The Braves took one of the last high-end free agents off the board when they inked Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $18MM contract Tuesday, but the signing looks like a mere consolation prize for the team. After all, the Braves lost a better free agent the previous week when they saw third baseman Josh Donaldson agree to a four-year, $92MM pact with the Twins. The Braves prioritized re-signing Donaldson this offseason, general manager Alex Anthopoulos told Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Jeff Schultz of The Athletic in separate interviews, but they were simply unwilling to meet the Twins’ bid for the 34-year-old.
“I don’t blame him for a minute,” Anthopoulos said of Donaldson’s choice. “It’s a fantastic contract for him. He earned it. Would’ve loved to have him stay a Brave, but we ultimately had to make a decision. We felt like it was best for our club to go to a number and not go beyond that to get it done.”
In the end, the number Donaldson received “went north of where we thought it would be at the start of the offseason,” according to Anthopoulos, who added that “Josh gave us every opportunity to sign him back and every opportunity to get the deal done.” And Donaldson didn’t leave because of any payroll constraints hampering the Braves, per Anthopoulos, who noted the team “could’ve” matched the Twins’ offer. However, the executive just wasn’t comfortable doing so.
So now what for the Braves? Well, barring an unexpected trade for the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado or the Cubs’ Kris Bryant, it appears they’ll turn to Johan Camargo and Austin Riley – two third basemen who struggled last season – to pick up the slack at the hot corner. When they were trying to re-sign Donaldson, they were “also weighing the possibility that we would be blocking Riley or blocking Camargo from playing third base. That presents its own challenges,” Anthopoulos stated.
It’s anyone’s guess what the Braves will get from Camargo and Riley in 2020, but the addition of Ozuna should help cover for the loss of Donaldson’s offense to some extent. Anthopoulos acknowledged the Braves “likely” wouldn’t have signed Ozuna had they convinced Donaldson to come back, but Ozuna is nonetheless someone who excites the club. They believe Ozuna has untapped potential.
“Because of his stat line last year, we felt he was an undervalued player. We felt he was better than his .240 average and 29 home runs,” Anthopoulos said of Ozuna, who – for what it’s worth – was a Statcast darling in 2019. The 29-year-old ranked in the majors’ upper echelon in average exit velocity, hard-hit percentage and expected weighted on-base average, to name a few key metrics.
Does the Ozuna acquisition mean the Braves will part with one of their outfielders (say, Ender Inciarte)? “I don’t think so,” Anthopoulos observed, noting there’s more room for extra options now that the league’s moving from a 25-man to a 26-man roster, and that “too many good players” is a high-class problem.
Elsewhere on their roster, the Braves made a noteworthy move earlier this offseason when they picked up left-hander Cole Hamels on a one-year, $18MM guarantee of his own. Now, although Anthopoulos opined that a team’s “never comfortable” with its rotation, he’s hopeful that “we can have one of our young guys or two take a step, like last year with (Max) Fried and (Mike) Soroka.”
Hamels, Fried, Soroka and Mike Foltynewicz look like shoo-ins to make up four-fifths of the Braves’ rotation at the start of the season, but the team did try to add another splashy name to the group earlier in the winter.
“We talked to some of the starters who got bigger, longer deals, whether that was (Hyun-Jin) Ryu, (Zack) Wheeler, Bumgarner,” Anthopoulos revealed. “We ultimately chose not to go to the same contract, whether it was length or total value.”
If the Braves’ rotation or some other part of their roster fails during the first few months of the season, perhaps the two-time defending NL East champions will find reinforcements leading up to the summer trade deadline. The Braves are already projected for a franchise-record Opening-Day payroll of $158MM – almost $45MM more than 2019’s season-starting outlay – but there may be more in the coffers. Anthopoulos said he “was given a quick yes” when he asked CEO Terry McGuirk for a spending increase during the prior two summers.
“If the Braves’ rotation or some other part of their roster fails during the first few months of the season”
*when the braves rotation
*where the braves rotation
*what the braves rotation
*how the braves rotation
And sometimes *why the Braves rotation
Such a positive Braves fan.
Realistic Braves fan. Just because he doesn’t expect good things doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his team
So you have another account. Where did I say you didn’t love the Braves?
Anyone that calls themselves a realist is just a pessimist in denial
Just because he’s negative doesn’t mean he’s realistic.
No, but in this case he’s right
Whatever you say. I would absolutely love to be wrong, but all signs point to this team being worse than last year. That’s an honest and realistic view. Would you rather me be a homer who thinks my team is going to win it all every year, even when the evidence is against my team?
It’s not evidence, it’s your opinion. It’s the same opinion we kept hearing last year. No one is saying they’re ready to win it all, but no one knows that they’re worst either.
What evidence? Going into this season we are not relying on Markakis and a Riley/carmargo/Duvall platoon in the OF. Instead we have Ozuna, Acuna, and hopefully a healthy Ender to play until Waters/Pache is ready.
The IF still has FF and Albies plus Dansby who has continued to improve and Riley/Carmargo who can play defense first and produce better than Markakis/Duvall.
Hopefully Flowers isn’t an everyday catcher and Travis hits like himself. I’ll take that tandem over McCain/Flowers for sure.
The pitching staff is healthy and probably about the same as last year if not better.
SO the defense IS better with players in their actually positions. The lineup is probably a push if not better. The pitching staff is likely the same.
Such a positive Braves fan.
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We still have guys like that in the RSN. Bucky & Mookie broke them. And no matter how successful we’ve been for the past 15 years, they can never allow themselves to get comfortable.
Dombrowski broke them,just like he did Detroit.
And you think Bumgarner would save the rotation? Lmao
I just think he needs a hug. It gets lonely being on here aching about the Braves all the time.
Or a conjugal visit;)
This guy never quits..
Atlanta may have have an elite ace type yet but Soroka is pretty dang good and only getting better and Atlanta’s top three should be pretty solid.. especially if they play up to their ability.
You really are an insufferable jerk
I wouldn’t be super surprised to see them land Arenado. Enciarte, Riley, one of their young starters and a couple prospects. I was curious after I heard Flarherty’s name mentioned what the price is with Blackmons contract added. Rockies are nuts if they think Cards are sending Flarherty.
They can’t afford arenado. No way are they going to absorb that huge contract and give up prospect capital also. They could have just signed Donaldson if they were able to.
Who cant afford Arenado? They choose not to sign Donaldson for alot of other reasons not just the money. The Braves have one of if not the deepest pockets owners of all teams.
I’ve been saying what sevans said for a while. It’s not that they can’t afford, they obviously can. It’s they won’t… Donaldson is a heck of a ball player, borderline elite, and ultimately signed a cheap contract that even if he fads in a couple years it’s well worth it. 4 years is all we are really talking about in this situation… super cheap contract. If they Braves wouldn’t fork up cash for that no brainer cheap deal for a great player, they aren’t gonna fork out more cash plus expensive prospect capital for Arenado. Again, not because they can’t, but because they won’t. They just won’t…
Out of curiosity who is the last big ticket free agent they signed that wasn’t on a one year deal or other large contract they absorbed via trade? They are not a deep pocket team but can sustain a payroll in the 150-160 mil range. I wish they were though.
Apparently you didn’t see the contracts signed earlier this offseason. To me, Darnaud, Martin, and Smith are all big tickets for their positions. Basically, they are being paid in the top echelon for their positions, respectively. They were all multi-year.
Just because the Braves are chosing to go with one-year contracts doesn’t mean it’s about long-term money. It’s just that they believe in their farm system and are not about to spend money that could block a better or at least significantly cheaper return on investment. It’s just good business.
As for Donaldson. He had a great year, no doubt. But his previous two years were enough for me to completely understand why the Braves were not willing to go long term. That plus you have a very solid prospect coming up who already showed some value in the majors, though he will have to adjust like almost all second year players must. They also have a great platoon guy that can take pressure off him. All that adds up to having ZERO reason to pay Donaldson for more years than they were comfortable.
Darnaud, Martin and Smith are solid pieces. Cole, Rendon, Donaldson, Arenado, Bryant are game changers.
Braves fan and drew waters bat. You haven’t the slightest clue what you’re talking about. Do you even know the deal liberty media signed with the MLB? LM has to and can only put into the franchise what they make. They can only make profit via tax purposes and when they sell the franchise. They can’t pocket what they make and they can’t not spend it on the franchise.
They can afford anyone, the owners just want 8 mansions each instead of 6.
Actually John C Malone owns the most land in the US of any private citizen.
Why is this relevant?
It’s not.
Could be worse they could be chokers like the Yankees.
People are acting like Braves ownership is on food stamps or welfare. I mean my god, the gem makes more money a year in just profit then we all will ever see. What they do with it is on them. But it has no bearing on the team. Terry, Scheurholtz and AA decide the rest of the crap.
No way. Pitching wins championships. We got enough offense. We don’t even have a top 10 rotation as is. Still need a top of the rotation arm if we want a shot at the title.
Arenado would cost almost double what Donaldson does, this would make no sense for the braves to not want to sign Donaldson to turn around and give away a bunch of prospects for either only 2 years of Arenado or to have him long term for $35 mil a year.
Any deal for Arenado would potentially include money from the Rockies to offset Arenado’s contract. Additionally, a player such as Inciarte could be included by the Braves. If Colorado provided $30 M (5/yr) in the deal, the above scenario would effectively make Arenado’s contract $23/yr for the next 3 years.
I wouldn’t be super surprised to see them land Arenado. Enciarte, Riley, one of their young starters and a couple prospects.
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The question you have to ask yourself is, if the Braves wanted to pay $234M/7 for an AS 3B, why wouldn’t they have simply signed Rendon for $245M/7 and not traded anyone?
There is a player opt out in 2 years – maybe the Braves wouldn’t care about that and would prefer it. If so, they’d want a deal made based on 2 years and not the 7.
There is a player opt out in 2 years – maybe the Braves wouldn’t care about that and would prefer it. If so, they’d want a deal made based on 2 years and not the 7 years.
With the $18mm for Ozuna, if there is a trade, it will be for Bryant ($18mm) Vs Arenado ($35mm).. Cubs are a better fit for Enciarte (now surplus for Atlanta) than Colorado (plus whatever package of prospects anchors a deal)
Signing Ozuna was a brilliant move .. (btw, if Atlanta starts to bid for Bryant, the nationals now have a bigger incentive to land Bryant)
No way. Pitching wins championships. We got enough offense. We don’t even have a top 10 rotation as is. Still need a top of the rotation arm if we want a shot at the title.
No worries there. Not Rizzo’s style to trade for big name position players. That’s why he didn’t land Realmuto. High prospects cost. His biggest position player trade in the last decade was Denard Span and Howie Kendrick. Lol
Not his style? Lol I guess you forgot about the Eaton trade.
If the Braves were still in on Bryant, could they pull off a deal with Hendricks included? Kill to birds with one stone and the Cubs unload $ while reloading the farm.
I think in a couple of years you will see that Donaldson $92M contract was too risky. I’m not saying he’s Albert Pujols, but I think they came away nicely with Ozuna instead.
Agreed. Donaldson with age/injury risk can to easily become dead weight within half way through that contract, where as Ozuna is a short term deal. He may not equal the production value Donaldson did last year, but then again nobody even knows if Donaldson for sure will.
I think Donaldson’s contract would have been a liability in the NL. But with the Twins, I think he’ll be worth it enough that they’ll pick up his 5th year option.
Coffers-nice word.
AA obviously believes in Riley, Pache & Waters. The Braves are about to start an epic dynasty run. They are doing it the right way thru development and then sprinkle in some free agents to fill some holes.
Get over the Donaldson non signing 4 years was way to long. Riley will be ready by the middle of this year. May not be ready to be the cleanup hitter but that will eventually come.
Next year Anderson, Pache & Waters will have an epic ROY battle while Soroka wins his first Cy Young.
That would be awesome if they do become studs. Will be fun to watch.
“AA obviously believes in Riley, Pache & Waters. The Braves are about to start an epic dynasty run.”
Probably should wait until guys actually play a game in MLB before declaring them superstars who are going to turn a decent team into a “dynasty” – btw MLB doesn’t have those anymore, sorry. Injuries will sink anyone. AA is not a good GM until he wins a title.
I couldn’t agree more. I think the Braves are done for now. Can always make a few upgrades during the season if need be. I was never a big Ozuna fan, but I like the move. Very strong line up, competitive rotation and much improved bullpen. Very sensible moves by AA which I think time will view favourably.
The problem is, not signing Donaldson sent a message to Braves fans that we aren’t in win now mode. Anyone arguing that the contract would cripple the Braves or its too long cause of his age, simply don’t know what they are talking about. I’ll tip my hat, they tried to salvage some face with Ozuna, but Donaldson is clearly the better player and import impactful need at the moment. I mean, if we get Ozuna’s elite lvl play like 2017ish… then I will redact all my statements… but that’s likely not gonna happen … really hoping Riley takes a huge step forward this year. He doesn’t have to be a superstar like his first month but he’s gonna he much improved vs those last few months. Really hope he spent the offseason working on pitch selection and whatever needs to be done to improve there. If the kid could bat .250 with 20-30 bombs and really cut down on the strikeouts, I think we’d all be very happy with that.
Your Braves will not want Donaldson in 2022 or 2023 with a $20+ million luxury hit. It’s not just because of age; it’s inevitable breakdown, decline and allocating that money elsewhere. If the Braves had a DH slot, sure. They don’t. They had to move on.
They would have been no where close to the lux tax by those years. The threshold by then would be well north of $210 mil if I remember right…. our payroll likely wouldn’t come close to that # lol
Everyone has these weak excuses for why the Braves shouldn’t sign Donaldson. These same people begged to get Donaldson and would be extremely thrilled if we got him at the same contract the twins did. Just because you’re a Braves fan, doesn’t mean you have to blindly agree with any decision the Braves make. Every fan is a stakeholder of the team, so you have the right to be upset when they make obviously bad decisions (aka, not signing Donaldson).
You’re only a stakeholder if you own stock, purchase merchandise, or attend games.
Otherwise, what stake are you holding if you can simply stop following the team at anytime and lose nothing?
No, you’re only an owner of you have stock in Liberty Media. Just because you buy a Braves hat doesn’t mean you own the team.
Liberty Media issues outstanding Braves common stock sir…..BATRA is currently trading at $29.25, and no one said buying a hat means they own the Braves.
I would take JD at 4 years $80. But the 4/92 or 5 /100 doesn’t make sense for a NL team.
I wanted Donaldson also but not signing him and signing Ozuna doesn’t signal anything of the sorts. They have complete faith in Pache and Waters to take over in the outfield no later than 2021 and want to see what Riley and Camargo can do given the opportunity. With such young talent all over the diamond and a little more financial freedom without Donaldson the next 4 years, they can re-up with Freddie and buy out Fried and Soroka arbitration years and extend them. It also allows them to go target other SP should they decided it’s a necessity. They’re in a great position right now even if they’re not quite championship caliber yet.
The problem is, not signing Donaldson sent a message to Braves fans that we aren’t in win now mode.
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Nonsense. It’s like saying the Dodgers aren’t in a win-now mode because they didn’t trade May & Lux for Betts. Or the Nats aren’t in a win-now mode because they didn’t re-sign Harper. Or the Astros aren’t in a win-now mode because they didn’t re-sign Cole.
No team in BB can sign everyone. You are basically saying that no team in BB is in win-now mode.
They aren’t close to the luxury tax. For now. You want to pay for a guy who’s numbers offensively and defensively will inevitably take a backslide after 2020. There is spending and spending wisely. Handing out a 4-year deal to a guy turning 35 years old in 2020 is a death wish. Be prepared to redact your statements.
Braves probably thought Donaldson would come in closer to 3/$75, with maybe an option for the 4th year. Not a bad guess–a lot of folks thought that way.
I would hope that the Braves thoughts were more informed than everyone else’s since it’s their money and they were ones talking to him.
Too bad Atlanta is run for investors profits instead of winning championships. Baseball has 6-10 teams, maybe, trying to win. Every decision they make is based on that.
I can’t stand LM but the fact that they’ve ok’d an increase in payroll is at least a positive. Even though it’s just short term deals, they’ve made an effort to compete and have made the playoffs in back to back seasons.
Any money made by the franchise has to be spent on the franchise. Per the deal they signed with the MLB. So it seems you haven’t the slightest clue what you’re talking about.
To say Riley struggled last year isn’t really all that fair. His second half was rough, but he sure looked like a super star in the first half. Even if those two halves normalize, that’s a pretty good ball player.
Through the ASG, he had a .873 OPS, which is really good. But even at that point, he had a 69/10 K/W, and that is impossible to succeed with. And he followed it in the second half with a 39/6, virtually identical.
He’s still a kid, but if he still doesn’t recognize the pitches and the strike zone, come spring training, they should send him down for further development.
If I were a Braves fan and I’m not, the comments made by AA would be tough to digest. They “could have” matched the Twins offer?? They didn’t want to “block” to struggling 3B’s they have on their roster?? Is this a joke? Terrible explanation for not stepping up! Smh.
That’s not really what he said, that’s what you dumbed it down to say.
They could have matched the Yankees on Gerrit Cole, doesn’t mean they should have. The Braves have the payroll space, so their spending or limits are based on debt and other organizational issues. He basically said he made a business decision and didn’t get emotional in the bidding.
The question for me is, how close were they. Were they looking at 3/60? 4/80? My gut tells me it was closer to 3/60.
I love Casey Stearn on MLB Network, but he and Jim Bowden always saying that the Braves should push all in is self-serving and short-sighted…
When the Braves won 14 division titles in the 90’s and 2000’s, they did it by building the system from the bottom up, developing prospects, and adding to the roster when the time was right (see Greg Maddox). Right now they are either the favorite, or the co-favorite to win the East. They have 56.5 million in salary rolling of in 2021, and they have an cost-controlled and inexpensive top-of-the-order AND top-of-the-rotation. They have a deep bullpen. They have depth at every position, and they can add whatever they need near the deadline.
Using the RedSox and the Cubs as a counter argument, they have pushed all-in and now they are light-years away from doing anything. I, for one, would rather have sustainable success over a longer term than I would try to go all-in for a two year window. I’d rather be in the playoffs for 6 of the next 8 years than cash all my chips in.
The ONLY guy the Braves have to pay over the next several years is Freddie (just like they did Chipper). I’m sure they will extend him 2 or 3 more years past 2021 at 35MM per, it’s the cost of anchoring the batting order. That money is available to do that because AA didn’t chase after bad contracts.
Who’s to say Riley can’t hit 40 Hrs. a year? He sure was great for a few weeks last year. Half of Donaldson’s Hr. total in about a third of a season. Riley will be a lot cheaper than 92 million in the next 4-5 years. Let greedy Josh go where the money is, nothing really wrong with that if that is what you want. If he really wanted to win, go to the playoffs and have a chance at the World Series, which team gives him the best chance, either he thought Minn. was that team, better than the Braves or it was the $$$$$.
You’re not a Braves fan so you don’t understand how the Braves value Riley. For us, Braves fans, his statement makes sense. Donaldson would have been nice to have for 2 years, 4 years with an option for a 5th is way too long.
For a team that seems on the cusp of a breakthrough it’s kinda weird that the Braves refuse to spend some money and just go for it.
Record OD payroll.
What do you mean they haven’t spent any money??? Their cusp of a breakthrough is their youth. Each year they get a little older and more experienced. Look what a leap Sorko, Fried and Acuna had from 2018 to 2019. They are in it for the long-haul, hopefully, 8-10 yrs. not just for a couple of years. Spend the money on the players they have now and the ones coming.
Braves refuse to spend some money
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Seriously, you simply pay no attention, do you?
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Seriously, can you stop with that???? ahahaha
Huh???
yeah everyone will keep making excuses for the Front office by saying ‘we’ll have the highest Opening Day Payroll ever’….yet we’re upper third in Market size yet bottom third in payroll smh…’our highest payroll ever’ is kinda like claiming to be the skinniest kid at fatcamp. Should’ve ponied up to keep Donaldson instead creating a gaping hole in the lineup
LM can’t spend more than they make and have to spend what they make per the deal they signed with the MLB.
Let it go
Listen, you so-called Braves fans. Stop your complaining. The Braves have been the same way for many years, they are not big spenders or cheap, however, you want to say it. I think that is a good thing, sort-of. I don’t really want the Braves to be the Yankee’s or Dodger’s, a team that can buy their WS. The Braves rebuilt for a reason, to get good young prospects/players hoping they will turn into good/great players. That will be affordable/cheap for a few years. Then maybe sign them as they did Acuna and Albies. I think the team is pretty well set. You people that want to trade Ender for any reason, just to trade him, Acuna isn’t the Center Fielder Ender is, at this point anyway.
Ozuna and his contract > Donaldson and his contract
I’m giving the FO an A+ for this offseason. Looking at the WAR numbers projected for 2020, what we lost with JD is almost exactly offset by the combined projection of d’Arnaud,Ozuna and Riley/Camargo. At the same time, we’ll have an improved starting rotation over last year, and probably the best pen in MLB. The Vegas sportsbooks almost all have the Braves as the 4th favorite to win the 2020 WS and the NL East. And this has been accomplished without the long term risk of an aging JD, and without trading away valued prospects (yet). It’s hard to stay competitive long term, I think Anthopolous is doing it, and doing it the right way.
Ozuna is better than Donaldson at this point, look at projections.
If a JD contract was drawn up w/o a no-trade clause, Atlanta could have offered him to an AL team needing a corner IF/DH after say 2 years. If he kicked butt for the first 2 years he would have outperformed his salary to help the team win, then Atlanta would have had an option to cash him in for a return. Question was not whether you could trust his output for 4 years – could you have for 2?