In the past, expansion has helped Major League Baseball dig out from financial peril and inject new money into the industry, but despite the significant financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, expansion is not on the table, writes the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. News spread of the commissioner’s pessimistic view on expansion when the Phillies signed Dave Dombrowski to run their baseball ops department. Dombrowski had been working with the Nashville group for potential expansion before commissioner Rob Manfred informed them of a new timeline. Expansion can solve short-term financial problems because of the significant franchise fees paid by incoming franchises. In this case, those fees could be $1 billion or more. For the owners, however, the short-term influx of money comes with the long-term losses that come with spreading the overall revenue pie to another two teams. Commissioner Manfred also wants to see stadium issues resolved in Oakland and Tampa Bay before beginning the expansion process.
- The Braves are looking for a left fielder, per MLB Insider Jon Morosi (via Twitter). Presumably, Atlanta would target a short-term investment rather than making a splashier move like, say, bringing back Marcell Ozuna. Ronald Acuna Jr., Ender Inciarte, and Cristian Pache make for an elite defensive alignment, and prospect Drew Waters is on his way. Nick Markakis could certainly find his way back if he wants to keep playing. If their aim is to to find a right-handed bat to spell Inciarte against southpaws, Adam Duvall could return, or Kevin Pillar, Albert Almora Jr. and Cameron Maybin are free agents with experience playing for a contender. If the Braves are looking for a more regular producer in order to give Pache and/or Waters more development time, Joc Pederson could fill the power void left by Ozuna’s departure. Speculatively speaking, Ryan Braun would make for an interesting fit if he decides to play outside Milwaukee. Not to be forgotten, Austin Riley has played some outfield during his short Major League career, but Atlanta expects Riley to lay claim to the hot corner in 2021. That would change if they were to add DJ LeMahieu, but despite their reported interest, such a union seems like a long shot.
- Royals Senior VP of Baseball Ops and General Manager Dayton Moore will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall Of Fame later in January, per Alex Lewis of the Athletic (via Twitter). Moore is entering his 15th season in 2021 as the GM of the Royals. He was named Executive of the Year by MLB in both 2014 and 2015 for his role as the architect of back-to-back pennant-winning clubs in Kansas City. Those playoff teams are the only Royals teams to make the playoffs since they won the World Series in 1985. He was inducted into the Kansas Hall of Fame in 2014.
Uhg, as far as that Braves tid bit. That all sounds terrible.
Finally I agree with Manfred on something. NO to expansion!
Can’t imagine there’s a lineup of people that want to spend a billion for the right to lose money with a team, in the current environment. until there are fans in the stands and a guarantee for playing a full slate of games, MLB would just look silly when the teams don’t sell at the price they would want!
Say what? Who’s selling a team with expansion?
Expansion involves wealthy people vying to bring MLB to specific cities. There’s a competition among these groups and cities that would eventually be whittled down to two. The winners would each pay a huge fee to MLB for the right to make even more money down the road. The fee is necessary to compensate the other owners for the players they would lose in an expansion draft, among other reasons.
This process won’t happen overnight and likely not even anytime soon with the seeming insistence that the A’s and Rays stadium issues need to be resolved first. All this doesn’t mean MLB shouldn’t get the ball rolling on expansion, even now during a pandemic that hopefully will be in our rear view mirror as we close out 2021 and head into 2022.
Well you lack imagination, because there is a line of such ppl
An overlooked element of expansion is that the addition of two more teams would help resolve MLB’s issue with having 15 teams in each league. Two 16-team leagues would solve the problem of needing to have an interleague matchup during each set of series. It would also help resolve issues with MLB’s postseason formats, particularly involving the wild card round.
The number 32 works better for MLB. 16 works better for the NL and AL. 8 works better for playoff slots, as a total number or from each league. 4 works better for teams in a division. I am no math genius, but 32 is a magic number that would help untangle more than a few issues in MLB going forward.
So basically you want it to be like football. 16 playoff teams is too many, as is 8 divisions. You run the risk of having more bad teams in the playoffs or winning the division. Plus the fact baseball is a long season and having so many teams in defeats the purpose of the regular season. I think the way they have it now is fine, 10 playoff teams with 6 teams in each division. Baseball should turn into football. If anything maybe Tampa should move to Vegas since they only get 5,000 a game. Then you can easily realign and move them to the West, move Houston to the central, and either Cleveland or Detroit back to the East.
*should not turn into football
You guys don’t want Albert Almora?
Maybe Garrett Anderson can be coaxed out of retirement.
Does anyone? .707 career OPS.
He won’t make the team.
Not sure who would take Almora but there is a Cub that would fit with Atlanta. Kris Bryant can play the OF. Not a bad one year rental, he’s playing for a contract. Similar to Ozuna and Donaldson situations. Ricketts are desperate to save money. A teenage prospect ranked in the organizations top 10 to 20 prospects seems to be Jed’s thing.
Giving up Prospects for 1 year of Kris Bryant doesnt make much sense. Theyd be much better off Trading 4 Jose Ramirez. Or Signing DJ LeMahieu & Playing him at 3rd. Theyd even be better off w/h Arrenado or saving all their Prospects & signing Justin Turner
Congrats Dayton Moore!
I was hoping the Braves would finally spend some long-term money, but I guess it’s not to be. I like a Pederson/Duvall platoon the best out of the names mentioned, but that’s an extremely uninspiring list.
Every year they leave a hole under AA. The first year it was the pen, last year the rotation, and I guess now it’ll be the batting order. Frickin ridiculous.
Just say no to Markakis. And hopefully 2020 was the end of Ender’s tenure with Atlanta.
This is your brain
This is your brain on Markakis
Any questions
Not a Braves fan but I think on opening day if Nicky is in the starting lineup my eyes roll w/ out me even instructing them too
Just say no to Inciarte
Agreed with inciarte.
I’d be cool with Markakis on the team as long as he isn’t the starting left fielder. He would be a good bench bat
I’d take Markakis over Ender. Not as a starting option, but as a bench role piece.
At least Ender can play all 3 outfield positions. He’s fine as a fourth outfielder albeit, a bit pricey.
so sick of cheap teams like OAK and TB stymying thr growth of the game because they cant get out of their own way.
Add in kC Cleveland pirates miami diamondback Os and tigers
Say what you want about Miami but winning two world series considering their payroll and tenure in the league is impressive.
8ManLineupNopitcherNoDH. Miami won 2 World Championships and Miami doesn’t care.
And how many World Series have the As won?
9. 5 in Philadelphia and 4 in Oakland
Why include the Tigers and Orioles into a conversation involving cheap teams? Each might be in rebuild mode now but they have shown a propensity for heavy spending in the recent past. It’s not like the concept of tanking and rebuilding is the strict domain of smaller market teams either. The Cubs and Astros did it prior to their championships with the former now looking at another potential rebuild.
The astros have. Been considered small market since their conception
Tigers will spend they have before- they are merely in a rebuild
I soooo agree Darkside-
I dont get the tingly feelings others do seeing them do more with less. In fact I think it sets a terrible example and illogical blueprint for other teams to try and emulate
I rooted for TB thru the AL as they hired my favorite baseball writer all time In Jeff Sullivan (fangraphs) to their FO but after trading Snell and letting Morton go Never again…I hope they fail miserably this year and many years to come
succeeding with less is a neat experiment, but if its your plan its a joke. TB showed the flaws of such ny trading Snell when the team was still on the upswing. its not like they needed to break the bank – Snell wasnt costing much and they could have found a cheap replacement for Morton.
@DarkSide Succeeding with less is literally how businesses grow. You leverage your skills, spend efficiently, and continue to find market exploits. Unfortunately, TB is limited by their stadium situation currently. The Wilpon-owned Mets were a prime example of a team resting on their laurels. I’d argue same for the Phillies considering their market sizes. Having an opener worked but is gimmicky? Isn’t it the whole point to win games?
@darkside
I hope your not one of those who complains that teams kept a player too long to max trade value. Snell seems to have been traded before his value dropped for very nice return. Its only a joke if you don’t win.
and the “opener” thing is another example. while somewhat innovative, it was just a way for TB to put a bandaid over their lack of 5 dedicated SP. it sorta worked, but in my mind was and is more gimmicky then anything else.
The point is that it worked. Just because it’s different or creative doesn’t make it gimmicky. Makes it creative and successful.
Now other teams are using openers. Imitation by other teams means its not gimmicky.
i think where dark was going with gimmicky is that it isn’t really sustainable yeah you’ll win some games and might win a div/wc. what happens in oct when your pen is burnt out and your starters kinda suck.
So many of my favorites plucked from Fangraphs; Jeff Sullivan, Dave Cameron, Kiley McDaniel, Eno Harris, and Wendy Thurman for her great takes on the business, financial, and contractual side of MLB. Jeff and Paul did the best chats. Dan Sym is the only one left from the old FG guard. He doesn’t want to work in a front office.
I sadly had to leave fangraphs due to the constant political views being pushed mostly upon Meg’s arrival –
A Dan Scrabbles chat is still probably worth a look in tho !!
Those were the golden days of FG that we may never see again from any outlet – Sullivan is a God in my books and the best there ever was
Agreed with Meg. There’s a way to talk baseball remaining apolitical. Dan’s chats are so random and I don’t play video games or magic cards. I used to talk directly with him and Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight about online-poker during the early saber days.
Yeah FGs has really gone downhill. I stopped reading anything there a couple years ago, still use it for stats.
Nice…I finally had some Skyline chili for the first time over the holidays !
Thought about ole Danny Scrabbles then as well
I’m confused how either of those teams are in their own way? Getting the stadium situation figured out would be a way to make those teams less, “cheap”.
Braves make too much sense for Eddie Rosario.
Just resign Ozuna.. his defense isn’t going to cost them games that his bat won’t make up for.. use Ender as defensive replacement for Ozuna in late innings if need be.. those other players won’t hit enough to compensate for their league average defense
At this point I’m starting to agree. Sign Ozuna for the bat. Just have to deal with the bad D.
Ozuna isnt that bad in the field. Hes not as bad as Castellanos or Manny Ramirez. Besides you have 2 CF type players in Pache and Acuna to make up the difference.
Well there ya go. Sign him up.
Thats like saying Budweiser isnt a bad beer when comparing to Pabst and Miller High Life
Ozuna is terrible in LF, theres really no other way to put it
How dare you besmirch the good name of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Ozuna was Manny bad in the outfield. Plus his offensive numbers were better when he stopped playing in the field.
Ozuna’s premature LF wall leap should be in the highlight HoF with Manny’s triple cutoff and Jose’s head-assist HR.
I agree. If it’s going to be another year before the DH comes, then Marcell can just make it work in LF until he becomes a full-time DH in 2022. A DH type is good too, because he does not block Drew Waters going forward.
Too many teams on the east coast. They need to be on the west coast. Rangers and Astros are prime examples. They are central teams playing on west coast
That’s where the humans are.
You mean Wyoming is not getting a team???
But but but Montana so big? /a
Then tell the people of California to quit leaving and coming to Georgia.
No one with out a serious brain injury leaves California for Georgia. Have you ever been to California?….or Georgia???
People are leaving California in droves, or haven’t you heard?
I live in Texas and it’s mind blowing how many people have moved here from California.
I live on the GA/SC (Augusta) border. I haven’t met anyone new from CA.
I’m in the moving industry in the Atlanta area, seeing plenty of people moving here from CA. They must all have serious brain injuries according to @larkraxm….if not, I’d be more than happy to see them move back please! lol
i’ve been to both states and both are beautiful states but i’d give ga the nod they seem to be a bit more laid back than ca.
If a consistent population growth of .3% is leaving in droves, then yeah……
Yeah, probably should have specified that U.S. citizens are leaving in droves.
Taxes and severe stupidity in California is driving rational people out of California
Many of the people leaving CA are likely leaving because of the increasing fires. It is still the fifth largest economy in the world. And it is still growing, albeit at its slowest rate since 1900.
Isn’t California one of the highest states at losing people to domestic migration? I highly doubt it’s the wild fires.
CA’s population is still growing. A state that huge (40MM) is going to have people coming and going. But it’s still growing.
I don’t now about Californians, but no one believes that people who move out of Georgia would ever move back. It just doesn’t make any sense.
Not Wyoming smart guy! what about Portland or Las Vegas??
If expansion does lead to 32 teams, there will likely be new divisions — i.e., 4 division per league — and realignment that should result in better geographic groupings.
Riley reminds me of Troy glaus. Need ozuna back and Bryant at the hot corner with the dh back and Riley filling that as well as a great commodity coming off the bench waiting to fill 3b or lf in case of injury.
I think I remember you saying that before…Troy Glaus is great comparison but I see it more of a positive spin. I see him much like those 1 or 2 seasons of a very productive Troy Glaus except not on tail end of career and much better defense…not a bench piece.
Still below league average offense and defense
If you expand, expand to Nashville and Austin please! Two great cities with many people in and around them. Or just don’t expand.
Nashville would make a lot of since. Charlotte too. The Southeast is nothing but the Braves. If you live between Florida and Kentucky that is your only option. There needs to be another team to chose from.
If not Austin, I’d choose Charlotte as well. They deserve more than just NASCAR and the Hornets.
The Panthers say hi
Hurricanes too
Hurricanes are in Raleigh. Not Charlotte.
CLT has a still-new (6 years) gorgeous and expensive AAA park in the downtown area (which they call uptown, because of course) which can’t be expanded to even 30K capacity.
That is going to be a large barrier to any MLB franchise, since the current park would need to be paid off, the AAA team owner indemnified, etc.
Rangers29. Or just don’t expand.
can austin actually sustain a team not sayin population wise they can’t but unless they hit the ground running like the lv knights. can an expansion team in the rangers market steal enough fans to even stay afloat in that area. again not trying to insult the area i just see similarities between stl and kc. kc’s market can’t really grow into mo outside there metro area due to the fact other than glimpses they’ve been a bad team and few hours away you have a team that puts a winner out who would follow. i’m sure there are a lot of loyal hou and dal fans in tx especially when they were in other leagues just don’t see who aus steal enough fans to survive
At 964,000, the population of Austin is nearly 3X Cleveland’s. With another 1.4MM+ from San Antonio, that gives them a base of nearly 2.5MM to draw from. Corpus Christi adds another city the size of Cleveland. That puts them up near 2.9MM. I think that’s more than enough to draw from.
Metro Austin and San Antonio, which are close to merging at some point, has about 4.5 million right now and the area is one of the fastest growing in the US. Combined they would be the 15th largest.
Dallas Ft Worth metro is the 4th largest in the US. I doubt they would be effected that much by a team in central Texas. Most fans come to the stadium locally and the TV market doesn’t extend to Austin.
I would rather see a Portland team, maybe slc
Can have Polanco from PIT
Andrew Benintendi (LF) would be an interesting add to the lineup. Not tremendous power, but tons of speed.
They already have a left handed weak hitting outfielder with speed you know him as Ender Inciarte.
AB hit more HR’s than Ender Inciarte and gets on base more. Short right porch in Suntrust will only help…
The only reason to expand is because of the money that would be brought in. The more logical scenario should be relocation but we all know the MLB cares much more about the dollar than baseball.
Yup.
In hindsight, it was maybe not the best decision to allow two different expansion teams to go to Florida in only a few years time.
One thing I hate about expansion is how it dilutes the talent base.
All of this.
When you consider population growth worldwide and the popularity of baseball, I would wager it’s outpaced expansion. There are 30 teams now, 30 years ago, we had 26. That’s only 15% growth. I don’t think there’s a problem with talent dilution. It’s not like the 80’s didn’t have guys like Rob Deer able to carve out a career.
I’ll agree with you on Florida, though. One team was a good idea, not sure two were. Charlotte, Austin, Nashville, Portland, and Vegas all would have made at least some sense instead.
That said, I’m largely against expansion, mostly because 2 more teams probably means 4 divisions in each league and then they’ll want 4 WC teams, so half the league gets in. I am very much against cheapening the playoffs again.
Yeah, why play 162 games if you’re going to allow everyone into the playoffs? At a certain point there’s fatigue from the fans.
I’m curious what data they look at to make these decisions on expansion. To me, Texas has enough teams, Vegas only makes sense if you’re hoping it will be a tourist draw, and Seattle is already the Pac NW team.
Charlotte and Nashville teams would have a ton of interest and packed games all the time, I’m completely convinced. I think that would draw a lot of people from their surrounding areas as well as their respective cities.
For once Mandred is right about something (and if I ever say that again, drop a safe on my head). Expansion, with attendance and ratings down (and I’m of course talking about the few season before the pandemic), is preposterous. Adding more teams isn’t going to help this sport build a brand that’s receding in national relevance.
And diluting the talent pool will only make it worse. In any given season about a third of the teams are so awful as to be unwatchable even for die hard fans. Spreading good players out even further will only make it worse and make it harder for teams to gather marketable players in order to build marketable brands.
Skinner: Go ahead, water it down some more.
Willie: My God, man! I’ve watered it down as far as she’ll go. I cannae water no more!
Either re-sign Ozuna or platoon Joc P and Duvall.
No to expansion, just move the A’s and TB!
Yeah, I can see why fans of those teams would hate the idea, but if you have to build new stadiums anyway you might as well move the teams somewhere else.
They dont have fans.
If a community can’t or won’t support a team then the community has no business complaining when the team moves. It’s sad, but at the end of the day this is a business, not a charity.
A’s bought 50% of the coliseum last year and the city is desperate to offload the recurring debt of their 50%.
A’s aren’t moving.
Or move Baltimore. DC is so close and Baltimore hasn’t even tried in years. Of course, that idea is predicated on them finally being bought by someone who has any interest whatsoever in winning.
DJL and then riley in left till waters is ready! Inciarte for defensive replacement for Riley! Makes too much sense at this point. Been toiling Riley for 3b too long now. Time to move on from that.
Expansion is more than just the money. Balanced schedule. Go back to 4 divisions (2 and 2). As a Jays fan I’d rather travel to Detroit or Cleveland than any current AL East team.
More teams means more jobs. That’s also a good thing.
There are at least 4 cities worthy of a franchise. Hope that two get an expansion team and the other two receive a relocation situation. The league could use a serious injection of cash. Soon.
Perfect response. And expansion is inevitable. So too, hopefully, relocation or ownership change.
Yes. I think something fishy is going on. 23 years since expansion which is the longest stretch in decades. Owners crying poor and yet they don’t want cashflow? Now is the time to try and inject new cash, perhaps salvage those lower income teams or hope they sell.
I doubt they cut the number of divisions. I’d think 4 divisions in each league is more likely. That’s not a huge problem if they cut the WC, but I’d bet they just have 4 WC’s instead from each league.
More jobs, more overall cash, more exposure (at least, more ability to attend a live game) – all are indeed good things. I’m still against it if they cheapen the playoffs.
8 divisions of 4 would be a mistake (but I think it would happen). 4 divisions of 8 would decrease the likelihood of an unbalanced schedule, plus the in-division matchups allows better exposure. AL Central teams moving back to the West would see Trout play more games in the central time zone, and thus EST will be inclined to stay up to watch. Plus, with 8 divisions there will be at least one or two teams that only make the postseason thanks to a weaker division. A weak 8-team division at least decreases the chances. Going 4 divisions also allows the format to have two division winners plus 3 wild card teams with the 4th and 5th place teams squaring off.
However, I do believe you will be correct and MLB will go to 8 divisions.
If you want expansion, move the welfare teams, A’s, Rays, Marlins.
Nashville A’s, San Antonio Rays, Charlotte Marlins.
Vegas, Indianapolis or a second Boston team can fight for a new expansion team.
I think the Braves got 1 big move still up their sleeve and I love how they always stay quite about it till it drops-
Suarez/Bryant seem like ideal fits and probably more likely but I wouldn’t be shocked if you see them land J-Ram by finally dipping into that farm and dealing from it on a massive deal
I know most will say thats not their style but theres no GM that follows a perfect linear line, especially in these strange times where all markets are up in the air and money is a little tighter – The haul would be Huge, but damn that team becomes turn-key the next 3 years the day it potentially gets done (We all know Freemans staying and J-Rams money owed deters nothing in those regards and if anything helps bc hes payed so under-market)
There is something to be said for keeping that farm strong but if your not going to push the chips in this year then what’s the point?
Its a balancing act for sure but I would say these chips will last 3 years
At the least, Id hope, you’d make a call and gauge the waters (No pun but could be! )
With deals so tamped down imo, maybe by just floating a couple bigger prospects in the deal you get him for cheaper than you’d ever Imagine
I think ATL really values the output/$ equation as well for the residual affects on the ledger
They got the top ranker already with Acuna in this metric, J-Rams 3/35 left is a good candidate for #2 on that list from all players signed past arbs
This just seems like a year where the Braves are going to have the most talent and best payroll situation for the foreseeable future. Freeman a free agent who will walk or more likely get a big contract extension. I think acuna gets a big pay raise next year and a ton of arb and pre arb guys are going to start getting paid. They can obviously sustain success with this core but will they ever have a chance like 2021 in the near future?
Acuna is already locked up until 2027. Freeman IS a concern though. And I don’t think 2021 will be looked at as their best chance. Ozuna wasn’t THAT important.
I understand he’s locked down but he goes from making 5 million to 15 million next year. Obviously luxury tax is based AAV but this might change future spending. The Braves will roll off salaries and have that money gobbled up by arbitration and backloaded contracts without adding any players. I watched this happen to the cubs for the last 3 years. That Smyly and Morton money will be gone without making any improvements.
Morton is an improvement as a no.4 or 5. Also, I think if you watched the Braves more, you would see they simply don’t do many large contracts.
The Cubs blew themselves up handing out large contracts for pitchers like Lester and Arrieta who soured and regressed because they didn’t develop any pitching. Heywards has turned out pretty bad too. Contracts like Morton and Smyly (I agree Smyly was overpaid even for a 1 year contract) won’t hang around continuing to cost the Braves because they are 1 year deals. The Braves trajectory is not the same as the Cubs.
I agree Morton is a huge get. I think this Braves team is very good but they obviously need to replace ozunas bat and probably add another. I didn’t say they have bad contracts but if you look at their payroll you have several guys like fried, Swanson, Soroka etc that are either in arb or soon will be that are going to get raises, eventually huge raises. Acuna has been making nothing and that will end soon. Even great contracts like albies are Slightly back loaded. I have no idea where the Braves will go with their payroll. They might push to luxury tax threshold maybe they want to to stay well under it. Freeman isn’t likely take a pay cut on an extension, so you are either going to lose him or pay him a minimum of 20+ a year. This just seems like a perfect year to get creative and add quality affordable bats through trade . If they have 20 million to replace ozuna they could trade for Jram (10 million) and sign Brantley to 1-2 year deal. The team is significantly better and the payroll remains under control. Make the push and give yourself an actual shot.
Unless the Braves go big with Springer, I’ll take my chances with Pache, Acuna and Waters right out of the gate. Anything resembling Markakis and/or Inciarte looks markedly worse.
The names on this list (Ryan Braun?) are ridiculous. I’d still wish they would entertain adding Eugenio Suarez. and possibly sign Michael Brantley (2 years).
None of us can be certain how much if at all the Braves are considering Markakis, Almora or an OF of that ilk but I would be lying to myself if I didn’t think that felt like a Braves sort of move, especially this offseason.
Can’t the Braves do a little bit better? Eddie Rosario, maybe, while they work in Pache or Waters and maybe trade the one you don’t keep?
Ozuna can’t throw the ball from lf to 3b without 2 bounces. He’s terrible in the OF.
I’m surprised that New Orleans or another Southern city has not been mentioned for a team (I know Nashville is the south but). It seems like LSU, Miss St, etc have HUGE college baseball fanbases, might be interesting to see if that translated to pro fans.
New Orleans doesn’t consistently draw well in the minors.
In 2019, Avg attendance list:
Vegas
Columbus
Nashville
Indy
Lehigh Valley
Charlotte
As much as Manfred talks down expansion its bound to come sooner rather than later. The NFL and NHL both have more teams than MLB and i believe eventually MLB will feel the pinch. The Stadium situations should start to see some resolution. The A’s own the land the current stadium sits on so they no longer have to search for a site and have the city get in the way. The Rays are stuck in Tropicana Field til 2027 when the lease expires, so perhaps by then they will have some movement on a new site.
How is Eddie Rosario not on every teams radar who needs a LF?
.800 ops every season
Still in his prime
Great arm
????
Those who watch him question his intelligence. Can’t say that’s true or not. Perhaps his agent is asking for too much money. Figured the Schwarber deal would help Rosario get paid.
Makes some boneheaded plays out there, so his defense isn’t great, but yeah, I would rather the White Sox had signed him or Schwarber than Eaton.
Sure if you don’t count 15, 16 and 20 which were believed.800 and 19 was exactly .800. I like Eddie for some pop but he k’s way too often, has a .310 career OBP which is horrible and is terrible on defense. There is much also not to love about him
The Braves do not need to depend on bats like Inciarte, Markakis, or any other light hitting bat if they have any true intentions of competing for a World Series title.
“Major League Baseball dig out from financial peril ” its never been in peril since it was granted monopoly status by the government.. 30 teams all worth over a Billion dollars… they aren’t in peril.. they cook the books to hide their real incomes and lie to the public… its the whole we are going to contract scheme.. which they used to get public financing for stadiums..
Anything Morosi says, you can rest assured that the opposite is true.
For all of those complaining about expansion, the issue with teams tanking, or being content in mediocrity, is an issue of spending. The new CBA could help address that and the revenue generated with new franchises would be split up among the clubs (though owners could choose what to do with it).
Expansion would also revive 10 or so MiLB teams.
I cant believe the Braves seem to be overlooking Adam Duvall for left field. . Duvall has a great outfield arm and he can produce 30 hr 100 rbi years like he did with the Reds. They should look no further than the man they had out there in left field last year
Been there, done that, T-shirts too expensive. Still consistently inconsistent, still can’t hit RHP (a majority of the league: deGrom, Scherzer, Stras, Stroman, Nola, Wheeler, Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Sixto Sanchez, etc.), still available.
AKA the Braves once again going on the cheap.
…or Morosi wildly speculating furious he can’t get any leaks from Braves FO.
Braun, Maybin, Almora Jr., Kakes…? He’s just baiting to try and get something — anything — from the FO.
Waiting for the resolution of stadium issues in Oakland and Tampa Bay could put off MLB expansion for another two decades. lol
Instead of just focusing on the extra revenue expansion would bring perhaps Manfred and the owners should concentrate on the the labor issues it might help resolve with the CBA set to expire following the upcoming season. The creation of 52 more jobs for the MLBPA would be a nice carrot to dangle in trying to resolve labor problems between the two sides including the biggest one involving the disparity between MLB’s haves and have-nots.
I like the idea of expansion. I think baseball needs more teams. For those that think there isn’t enough talent out there; just think for a minute that if 30% of the players in the NFL came from places such as the Dominican, Japan, Cuba, etc…. How many good football players would be walking the streets. Think about it, baseball has more talent in it now than it has ever had before. I feel like Vegas for sure should be one destination MLB should be looking to get into. Then my next choices are San Antonio/Austin, huge market, Nashville, Charlotte, maybe Montreal. They lost their team though, so I think it would be hard to expand there. Maybe if Montreal can sell themselves maybe a team like Oakland can move there if it makes sense. Oakland has always been screwed over by their situation there.
The MLB isn’t the NFL and comparing them is pointless. I’d absolutely argue that there is not enough pitching talent to go around, as is.
There is so much pitching it’s ridiculous. In fact now that the norm is for starters to only go 4 or 5 innings and then they just bring on a bunch of relief pitchers it’s probably actually easier. Every team has tons of arms just waiting to get an opportunity to throw. You don’t see any Doc Gooden’s coming up as 19 year olds anymore because they have so many arms running around they don’t need to rush anyone anymore. Baseball is flush with talent, too much talent, you have guys like Makenzie Gore in San Diego who 30 years ago would have been starting already, but as is he stagnates in the minors in today’s game.
I wish the Braves would engage Cleveland on Jose Ramirez for 3B. It would take a haul, but that dude is a monster and an affordable one at that. THEN you can go cheap on LF.
1. Move Oakland to Vegas
2. Build Tampa Bay’s new stadium in Tampa and get them out of St. Pete
3. Expand to Portland and Nashville or Carolina
Why Portland? Just doesn’t seem very big, check out the population of San Antonio and Austin combined since they are so close to each other. It’s ginormas. I like nashville and the carolinas though. And moving Oakland to Vegas would be a good idea too, either way Vegas needs a baseball team.
I can guarantee you that Almora or Maybin or Braun are not gonna be the braves left fielders lol.
If the Braves are entertaining the idea of those low-to-mid-level guys in LF, can we please offer a big trade package for someone like Jose Ramirez? They will need another big bat and most those guys don’t check that box in LF. Cleveland would want a lot for sure, but the Braves are deep and Jose is affordable for more than a year (unlike guys like Bryant). Sign a cheaper LF and include Riley and other prospects in a deal for that monster from Cleveland!