The Braves’ efforts to repeat as World Series champions fell short with a four-game Division Series loss to the Phillies. While it was a disappointing finish, there’s plenty of reason for optimism carrying into next season. The Braves won 101 games and were scorching hot from June onwards to claim a fifth straight NL East title. Much of that roster will be back, although they are facing the potential departure of their All-Star shortstop.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Austin Riley, 3B: $212MM through 2032 (deal also includes 2033 club option)
- Matt Olson, 1B: $153MM through 2029 (deal also includes 2030 club option)
- Ronald Acuña Jr., RF: $78MM through 2026 (including buyout of 2027 club option; deal also contains 2028 club option)
- Spencer Strider, RHP: $75MM through 2028 (including buyout of 2029 club option)
- Michael Harris II, CF: $72MM through 2030 (including buyout of 2031 club option; deal also contains 2032 club option)
- Raisel Iglesias, RHP: $48MM through 2025
- Marcell Ozuna, DH: $37MM through 2024 (including buyout of 2025 club option)
- Ozzie Albies, 2B: $25MM through 2025 (including buyout of 2026 club option; deal also contains 2027 club option)
- Charlie Morton: RHP: $20MM through 2023 (deal also includes 2024 club option)
- Eddie Rosario, LF: $9MM through 2023 (deal also includes 2024 club option)
- Travis d’Arnaud, C: $8MM through 2023 (deal also includes 2024 club option)
- Kirby Yates, RHP: $7.25MM through 2023 (including buyout of 2024 club option)
- Collin McHugh, RHP: $6MM through 2023 (including buyout of 2024 club option)
- Manny Piña, C: $4.5MM through 2023 (deal also includes 2024 club option)
- Orlando Arcia, 2B: $1.4MM through 2023 (deal also includes 2024 club option)
- Nick Anderson, RHP: $875K through 2023 (arbitration-eligible through 2025)
Other financial commitments: Owe Rangers $10MM in 2023 as part of Jake Odorizzi trade
Total 2023 commitments: $164.675MM
Total future commitments: $767.025MM
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parenthesis, projections via Matt Swartz)
- Max Fried (4.148): $12.2MM
- A.J. Minter (4.154): $5MM
- Mike Soroka (4.122): $2.8MM
- Tyler Matzek (4.019): $1.8MM
- Dennis Santana (3.095): $1.1MM
Total arbitration projection: $22.9MM
Non-tender candidate: Matzek
Free Agents
- Dansby Swanson, Kenley Jansen, Adam Duvall, Robbie Grossman, Darren O’Day, Ehire Adrianza, Travis Demeritte, Alex Dickerson, Jesús Cruz, Jay Jackson
The Braves stormed back from a deficit that had been as high as 10 1/2 games to claim another division title. One could argue their 2022 team was the best they’ve had in this past half-decade of immense success, but they couldn’t repeat as World Series champions. Now they head into a second straight offseason with the potential departure of one of the winter’s top free agents.
After allowing Freddie Freeman to walk to the Dodgers last offseason, Atlanta has to decide how to proceed with Dansby Swanson. Like Freeman, Swanson has played his entire big league career in Atlanta (although he was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks). He’s an incredibly durable player who has reliably been in the Braves lineup almost every day for six-plus years. After some early-career offensive struggles, he’s turned a corner at the dish to pair with consistently strong shortstop defense.
Swanson has been an average or better hitter three years running. He’s coming off a .277/.329/.447 showing and reached the 25 home run mark for the second straight season. Swanson strikes out a bit more than average and doesn’t draw a ton of walks, but it’s rare to find plus defensive middle infielders with above-average power. The former #1 overall pick earned his first All-Star nod this past season and fits right alongside Javier Báez and Trevor Story — each of whom secured $140MM guarantees with opt-out clauses last winter — as free agent shortstops heading into their age-29 seasons. Swanson’s not elite, but he’s very good, and there’s no question the Braves would prefer to keep him around.
A Georgia native, Swanson has spoken in the past about his desire to return. While there’s clearly mutual interest, financials will needless to say play a big part in deciding whether he’s back in their lineup on Opening Day. Swanson hasn’t given any public indication he’s willing to take a massive discount to stick around, and he reportedly declined an offer in the $100MM range at some point during the season. Given how easily Báez and Story each topped that figure, it stands to reason Atlanta will have to raise their proposal significantly at this point — although, to be clear, a $100MM offer midway through what proved a career-best season to date may not have been all that unreasonable when the team first made it.
If Swanson does end up elsewhere, the Braves would recoup a compensatory pick between Competitive Balance Round B and the third round in next year’s draft, since he rejected a qualifying offer. That’d soften the blow a bit, but it’d leave the win-now club with a major question at shortstop. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic wrote earlier this week the Braves are unlikely to sign any of Carlos Correa, Trea Turner or Xander Bogaerts — each of whom is expected to command a loftier deal than Swanson. There’s a massive drop-off from Swanson to the fifth-best free agent shortstop, Elvis Andrus.
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently explored, the lack of mid-tier free agent shortstops this winter could lead president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and his staff to turn to the trade market if they don’t succeed in re-upping Swanson. The Guardians’ Amed Rosario, Yankees’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Reds’ Kyle Farmer are among a handful of speculative possibilities who could provide adequate production as a stopgap, but each would be a marked downgrade from the defending Gold Glove winner.
There’s a chance Atlanta decides against diving into the free agent or trade markets. Orlando Arcia isn’t a great fit as an everyday player on a contender, but he’s coming off a reasonable 2022 showing that saw him help fill-in at second base when Ozzie Albies was injured. More interesting is the possibility of allowing top prospect Vaughn Grissom to take the reins.
Grissom, 22 in January, put himself firmly on the radar with a massive showing in High-A to start the season. He was bumped to Double-A and appeared in only 22 games there before the Braves surprisingly jumped him straight to the big leagues as part of a revolving door at second base with Albies out. He got out to a blistering start before his production tailed off, but a .291/.353/.440 line through his first 41 MLB games is impressive enough to at least put him in the conversation for an everyday job out of the gate.
Certainly, turning things over to Grissom would be a risky play. He has zero Triple-A experience, and he showed a very aggressive offensive approach in his early big league look which he’ll probably have to dial back. A shortstop for much of his minor league tenure, he played almost exclusively second base in the majors and didn’t rate well there in his brief debut. Prospect outlets have expressed some concern about whether he’s athletic enough to play an effective shortstop, and it’s possible the Braves are wary of handing him such a key responsibility. They’re not completely averse to the idea, though, as David O’Brien of the Athletic writes that Grissom has been working one-on-one with renowned infield coach Ron Washington to try to hone his shortstop skills.
The Anthopoulos front office hasn’t been afraid to trust its top young talents, even in the absence of much upper minors experience. Re-signing Swanson would certainly raise the team’s floor, but it’d also require adding another massive contract to an increasingly cluttered payroll ledger. Roster Resource projects the team’s Opening Day payroll in the $196MM range, and only Tyler Matzek (who has a modest $1.8MM arbitration projection) stands out as a potential non-tender candidate. Before considering a new Swanson deal or any external upgrades, the Braves are projected for a payroll almost $20MM above this past season’s approximate $178MM Opening Day mark, itself the highest in team history.
The Liberty Media ownership group is clearly comfortable with a franchise-record payroll, which isn’t surprising considering the amount of playoff revenue they’ve banked over the past five seasons. CEO Greg Maffei reiterated recently the team is willing to open next year in the top five spenders (via Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). That doesn’t inherently mean they’re pushing spending dramatically above where things already stand, however.
In the estimation of Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Braves already rank fifth in projected 2023 payroll. Their luxury tax number is projected by both Cot’s and Roster Resource between $222MM and $228MM, with Cot’s pegging that third-highest in the majors. Bringing back Swanson would send the franchise soaring past next year’s $233MM base tax threshold. The Braves already are one of the sport’s top spenders, regardless of whether they make any more notable investments.
While that kind of stacked payroll ledger can sometimes reflect a number of undesirable contracts a team wishes it could shed, that’s not the case for the Braves. Their investments, by and large, are ones with which the front office is unquestionably happy. Atlanta has had more success than any other team in extending its long-term core.
Much of the offseason attention for the Braves being focused on shortstop is a testament to the strength of the roster that’s otherwise in place. It’s arguably the most complete in the majors, with the heavy lifting already done in most areas. Atlanta has one of the top catching groups, with Travis d’Arnaud under contract for just $8MM. He’s likely to split time with William Contreras, who broke out with a monster .278/.354/.506 showing over 97 games this year. Contreras could also see some action at designated hitter and in left field, particularly if the Braves carry three backstops on the active roster. Veteran Manny Piña will make $4.5MM in the second season of a two-year free agent deal; he lost almost all of this past season to left wrist surgery, and the Braves could look to offload some or all of his salary to a team with less catching depth.
The infield aside from shortstop is set. Matt Olson and Austin Riley will probably be the corner tandem for the entire decade. Albies will be the second baseman, hopefully with better injury luck than he experienced this past season. Arcia can bounce around as a depth piece off the bench.
Two outfield spots are also locked down. Ronald Acuña Jr. will be the right fielder, with Rosenthal quashing any nonsensical trade speculation involving one of the sport’s best young talents. Michael Harris II is in center field, fresh off a Rookie of the Year-winning season. Like Olson, Riley, and Albies, Acuña and Harris have already signed long-term extensions that’ll keep them around for the foreseeable future.
The only other question mark on the position player side is in left field. Adam Duvall is a free agent and didn’t play well anyhow. Eddie Rosario had a rough 2022 campaign even after undergoing surgery to correct the vision in his right eye. Marcell Ozuna returned to the roster after last year’s domestic violence arrest and suspension. He didn’t play well on either side of the ball and was charged with a DUI in August. Atlanta acquired Sam Hilliard from the Rockies to kick off the offseason, but he has huge strikeout issues and a career .294 on-base percentage despite spending his career to date in Colorado.
It’s not a great group, and the Braves could certainly look for upgrades. Mitch Haniger, Jurickson Profar, Michael Conforto and Michael Brantley are among the free agent corner outfielders available, while Andrew Benintendi figures to be a bit more expensive than the rest of that group. On the trade market, players like Max Kepler, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Jesse Winker could be shopped by their current clubs. The Braves could also give Contreras regular run in left field, but he played just one game there this past season.
Atlanta would surely welcome the possibility of parting with Rosario or Ozuna, but neither is going to have much trade appeal. Finding a taker for a fraction of the $8MM due to Rosario next season could be viable, but the Braves may just prefer to hold him and hope for a bounceback. It’s hard to envision another team engineering even a swap of underwater deals to take on Ozuna, who’s due $37MM for the final two years of a contract that proved a rare misstep for the organization. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the Braves release him entirely if he gets off to a slow start.
Just as there’s not much to quibble on the position player side, the pitching staff projects as one of the league’s best. Atlanta has a front four of Cy Young finalist Max Fried, Rookie of the Year runner-up Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright and Charlie Morton. Few teams can match that kind of 1-4, and there’s a chance the Braves try to work out long-term deals with either Fried or Wright. The former is already projected for a $12.2MM arbitration salary and just two years from the open market, so a Fried extension would be a much heftier investment. Wright is still a year from arbitration and under control for four seasons overall.
There’s a bit of uncertainty in the fifth spot, which Jake Odorizzi failed to effectively seize after being acquired from the Astros at the trade deadline. Atlanta felt comfortable enough with its in-house depth to ship away Odorizzi days after he exercised his $12.5MM option, paying down $10MM of the deal and receiving depth arm Kolby Allard from the Rangers in return.
It was a vote of confidence some younger arms in the system can outperform Odorizzi, as Atlanta only saved $2.5MM. Anthopoulos pointed to Bryce Elder, Mike Soroka, Ian Anderson and Kyle Muller as pitchers who could battle for the final spot. Anderson and Soroka each looked like core pieces of the future not too long ago. The former had a rough 2022 season, while the latter has had a nightmarish stretch of Achilles injuries that have cost him two-plus years. That duo has shown plenty of talent, however, and they pair with Elder — a well-regarded prospect who made his first 10 MLB appearances this past season — as depth options with some upside. Righty Freddy Tarnok could eventually get a look as well after a strong showing in the upper minors that briefly earned him his big league debut.
The Braves could scour the market for a depth starter, but they don’t have to force any additions considering the volume of in-house arms. Elder, Muller and Tarnok could trickle into a bullpen that also looks like one of the game’s best units. A.J. Minter broke out as an elite arm from the left side, backed up by the more quietly excellent Dylan Lee. The Braves agreed to take on the last three years of Raisel Iglesias’ contract in a deadline swap with the Angels, giving them a ready-made closing replacement if Kenley Jansen walks in free agency. Collin McHugh gives them a high-leverage setup type from the right side, and the Braves have rolled the dice on former stars Kirby Yates and Nick Anderson, each of whom are trying to regain their footing after lengthy injury rehabs. Atlanta could be a fit for a stable middle innings type — particularly one who throws right-handed — but that’s more of a luxury buy than a pressing concern.
That’s true of much of the roster, one which looks poised to remain among the sport’s best for a number of seasons. So much of the offseason attention will be focused on the shortstop uncertainty, but the Braves will enter the year as one of the likeliest teams to compete for a World Series if Swanson returns or not. Anthopoulos and his group won’t be complacent in a division that also features another 100-win team and the defending NL pennant winners, but the Braves are in excellent shape for this offseason and many beyond.
In conjunction with this post, Anthony Franco held a Braves-centric chat on 11-19-22 at 11:00 am CST. Click here to view the transcript.
Let’s hear it for the pathetic extended playoff series. Manfred falls below expectations once again. I like the Phillies, but no way do I want a 3rd place team to win the WS.
BB has been cheapened yet again.
The Mets & Braves played an epic series, & the Phillies go to the WS? What a waste of 162 games…
Get use to it. Other sports do it. Owners want as much money as they can make. Phillies played by the rules and deserve what they earned. Why should they have fired their manager sooner or invested in better 4th and 5th starters when the regular season is irrelevant? Don’t even get a presidents trophy for it.
I’m curious if you felt the same way about the Braves beating the Dodgers after Dodgers and Giants basically fought an equivalent battle against each other that season. Braves played terrible in the series. Phillies played better. The expansion is dumb, but the Braves lost because they played dumb.
Teams were 1st or 2nd place, not 3rd
That is nitpicking. The Phillies played well down the stretch, pretty much keeping up with the Mets and Braves through the second half. The difference between the 3 teams ended up being the Phillies going 4-15 against the Mets. It just how the cookie crumbled this season. Again, I agree, I hate the new additions, but the Phillies played just as well as the Braves and Mets down the stretch regardless if they happen to finish third. The Braves were lucky they managed to go into the playoffs with the division with just 88 wins in 2021.
The Phillies definitely finished in third place.
You have no idea. The Braves won their division in both years, that’s it, no more. The Braves didn’t come 3rd in their division and get some lottery ticket wildcard to the post season created by Manfred & owners, they won their division. There should only be two wildcards, one AL, one NL, that’s it, otherwise why are they playing 162?
You assert the Braves “played terrible”, well there it is, how revealing. Given the fact Fried hadn’t pitched for 10 days, hitters didn’t hit for 5 days or longer, Strider hadn’t pitched for 3 weeks, Morton got hit on the inside of the elbow by a come backer from Bohm that could have broken his arm and had to come out of the game. These are not excuses, these are facts. No team that comes 3rd in their division should make the play-offs, and guess what, the Phillies came into that series with momentum because they had been playing baseball. Oh yes, I can’t wait to hear everyone say that the days off didn’t affect the Astros, the same Astros that should have definitely lost game 1 when Verlander got hit around by the Mariners, it ‘didn’t affect’ a HOF pitcher either. Only that Servais bringing in Robbie Ray to face Alvarez because ‘analytics’, the Mariners are up 1-0 in that series and it makes the momentum side of things a whole different ballgame in that series.
Go and view Rick Kranitz interview, Fried lost weight as he was ill in the weeks before pitching that 1st play-off game, they didn’t play “dumb” at all, Fried was ill, Strider hadn’t pitched for 3 weeks, he threw his slowest fast ball of the year in that game 3, 94.6mph.
Manfred has ruined baseball, the 162 game season is pointless now, you may as well let in .500 teams or make a 4th wildcard. This is not sour grapes, you want to find an excuse to let teams in that finished 14 or 22 games behind and then assert they deserve to be there. What is the purpose of 162 now? Nothing.
There is no way you are a Braves fan as you’re continually critical of them and their players, yet you try and assert that you’re a supporter of theirs. That is ludicrous and laughable, ‘Acunaisoverrated’ and ‘BumgarnerequalsNLCS’ amongst many other user names…
You’re the problem, you settle for less. You work your asses off for 162 games, I don’t care about other sports, cheapen it as you will. BB is a tradition, Team 1 or 2 wins, not 3 (a dozen games behind) Ugh
You do realize complaining won’t change anything, right? Everyone can hate the new rules but it is Manfred’s call. Just gotta play with the new rules. Luckily for us, the Braves won a WS before all this crap changed.
I now treat mlb like nba nhl. Irrelevant regular season. I knew what every playoff team was besides the AL central. Knew most the division winners although they don’t really matter. The bye is nice but not so important to watch 162 games.
I mean the way the Braves and Acuna were playing defense in the DS, yes it was like a kiddie BB game.
162 games are irrelevant, sad, but true. Why bother to watch it?
For the trials and tribulations of course. If we ignored the regular season in 2021, no one would have known how bad the Braves played early. Winning the championship after all of their problems, including losing the AS game, makes the championship that much grander.
I don’t bother watching it. Might use it as background noise and look up when something happens.
“Why bother to watch it?” Because I love baseball. Because the post season is just a small part of the season. I don’t like the changes either but it doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of the regular season. A team can still win the post season w/an 11 game win streak. You would have missed longer winning streaks than that by not watching the regular season. If the post season is so distasteful to you just skip it. You can still enjoy 162 regular season games and the pennant races—or more if you follow multiple teams. Btw, nobody here is “the problem.” None of us had any influence on the decisions made to change the format.
We get it. The game is dead to you. So don’t watch. Dont come on here with your pathetic whining either. Just go away. Baseball will be just fine without you.
If someone said Astros win the WS, regardless of records or how the season played out, one would probably agree and say they have a pretty good chance and see them as one of the best in the AL. Well, that happened.
When the Mets win in ‘69, they were called the miracle Mets for a reason. Phillies almost pulled off that same feat. Phils were pretty damn good and the roster is solid, their record during the regular season is just a reflection of how tough the division is that they play in.
@Curly now you are being over dramatic. Funny that the sweet spot is 2nd place for you even tho that cheapens winning division after 162. It’s quite simply in Oct just win. The angry old men yelling at the sky in baseball is so tiring. All the change upto the point guys like you watched as a child were ok but now it’s a problem. It’s a totally hypocritical stance. Things evolve over time, it’s nice players can now wear gloves, games are available on TV, night games, etc…. These are all changes that have happened since the games inception.
“TradeAcuna” is ludacris. You realize that the kid wasn’t even at 100% this year, right?
You realize that it takes a professional athlete 2 years to get back to the level he was playing at after tearing their ACL? 2 years, not 1, you can play after 1 year, but not at the level they were playing at. After 1 yr & they’re playing, a lot of swelling, stiffness, soreness. Especially in a position that requires a lot of running, like WR, TE, RB, OF. So why not #keepAcuna&resignSwanson
everyone complaining about this is kiddie baseball. If you want true baseball have the nl reg season winner and al reg season winner face each other … all the other 28 teams pound sand. That would be a true championship. The only other round is if teams have the same record and its a 1 game head to head. That would be true baseball forget all the championships, divisions, and wild card rounds. because everyone outside the top 2 winners are wildcards.
Divisions are completely arbitrary. Put a 3rd place team in a weak division and they become a 1st place team. Theoretically a piss-poor division can have a 70 game winner. That’s why I like the WC…it ensures the best teams get in. This year, I get the frustration because one of those teams finished 3rd, but Atlanta was given a pretty big advantage and still lost (to be fair Atlanta’s injury plated a huge factor). I don’t expect to see another team do what the Phillies did any team soon. All those games on the road, unable to set up desired pitching matchups…it’s a monumental task. I think the extra WC and the new rules actually make it harder for WC teams to find success. I expect things to play out more like the American League, where the best teams coasted. The Braves had a great regular season, and as a result they were giving a huge advantage. The regular season wasn’t meaningless. Braves just lost.
This Braves fan agrees w/you Von. Kudos to the Phils for playing the best playoff baseball in the NL when it mattered. They were excellent after Thomson took over, and deserved their chance in the playoffs. I didn’t gripe when the Braves won the WS in 2021 w/the worst Division winner record. Anything can, and does, happen in small series playoffs. “Them’s the breaks………..”
A healthy Strider may have changed everything.
Von, no disrespect, the best should win, not the hottest at the time. A last place time can be on fire at the close of the season, doesn’t mean they should win.it all.
But that’s happened in all sports since….forever. The “best team” doesn’t always win. Nothing new about that. Why do we use the word “upset” to describe a game or series that a (perceived) lesser team wins?
The best did win. The Astros. They took care of the hottest teams in the AL. The Braves failed to do the same.
Also, the Phillies weren’t just hot for a moment, they were very good since June when they fired Girardi. They were a team that underperformed in the first half, but under Thomson were on pace for 94+ wins.
The best team record wise almost never wins the WS. This has been the case since for quite some time. I think it has more to do with the shortened series than anything else. But if the best teams “should” win, the 87 win Braves don’t win the WS in 2021. The Braves finished first in their division in 21, but again, I say divisions are completely arbitrary.
There aren’t any “last place” teams in the playoffs. No one here is defending Manfred’s decision to dilute the playoff pool. I’m not anyway. Just saying that it’s not going to ruin my enjoyment of the game, the regular season, or even the playoffs. I didn’t gripe when they created 2 divisions in each league in 1969 (I was 12 so it sounded good to me then) so why bother now. Change happens. We can live w/it or not. Still just as interested in baseball as I’ve ever been.
It’s like hockey now. A full season team is different than a post season team.
@von tbh i felt like all 6 nl teams had a legit shot at a ws, my dad even asked me if our birds had a shot. i told him it going to go like this were either going all the way or bounced in the first. btw grats to your phils you guys earned it
btw i don’t like expanded playoffs what makes the mlb playoffs special imo is how hard it is to get in so it means something.
No “advantage”, not playing is not an “advantage”, on the contrary it is a big disadvantage in this particular mainly hand eye co-ordination sport. Hitters need to hit, or why are they playing day-in day-out for 162 to sit around after 162? That makes absolutely no sense to any baseballer at all. And if you want to hear opinions on this, listen to Frank Thomas, Jimmy Rollins, David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez to mention a few, sitting around, especially in the case of hitters does not help that team at all. So what is this “advantage” you speak of? And for the record, you can look at Verlander’s game 1, the game the Astros should have lost but for Servais and ‘analytics’..
If you want to take that route than maybe we should go back to what is was in the old school days. No Inter League. Just NL’s and Al’s top 2 teams play in the Championship Series for a WS spot. Always liked that set up personally
Better yet go back further to no divisions. Only way to make sure the 2 best regular season teams play each other.
Just one team from each league makes the playoffs.
And no inter league play.
And no DH.
And no closers. Starters finish the game.
And no airplanes. Back on the train.
And no black players.
Give back the shift. If it was good enough for Ruth and Williams, its good enough for the guys today
And no night games. Lights are for wimps.
And no free agency. The team owns you your whole baseball life.
4 man rotations.
No Hispanics.
Players play through injury.
Reduce contracts to minimum wage so the players have to hold second jobs.
No replays.
That’s what I was alluding too is no divisions. Should have made that clear my bad
Have to wonder if Soroka should be a non-tender candidate.
That would make no sense considering that only now he is healthy enough to pitch. The Braves have already paid him through two rehab years.In 2023 he should be able to contribute.
I think the Braves need another lefty reliever, now that Matzek is injured and Smith is gone. Unless they think Allard or Muller would do well in the bullpen (where neither has much experience).
I am sure they can afford to bring Smith back if he is so key to the bullpen.
Actually, Braves are nearing a deal with Cleveland that would send Matt Olson and Collin McHugh to the Guardians for Josh Naylor and Shane Bieber…. Could be announced tonight.
is Acuna going to Cleveland too? Say yes!
For some reason I don’t believe you.
Sorry, Terry Francona just nixed the deal for Acuna. See, he likes guys who actually hustle.
We get it, you don’t like Acuna. You’ve said it over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. You ever noticed how know one ever agrees with you though?
The rest of us enjoy watching good baseball players. If you don’t, you can always go jump on a rebuilding team’s bandwagon. Actually please do.
31 teams would line up for that bad decision.
31? Did baseball expand while I wasn’t watching. Or are you including 2 independent league teams?
He’s probably thinking NFL. I agree with his sentiment, though.
Gotta give the Braves props for locking up all that young talent for well below market prices. Sure, there’s risk, but so far, they’ve not yet been burned. As a Dodgers fan, I say well done!
Risk is well worth the reward. Some of the contracts are so low they have or will be paid for well before they expire. Braves a contender the rest of this decade. Even longer if they can keep making smart moves.
The only below market deals are Acuna and Albies. Some of the others might be over pays.
Well if anyone knows what a over pay is it’s a mets fan. They seen a bunch of them.
As much as it sux, I don’t think the Braves have much money to spend.
They don’t need to spend much money.
There is a hole at SS without Swanson and they have some depth issues. Expecting to get some budget signing and hopefully the Braves magic with those types of players sticks.
They are fine with Grissom and a veteran that doesn’t cost 200 300 million. Every depth hole can be filled cheap by a smart team like the braves.
I don’t think they are fine with Grissom at SS. Rather see Albies move to SS and Grissom stays at 2nd if they go that way
I haven’t seen enough of Grissom to know. Braves are prepared to find out though. Wash says he is good to go.
Letting Freddie walk was a mistake. They traded a huge amount of prospect capital for an under-performing Matt Olsen who they now, unfortunately, have locked up long term.
That prospect capital could now be used to trade for a shortstop, since Grissom is likely not a defensive fit and Swanson is likely seeking more than he is worth, for more years than he’ll be effective.
Maybe ATL knows their prospects better than any of us. Frankly, Pache won’t hit an average rate regardless of how good he is in CF. C Shea Langeliers hurt but was expendable at the bounds Contreras made (along with short-term: d’Arnaud). Ryan Cusick could be decent, but won’t see much time (even being a 1st rd) being past on depth charts by many. Estes is a diamond in the rough.
The trade hurt the depth, but you need to trade something for someone like Olson. That being said, they should recover quickly from it and Olson is the best fit for Freeman’s replacement. Can we get past paying Freeman into what they weren’t comfortable with, especially considering Freeman also didn’t take the best deal (from TB Rays)?
Nevermind the fact that if we gave Pache his chance in CF – there would be no RoY Michael Harris II and his extension. Can’t forget that if the Olson trade didn’t go down, more than likely Harris wouldn’t have been called up, who had the greatest impact (arguably: Strider too) for the team being the best since June 1 onward.
Pache didn’t deserve a chance to start in cf. He is either a bust or braves couldn’t develop him. It was time to give up and trade him while he still had value to at least 1 team. I would have done it years before.
No team was comfortable paying Fred what he wanted. I never seen a sadder looking man at his 9 figure signing press conference.
You don’t need to hit at an average rate to be valuable if you’re a good defensive cfer. This basically just sounds like a lot of cope.
Catchers are never expendable.
They didn’t let him walk. They offered him about as much or even more. He tried to play hard ball and they pulled a alpha move. Lucky Oakland still seen a path to develop Pache because I doubt many teams did. Solid trade. Can’t wait on Fred forever. I like that they made him cry.
“I like that they made him cry.” LOLOL
Me too
Then how would they have filled the gap left by Freddie? If Freeman wanted to resign with the Braves, than he wouldn’t have waited so long. That deal should have been wrapped up a year before he even hit FA. IMO Freeman was very disingenuous talking out his butt about he made more than enough money and wanted to stay in Atlanta much like Chipper. Chipper took pay cuts or less money to have a better team around him. If Freeman really wanted to be a Brave, he would be. He just wanted a little more money. The Braves had a surplus of catchers with Contreas kid and Travis. Harris is the far better polished prospect over Pache and the two throw in pitchers have been bad in A ball. It is what it is. I blame Freeman more than the Braves org on that one imo
Under-performing Matt Olson? and its Olson by the way, not Olsen. If you are going to talk out your rear, at least spell the players name right. His first year in Atlanta and he hits 44 doubles, 34 homers and has 103 RBIs. Yeah, he underperformed alright. SMH.
Olson was impressive in lieu of the pressure of replacing an icon, but when compared to his 2021 – he underperformed in most areas. This is illustrated in a -2 fWAR dip from 2021-22 production (5.1 – 3.1 fWAR), respectively.
Sure, there’s a lot of circumstances behind that – and he was on fire in the postseason, when it counted – but let’s hope Braves fans turn the page and stop comparing him to anyone and let him just play. Would love to see him have more plate discipline like he did in 2021.
I really hope that guy is right in saying that Olson underperformed last season.
Trade Acuna.
Trade Ozuna.
Trade Odorizzi (check)
Trade Fried (unless you extending him)
Resign Swanson
Is Acuna worth all the complaining? Or is the new team going to cave in and give him a new contract? I wouldn’t give him new contract and wouldn’t pay the prospect capital that his talent is worth.
Acuna is the bed bug of the clubhouse, whether people want to mention it or not. So yes. Build around Harris. Far superior player going forward.
No one who cheers for Atlanta says that because none of us think that, aside from you. I’m just hoping if Swanson signs elsewhere, you follow.
Your username is more relevant in this comment than ever.
Trade all 3 of them to the Mets. Glad to take them off your hands.
Even I’d admit Acuna is worth something. Mets have nothing.
I think we could go 7 prospects down on the Mets before we get to a brave.
The Braves don’t need prospects. Their MLB team is filled with lots of young guys. The Braves need veterans.
Once Acuna is gone, I’d definitely sign Nimmo. The Braves will finally have a good leadoff hitter for once since Furcal.
The Braves need someone smarter than you to back them up
I wouldn’t worry. AA is pretty smart. He is smart not to trade Acuna because he knows the backlash he will get. I have nothing to lose by saying anything though, so i say what I want//.
So you want to trade Friedman, Acuna and Albies for some old guys? So you really want Scherzer, Marte and McNeil. Just admit your really a Met fan.
Who said I want to trade with the Mets?
Although I always liked McNeil. Pesky dudes are always needed.
So tell me, who would you trade with.
Cleveland, Seattle, Toronto, Arizona to name a few.
What veterans do they have that are even remotely in the same stratosphere as what you want to give up?
I probably should have praised what I said differently. The Braves don’t need prospects because their top guys are already young and build for years. What I should have said was, the Braves should go for experienced players, which includes young guys and veterans. Bo Bichette is an example.
Bichette’s one of the worst defenders at SS in either league. Why do you think all the Jays fans salivated when that stupid rumor about the Braves wanting to deal Acuna was started by 2 of the biggest morons on the MLBTV network? Vasgersian and Reynolds are keystone cop talking heads. There’s no worse pair of nimwits on that network. No problem w/you posting your need to deal Acuna–even though I disagree w/it—-but pick a decent return for him lol. Anything that starts w/Bichette in it definitely doesn’t qualify, imo.
Oh yea? I haven’t watched the network for weeks. What trade did they propose? I didn’t even know people are actually agreeing with me in regards to trading Acuna.
Two days in a row Vasgersian was on w/Reynolds and claimed that Acuna wanted to be dealt if the Braves re-signed Swanson. Said he’d be angry/jealous if Swanson had a higher AAV than him. Total garbage speculation and they kept saying it like it was a stone cold fact. You don’t want those 2 nimwits to agree w/you on anything, lol—especially Harold Reynolds. One of the biggest morons on any sports show.
I don’t live in the south. Did the Braves network denounce that statement that Acuna is jealous of Swanson? Even I don’t throw such accusations haha, albeit I’m sure Acuna is upset he signed an extension too early.
No Braves tv on Bally Sports South after the playoffs. I’ve seen some outrage on several Braves blogs about it though. Haven’t seen anyone on any site sticking up for the Vasgersian/Reynolds mind reading act.
If I were going to trade Acuna, I agree Cleveland would be my first call and I’d be asking for Bieber, Freeman, De Los Santos,and Gonzalez for Acuna and Muller. This way they can stay competitive and get a top notch OF and SP with lots of cheap control. Braves would get a 1 or 2 SP, an OF and a SS with lots of control, leaving us with other pieces to shore up the bench and the BP. For me it would have to be a guy like Bieber plus, to get me to take a call on Acuna.
You would actually be increasing your payroll with that trade. Bieber will be making at least 20 mil next year of his last year of arbitration. Acuna has such a good contract that it would be absurd to trade him.
Look at the rest of the players coming back as well, not to mention the Braves would have some of the smaller contracts off the books after this yr. Acuna will getting 17m this yr so we’d save about 5 between him and Bieber this yr. I also would try and extend Bieber during the trade process.
I agree that Acuna has had some lapses in judgment, but I don’t think he’s been healthy for a few years. They are never going to trade him, especially because of that thievery of a deal they signed with him. Ozuna was a huge mistake, but we’re not trading him unless we’re eating 90% of his salary. The guy is a pos, but I think the braves are afraid if they release him, someone in the division will pick him up on our dime and he’ll return to form. Fried is amazing but AA has done a commendable job of locking up so much young talent. I think he’ll try to get it done, but there are limits. With Swanson I think he’ll treat it in a similar manner to Freddie, which is wise. Nobody wants to see him walk, but the same people will be livid if we get into a bidding war and his numbers level out in a year or two. I think overall AA has done a phenomenal job and I have faith in him. People on here saying sign Judge, sign Swanson, sign Degrom, trade Ozuna for a lofty return need to come back to reality.
You forgot to list Kolby Allard as arbitration eligible
Also, Jesse Chavez is listed as a free agent even though he re-signed with the Braves on a MiLB contract.
DMC as always with the logic. Why are we still talking about the Freeman deal? I was on the Freeman train like other fans. Heck, I put my Freeman jerseys in the back of my closet. Move on people. Someone said Olson had a bad year? Check the stats, I will take that production every year. He will never hit like Freeman they are two different players. Another thing, this trade Acuna noise needs to end. He will be a year removed from the knee injury and I fully expect him back a superstar levels. Look at his 21 stats that’s a really good year for most big leaguers. This is a championship caliber squad and big money PHI and NY don’t care about the Braves payroll limits. Braves Country shows up and Truist Park sells out! Spend the damn money and pay the fine if need be. New TV deal will be made in a few years and they will get paid for the rights that will be comparable with deals other clubs made recently. I say keep the core together.
I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would want to trade Acuna. When fully healthy he is top 5 talent in baseball at half the price.
I’m as big a fan of Acuna as any other Braves fan, but what if he doesn’t get back to his pre knee injury form? There’s a non zero chance of that happening. Would you be happy w/Acuna’s production over the rest of his contract if it mirrored his slightly better than average 2022 season? If a team offered the Braves a huge over pay for Acuna, AA should consider it. Players have 2 values—what they can do for you on the field and what they can bring back in trade. Nothing wrong w/considering which of the two is best for the organization. Before I get attacked here, I’ll go 0n record as saying I want the Braves to bet on a healthy Acuna instead of trading him.
Someone recently spoke about how IF you trade one of these team-friendly contracts (i.e. Acuña, Albies, Riley, Olson, Strider), in which. none have NTC (no-trade clauses) because the org doesn’t give them out, then that would hurt their future chances of similar extensions, as agents/players would take notice. There’s an unspoken agreement to not trade one of those team-friendly extensions.
I think that needs to be given some weight when considering a mammoth-return for one of those team-friendly deals. Are you willing to possibly burn any upcoming bridges?
As a fan, I don’t want the Braves to deal any of the “team-friendly” contracted players. The “someone” you’re referring to is just another media talking head w/an opinion. The agreement that matters is the contract both parties sign. The “org doesn’t give them out” (NTC) because they reserve their right to engage in trades if it benefits the team in the future. What if Acuna, or any other “team-friendly” signed player, requests a trade? How would that “burn…bridges”? Fwiw, I don’t believe the Braves signed any of those long term deals w/the intention of trading them, but the business of baseball happens and trades are part of that business. Circumstances change for a myriad of reasons. The Braves org showed their belief in players by signing them to long term deals. The players have an obligation to perform at a level that justifies those deals. Players enter free agency w/the purpose of getting the most money they can. Are players who leave in free agency “burning bridges?” If they get injured and can no longer play to their previous capabilities should teams keep them if they’re offered a trade that can help an org recoup some of the lost value? Should orgs show blind loyalty to an unhappy, under performing, or injured player because of a supposed “unspoken agreement?” The situations of Acuna and Albies are much different than those of the more recently extended Riley, Strider, Harris, and Olson. Both Acuna and Albies have injury histories that the Braves have to consider in their evaluation of them as long term contributors. Not reasonable to lump them in w/the other four players and that hypothetical “unspoken agreement.”
Hate that Matzek is a non-tender candidate after his legendary performance last postseason. He literally gave up his elbow and shoulder for the Braves to win it all. Hope the Braves do the right thing and bring him back on some sort of gentlemen’s contract. Like a mil or something. Can’t pay him 1.8 to not pitch, but we can do the right thing and pay the man what he more than already earned
Swap Grissom and Ian Anderson for Willy Adames.
Both players have more value then Adames by themselves.
You’re vastly overrating Grissom and Anderson may never be the pitcher he was in 2020 because of his shoulder injury. The Brewers would laugh at that weak offer. If the Braves don’t re-sign Swanson, they’d jump all over that deal if Milwaukee was delusional enough to do it.
The Braves pitching wasn’t at full strength by the post season.
Vaughn Grissom was a SS in MiLB. I think he’s the starting SS unless he loses it. Dansby Swanson wasn’t very good when he first took over.
Dansby Swanson won my Best Defensive SS in MLB. This was his best offensive season but he SO nearly 200 times. I’m sure the Braves would like to dump Marcel Ozuna’s contract and resign Swanson. I don’t see them giving Swanson the money he’s likely to ask for and bury their financial flexibility.
STRIKEOUTS (for the most part, for hitters) DO NOT MATTER.
On average, the more valuable the player, the more he strikes out.
We count this stuff. You can look it up.
I think Swanson stays.
Atlanta Has To Make a Decision, In Order To Get a Team To Eat The Ozuna Contract is to attach Max Fried, Throw In Rosario also. Sign Justin Verlander To Three Years , End of Story. The Return Should Be A Premier Left Fielder in The Fried Trade, We Can’t Extend Everyone,
We?
So your solution is to give 2 years of Max Fried away to dump the $38 mill sunk cost of Ozuna’s deal (and 1 year of Rosario @ 9 mill) and you’d give a 40 year old pitcher 3 years @40 mill plus a year to replace Fried? Yikes. Ozuna’s next 2 years are less than 1 year of what Verlander’s likely to demand. Just cut Ozuna and keep Max. Better to just keep Rosario next season and hope for a bounceback. Sign a lefty masher to platoon w/him or give rh hittersd Justin Henry-Malloy or Grissom their opportunity in lf. Don’t like that? OK, then at least name the team in your deal or the “premier left fielder” they’re going to give up.
Randy Arozarena Would be a fair return
First post on here..hello everybody! I’m a braves fan and I think they should probably let Swanson sign with someone else. I don’t think he’s worth what he’s probably going to get. Grissom should be fine there with a lot of work. His defense was not good last season. Maybe Arcia gets the job. Either way, I’d put the allocated money into a LF like Benetendi or maybe a Drury type of player that can play all over. Also a cheap 5th SP would be nice but not really a huge need.
Good to see you here Nick. Sorry to disagree on Grissom, but imo he doesn’t have the tools to play a competent ML SS. Think he’s ticketed for left field or possibly used as trade fodder. I’m a solid no on Beni (just hope for a Rosario bounce back and use Justyn Henry-Malloy and/or Grissom as platoon partners w/Rosario.) Tough to plan on a lf acquisition w/out a plan for dumping Ozuna/Rosario contracts unless they utilize Grissom or JHM’s minimum salaries there. I’d also rather the Braves cleared their logjam of AAA pitchers by using one or more of Muller, Elder, Anderson, Shuster, Tarnok, or Vines as their 5th starter as opposed to spending needed funds on a cheap FA #5. Several of those AAA starters should provide solid pen depth as well. Not a bad plan to let them get their start in Atlanta like Fried did—out of the pen.
Grissom was a successful SS throughout the minors. Had a .315/.402/.465 line throughout the minors, and improved at the plate at every single level. He’ll struggle, but he’s an excellent player. Even the notoriously conservative fangraphs projects him to 2.8 fWAR in just 123 games.
I can see getting a cheap, slick=fielding caddy. What’s Simba up to?
Simba’s bat is so toothless he’d starve to death in the jungle. The Cubs released him because he can’t hit ML pitching anymore, played a poor defensive 2B, and (like the last 3 years of his career) was unable to stay healthy. Grissom’s first 54 ab’s in Atlanta were good. His next 104 were so dismal the Braves had to bench him. Happens that way for a lot of young players, but Grissom’s slap happy approach was exposed quickly. He needs a lot of babip luck to be successful. Need to weigh his success w/the bat in the system up to AA w/the scouting evaluations of his defense. Plenty of reporting coming from inside the org that he’s probably going to have to move to the outfield because of his limited range at SS/2B and mediocre arm.. He was awful defensively at 2B in Atlanta. After being quickly figured out by the league’s pitchers, the Braves couldn’t keep him in the lineup because he was such a defensive liability. The Braves FO only called him up because Albies and Arcia were injured, and their desperation signing of Robinson Cano was a miserable failure. If the Braves re-sign Swanson or trade for a warm body to play SS, odds are good that Grissom’s in AAA Gwinnett next season learning his new position—-left field.
Insane posts on here. Trade Acuna, Trade Fried in a package to then sign a 40 yr old pitcher, sign Jacob DeGrom instead of a SS and on and on. Do people actually watch the games or just tune in when the playoffs begin? SMH.
Agreed. Although in my opinion if they can’t extend Fried, I think he should be traded NEXT offseason.
Not the worst thought on Fried there Nick. Welcome to the forum. More Braves fans, the merrier.
Thanks Jeff! Go Braves!
He just finished NL Cy Young runner-up. That doesn’t grow on trees. If ATL is contending, he doesn’t get traded regardless of their ability to re-sign him. The year you trade him and are contending, you just made it infinitely more difficult to compete deep into the playoffs b/c there’s no other available pitcher you’ll receive that will take you that far. No one will fault them for hanging onto Fried, competing deep in the playoffs, trying to re-sign him, make him a QO and getting a pick if he bolts for an overpay. Until then, re-sign the man. Everyone knows the south loves everything Fried.
Atlanta has to get creative, We Let Dansby go without trying to get something for him, the same will happen to Fried, We are a better team with the proposal I Presented, Everyone is waiting for a creative splash
Your deal looks like something the Rockies would do.
Willy Adames Can be had for Vaughn Grissom and Kyle Muller, A Premier 2 Year Serviceable Shortstop, Get Creative Alex
Are you a Brewers fan?
The revenue for this team to spend is there 3M just at the Truist gate. Dodgers were 1st but that have 30k more seats there. The Money is there. Even if they had to pay the luxury for a year they would still profit. I was there for the 21 Division and World Series and this year all of the Mets series. Truist is insane! Braves Country shows up and to keep a Championship club year in and out on the field they will continue to show up. Braves are in the preliminary steps of being sold LM is breaking off from the club and gauging how much the team is worth. Good article on “Talking Chop” goes into detail of the financial maneuvering LM is doing. I said before new TV deal in a few years as well. Again, the money is there and they have been smart about spending it for the most part but a lot of suggestions of trading players and running AAAA players out there instead is ridiculous.
Braves already re-signed Jesse Chavez. It was to a minor league deal but you guys do a story on it !
The number of playoff teams, like it or not, is here to stay because of the money. The problem I have is playing only a best of 5 league championship series because a lesser team can easily upset a team who had a stellar year. Other than a wild card play in, playoff series MUST be a best of 7 to lessen the chance of a lesser team beating a stronger team. A best of 5 for the league championship is a joke. Baseball is a unique sport where anyone can beat anyone on any given day, unlike football, basketball or hockey where the better team usually wins.
That’s why baseball plays 162, the cream will eventually rise to the top. My Dad used to say every team will win about a third of their games and every team will lose about a third of their games, but the good teams will win more of the final third and the weaker teams won’t. A short series after playing basically twice as much as basketball and hockey is, to be blunt, B.S.! All best of 7’s in the NHL and it’s not only awesome to watch but only strong teams (mostly) can endure it.
maxorange33;
I agree.
But how do they fit so many games in when the weather in part of the country is poor in April and often poor in October…..let alone November? Think they’ll cut 2 weeks of regular season games out of the season schedule? I believe that within 25-30 years at the latest all MLB teams will be required to have parks with roofs that can be open or closed.
And another thing…..
It’s not so much about teams “getting hot”. Baseball is all about matchups. We see inferior teams beat better teams all season long. Always have. Always will. Teams match up differently depending who and where they’re playing.
The playoffs scheduling rule should be that the teams with the better regular season records get to pick their opponents in each round.
I’d like to hope that within those same 25=30 years, all MLB teams will be required to pay for any new stadiums out of pocket.
Scary to think all the Braves need to do is re-sign their SS and once again they’re a favorite to win. And if they don’t re-sign him, probably still the favorite.
Scary as well to think that even without re-signing their SS they’re a favorite to run away with the NL East.
Which means they should be concentrating on building a roster than can win three rounds of the postseason against the best teams in baseball including the Dodgers and Astros.
Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario for Aaron Hicks and Josh Donaldson.
The Braves don’t have enough good reasons to re-sign Swanson given it sends them past the LT threshold for the forseeable future.
It just doesn’t make sense for them–not when they have a guy in Grissom very likely to put up at least 2 wins, and other players who can keep the position from being worth less than 2 wins if Grissom isn’t quite ready. Also, why pay Swanson 6/140m for his career year? He’s turning 29.
The key point is probably that if the Braves had any intention of re-signing Swanson, they wouldn’t have brought Morton back for $20m. Why do the latter when you can do the former for a very similar AAV, and get a very similar win projection, without going over the LT threshold?