for and extend Realmuto once price goes down or get greinke, or sign kimbrel
I like this move because Markakis is a great guy to have on the 25 man for that money. Everyone loves him, especially the young guys.
But if we don’t add 2-3 more impact players before opening day I will be disappointed. We aren’t good enough to wait until July to add pieces… we could be out of it by then.
What are you giving up to sign those “2-3 impact players”?
i only like this if he is not an everyday man. 6 mil is a great deal but you have to be thinking win now at this point and unless this is bench strength, this is not a win now move. Duvall should not be our starter
Terrific news.
$6MM on nothing more than a one year commitment is a win. I’ll take it.
Besides, he will likely only start for the first 2/3 of the season. He will likely take a seat by the trade deadline.
It’s a good move just to plug the hole. It’s a bit underwhelming, but if Harper is just too much of a commitment, i’ll take Markakis coming back for one more year at such a low rate.
There just wasn’t much out there that was attractive on the FA market, other than Harper. Haniger would have been nice, from a trade standpoint, but it was glaringly obvious Seattle wasn’t dealing him.