The Braves anticipate increasing their player payroll, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told reporters (including David O’Brien of the Athletic). Chairman Terry McGuirk echoed those sentiments, telling Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “that ‘glideslope’ that we’re on, we will stay on” in reference to the organization raising payroll in three straight seasons.
Atlanta opened the 2023 campaign with a player payroll in the $203MM range, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Their luxury tax figure — which is based on the combined average annual values of a team’s deals — was well higher, estimated around $250MM. The Braves clearly surpassed the $233MM base tax threshold and seem likely to do so again next year, when the first threshold rises to $237MM.
The Braves have around $165MM in guaranteed salaries for next season. Their arbitration class should add between $25MM and $30MM. That could put them within $15-20MM of last year’s season-opening mark before making further additions. Roster Resource projects their CBT number a hair below $237MM.
Even with some kind of uptick in spending, it seems unlikely the Braves would play near the top of the free agent market. That hasn’t been Anthopoulos’ preferred course of action anyhow. Atlanta has been far more aggressive on the trade and extension fronts than in adding free agents from other clubs.
With some measure of flexibility, however, they could be more active than in recent offseasons in sifting through the middle tier. Starting pitching could be the biggest priority. Atlanta has Spencer Strider, Max Fried and Charlie Morton to occupy the top three spots. The final two positions are less settled. Bryce Elder likely has the inside track on the #4 job but struggled down the stretch after an All-Star first half. Kyle Wright will miss the entire season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
AJ Smith-Shawver and prospect Hurston Waldrep are high-upside options who could compete for an early-season job. Anthopoulos said today that Huascar Ynoa is expected to be a full go for Spring Training after missing last season to Tommy John rehab (via Toscano). Jared Shuster, Dylan Dodd and Michael Soroka are depth options — although Soroka could be non-tendered — but it’d behoove the Braves to add another source of innings. Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Jack Flaherty are speculative free agent possibilities.
The lineup is a lot more established. Left field is the lone vacancy after the team declined its option on Eddie Rosario. While a free agent pursuit of someone like Lourdes Gurriel Jr. or old friend Joc Pederson could be on the table, the Braves have a potential internal upside play. Atlanta has kept Vaughn Grissom in the middle infield, hoping the reps will allow his glove to catch up to his advanced bat. With Ozzie Albies and Orlando Arcia on the roster, there may not be a path to at-bats for Grissom on the infield.
Anthopoulos told reporters that the organization has given thought to getting Grissom experience in left field. If they put that into action during Spring Training, it’d give the right-handed hitter a clearer path to MLB work. Grissom spent most of this year in Triple-A, hitting .330/.419/.501 as a 22-year-old.
Cream of the crop. I hate this team so much, but it’s mostly jealousy.
Don’t feel bad, the Braves have won 100 games or more the past two seasons and your Phillies have punched them in the face each time in the playoffs. That’s not an insult at Atlanta it just means no one is unbeatable in the playoffs, and it’s a much easier way to get into the dance now.
I agree. but the Phillies just play the Braves well. Even though the Braves won the season series, multiple games came down to extra innings. It was a dog fight. But winning the division should always be the goal. Phillies won’t beat the Braves in the playoffs forever.
I wouldn’t be jealous, the Phillies have the Braves number when it counts.. 🙁
The more that the wealthy teams spend on payroll, the more convinced I become that a salary cap should be imposed
And that includes managers and coaches. Paying Craig Counsel $ 8 million dollars to be a manager will only drastically increase the salaries of all managers and both advertisers and television contracts will have to increase to cover the costs
Plus, to watch your favorite team on television, it will eventually be like how Amazon Prime charges fees to watch football games
And the price of tickets to watch a game in person will be priced so high only the wealthy will afford price of tickets
People will laugh and make fun of my opinion but this is all coming .
Maybe not today or tomorrow but eventually
The poor are usually stupid too so they’ll always spend money they dont have on the experience. The braves are publicly owned so you can see they’re making clear profits too, so chill out chicken little. You’re out of your element.
I guess you feel like owners should just packet hundreds of millions more a year.
It’s already here. They don’t want the blue collar die hard at the game. They want ppl that go to attend an event and spend money on food, drinks & memorabilia.
They already know they got you. They know you will follow & watch damn near every pitch at home which raises their ratings which in turn allows them to charge higher prices for TV rights.
Now with this Bally thing it’s inevitable that all teams will make their money on streaming prices & we will pay.
The NFL has proven they can suck blood from a rock with all the money they make. And don’t let baseball fool you although it’s not on the level of NFL or NBA it is still a cash cow for these owners.
And the owners don’t want a salary cap as mulch as the players don’t because if they do they gotta open their books.
I hate the Braves too but they are darn good. It’s time to go all in. Focus on who makes the difference in the playoffs but you don’t win 100 games and not be super close. If they’re willing to increase payroll they’ll keep their core and perhaps add that playoff piece
That playoff piece sounds a lot like a top starter.
I spose they could hedge their bets by packing the bullpen even further, but what else is there to do, really, after you win 104 games, the offense is insanely good, and you got rid of one of the two guys over 30—except add an ace?
Everything else is embroidery.
The thing is, just knowing how they operate-they’re probably well aware that their biggest hole is filling up the rest of that rotation. But they’ve never been a team to hand out a long contract, especially to a pitcher. The Braves’ payroll is increasing a bit and is usually a highly competitive number, but it’s also not at the level to withstand paying a really high salary to an old pitcher who is no longer productive. A guy like Nola would probably be great in 2024, but it’s not their typical strategy to risk having to pay him 30 mil in 2029. Prob more likely to go after lugo or wacha, maybe possibly gray
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Payroll has increased the last few years. Attendance is among the best in the league and the Battery is a 365-days-a-year goldmine.
They’ll definitely increase their payroll, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to add a big ticket name. They’ll have to add a left fielder and probably will add a starter and more bullpen help.
Just those necessities will push it further than last year.
They will increase their payroll by just keeping the loads of young talent they already have.
The Braves have one of the highest payrolls in baseball. You should believe it because they’ve been showing it for years.
More interested in bullpen moves. Anyone have insight or speculation?
Might go with what they have at this point—Matzek and Ynoa will be ready opening day for the pen as well.
Iglesias, minter, jimenez, Johnson, Tonkin, with lee matzek ynoa back it should be a solid bullpen. Maybe adding one more smaller piece. I’m interested in starting pitcher. Need a 3 to slot behind strider and fried and before Morton.
Would love to sign Sonny Gray & trade for Jo Addell
No Addel please.
I’m hoping for Gray, but AA is quite creative and something else will probably happen. Don’t really want Adell.
Braves have no qualms of spending big on relievers. I wouldn’t be surprised if they went after harder.
Hader is going to get huge money. How much do you think he ends up making?
About the same as Diaz. 5/100
Among the High rent, big spending teams, there’s reasonable, sustainable, efficient spending and then There’s wasteful, poorly planned and ill thought out spending. The Atlanta are a good example of the former and the San Diego Padres the best example of the latter.
To be fair, I don’t understand how some of these players are signing with Atlanta for far less than they deserve. In my mind, there’s some conspiracy where the Braves are paying players under the table to avoid the luxury tax. Of course this isn’t at all true. It’s just how I cope with the Braves sustained success.
The thing that the braves do well is getting their players signed early. Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies were still young players with a chance flame out. There was definitely risk on the braves part to pay guys that early and most of the players got life changing money very early in their careers.
Right, but it’s annoying how well it works out for the
Braves while it fails miserably for other teams. See Scott Kingery for the Phils.
In Kingery’s case it was only for $24m…Not $80m. Much easier to swallow.
Definitely, but still a bust.
They tried to change his swing to increase launch angle. Totally messed him up psychologically as well as mechanically.
You are right. The amazing part is the Braves haven’t gotten unlucky in any of these contracts yet.
A lot of the time it’s not always how much money you offer, but when you offer it. Atlanta does a great job managing payroll and not falling for the “career year” free agent trap. Atlanta has been borderline amazing at choosing which players to invest long term in.
They are buying their minimum wage years and arbitration years plus a few more. The players get guaranteed generational wealth and the team gets a minor discount. I bet Jack Flaherty wishes he’d signed a team friendly extension early. The same with Tyler O’Neill.
It helps when they’re among the best in the majors at player development. They can trust good results from young players and sign them long term because they’re developing them properly. Also part of it is that they rightly predicted the A’s dismantling their roster and got Olson and Murphy for practically nothing, then locked them in.
This is crucial, rct. Great point as always. Some of these players would not be as good if developed elsewhere.
It’s crazy that Ozzie Albies is making less than Craig Counsell.
Also, please no Joc Pederson.
In most professions the Manager makes more money than the laborers. Professional sports are an exception.
That’s not true. People with specialized skilled jobs (doctors, sports professionals, entertainment, computer science, engineering) often make more than the people that manage the groups of them. Project managers usually make less than those doing the specialized aspects of the projects.
It depends on the labor being done. For “unskilled” labor, managers make more, I agree. Unskilled in quote because I think it’s a little derogatory to essential jobs.
I agree with some of this, but I can tell you, firsthand, that project managers make more money than the specialized trades. I used to be a journeyman electrician, making roughly $64,000 a year. Now as an electrical project manager, I will make nearly three times that, this year.
@layne it’s not all of course. I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. I just don’t think it’s most professions. I’ve worked with packaging, shoe design/production, and cybersecurity and the creators were paid more than the PMs. Sounds like your situation requires a PM that has direct field experience in the role, which makes sense. Similar to foremans on construction sites.
The “manager” is the company’s executive leadership, not the middle management they put out on the field.
Albies got specifically screwed on the contract. He didn’t want to go year to year with arbitration, he wanted to stay in Atlanta, and I don’t think he really cared what type of millionaire he was going to be. Atlanta leveraged this into a contract that was embarrassingly below market value. This was also around all the cheating with the international signings so it’s safe to say the organization was pretty sketchy.
If you read some articles about Albies maybe you could be informed. Albies was brought in by Wren, not Coppy. So no on the sketch. Maybe look into some of the poop you are slinging.
Phew, just a single bad apple then and the contract wasn’t below market value. Thanks for clearing that up.
Coppy came in and 3/4th of the front office was kicked out. Most of those had been with the braves were over 30 years. So yeah, bad apple. You can blame everyone and the team or really look at it.
Albies is happy with his contact. He wanted it and said clearly why he choose to sign this contract. He said, today my family is taken care of, my parents are taken care of, my grand parents for both my wife and I are taken care of, as our my children and their children. He stated he played baseball for a living. Albies stated if his elbow had gone another quarter inch in his injury he would never be able to play again. At the press conference many suggested he could have gotten much much more, he said he has enough money and is very happy. He knows for the rest of his life everyone is taken care of. Albies said he would get to sign another contract in a few years. Yes the contract is under what he deserves. He was okay with it. He knew what he was doing. You stated he didn’t care what kind of millionaire etc. and the Braves who are “sketchy” and these two things are connected. They are not.
and I love to support Albies because he seems like a positive guy that has his priorities set straight, but I don’t really respect the organization for using the leverage to lowball him. I honestly have no idea what the company is like now, though people around here seem mad about Ozuna…
You sound like you just want an excuse to hate the Braves lol
Have you tried crying?
Is it working for you?
I am not the one whining about a contract that a grown adult agreed to. You don’t likely understand the allure of wealth when you grow up poor on an island like Albies. Plus he and Acuna are buddies and wanted to make sure to stay together.
But please, cry some more.
Done whining about internet posts yet?
I remember about 10 yrs ago I was worried the Braves wouldn’t be able to compete, with the horrendously bad TV contract they had at the time. Boy have things changed. It’s good to see smart teams spread the money around instead of giving it all to one so-called superstar.
This comment got in before Ohtani signs. Seriously, I’d love to know from someone with more time than I, what the MLB record is for largest percentage of payroll one player has had on a team.
that starting pitcher Ben something for the a’s. He was paid like $10M. They run a low payroll that he probably took a massive percentage of it. let’s hope with them moving to Vegas that the owner opens his pocket books to spend on his team finally.
In 2006, the Marlins ran a payroll of $16,960,500. Dontrelle Willis earned $4,350,000 of that- which is 19% of the total bill. I’d imagine that’s up there.
In 2020, the Orioles ran a payroll of $62,285,088. Chris Davis earned $21,118,783 of that- or roughly 34%.
Kris Bryant and the Rockies may be close this coming season.
If a left fielder is not acquired who doesn’t need a platoon partner, I already feel bad about next season. Non tendering Soroka would be a bigger bone head move than trading for Olivera, and that was horrible. Everything from Soroka was middle of the plate or higher. That’s not a good thing from a pitcher who dominants hovering above the dirt. Get it right Baby Maple. Also to Ynoa, please don’t punch anything in the dugout this season please. Not many pitchers has as much movement as what he can produce. The future is bright, when healthy.
Increasing payroll =/= better team, but it has certainly showed them out the door in 2 consecutive seasons in the first round.
Revisionist history. Playoffs are about health and the hottest team playing at that time, not the best team. The ‘21 Braves certainly weren’t the best team in the league.
As a Pirates fan, the highlight of the past two seasons has been watching the Phillies send the Braves home, holding their backsides. Spend away, guys. I’m already looking forward to next October
This is an odd comment considering the Phillies spend more on players than the Braves do.
Is that what you have to look forward to? Good for you I guess. I think how the pirates have won more NL east titles than the Mets. The Pirates are great. If they win I would be happy. Enjoy your season, I will enjoy mine as well. As the playoffs go…I’ll enjoy the journey, the crap shoot, the 21 ws title, 91, and 92 when sid slid, and on and on to 24 where who knows. I hope your team is able to push for the playoffs, if not you can hope the Braves don’t win it all, if that helps you.
Kind of a sad state of affairs that this has been your highlight and what you are looking forward to.
all that to get first rounded again LOL
meant to comment this on the dodgers post but i suppose it applies here too
Both had first rd byes. It doesn’t apply to either.
So Shohei’s joining the dark side, got it.
Kelenic for Grissom would be an intriguing swap
Or Kepler for some pitching like JR Ritchie, and Dodd.
Rotation help for the Braves could be more along the lines of stacking the bullpen and giving their internal options a shot. So maybe they sign Hader!? Jordan Hicks?
Truth be told two years ago Ynoa was pitching very well as a starter, Soroka was considered the future ace of the staff, Anderson was also considered one of the top young SP.
Add to that AJSS and Waldrep, if you’re AA you kind of HAVE to see what you’ve got before Fried departs in free agency
I’m fine with Vaughn Grissom in left field. Let’s see what he can do.
I guess yo pay for all those rule 5 players they need to fill the roster.
Braves signing Ohtani, confirmed.
Go get Yamamoto
I’d lose my mind.
I get the upside, but $200M for an unproven pitcher going into his prime? At least Senga was “only” $75M (not including posting fee), but why wouldn’t you just roll the dice on Sonny Gray at potentially 40% of that contract? We don’t want another Kenshin Kawakami incident on our hands.
I’d probably lose my mind if we signed Gray, lol.
I’m fairly confident YY is going to be a good pitcher in MLB, just like many, but the cost will be ludicrous. Lol
All these are true statements, but it is universally considered true that Yamamoto is a true floor no 2 starter, which is very very valuable.
I’m excited to see him pitch, regardless of team.
I’m probably going to be alone on this, but I wouldn’t want the Braves to sign Yamamoto. Early estimates being thrown around are it’s going to take $250 million over 10 years; and as good as his numbers in Japan look, he’s never thrown a pitch in MLB. Plus they’d have to pay the posting fee on top.
If they’re prepared to spend $300 million dollars, I’d give it to Fried instead. If he turns down that type of offer, you know he’s gone after next year and can plan accordingly. If he takes it, you have your first two rotation spots set for years to come; which compliments the position player core.
You’re not alone. Sure, no QO attached to him, but kind of same weight behind a posting fee not included in his deal. That price point is too much of a gamble for this team, especially when you have Fried about to leave. I get there are red flags to Fried, but the possibility of replacing an unproven (stateside) arm what Fried more than likely is asking for, would be the nail in the coffin on him staying while also a slap in the face much worse than ending talks with Freeman and trading/extending Olson. At least Olson was proven (stateside), a hometown kid, etc.
> Go get Yamamoto
The Braves are never in on foreign posted or free agent players. It seems that they don’t scout any of them, either. Someone high up with the Braves concluded, “we’re not doing that,” and that’s that.
Yamamoto is like a 1 in 5 million long shot to sign with the Braves.
1.Grissom and prospects fore Cease
2. Shuster & Lee for Addell
But the Braves already have their mustachioed SP.
No Addell. No thanks, unless it was just for Shuster.
Seriously, do you think other teams value Grissom that much or would the addt prospects make up for that? Cease is just a year removed from the same placing in Cy voting that Fried had (2nd place in ’22). Sure, he had a hiccup in ’23, but he had an awful defense/team behind him with a possibly toxic clubhouse, according to former players. Cease also has 2 more years of control (via arbitration). I’d think it’d take no less than a AJSS, Grissom, plus prospects even to have the conversation.
I think Cease’s 22 was an over performance.
I see him as a solid number 3 exactly where he would slide in the Braves rotation. I see Grissom as a future All Star. I wouldn’t be opposed to adding a prospect or even 2 but not a prospect on the AS-S or Waldrop level.
I would even go Elder & Grissom for Cease & give Vines, Winans or Dodd the 5th spot.
But I do think Grissom is a big trade chip & I believe other teams feel the same way about him. Not as a SS of course but as a 2B definitely.
For the first time ever I’m not at all excited for baseball. I don’t mean to be negative, but these last 2 years have really killed it for me. Why be the best you can be or build a powerhouse team if some 6 seed can just upset you in a bo5? It’s disheartening and quite frankly insulting. I’m trying hard to care, but I just don’t. It’s going to get worse from here I fear. Manfred: “we’re only 2 years in”. In those 2 years we’ve seen what was supposed to be an anomaly happen twice already. Every year of this format is a wasted year of the Braves core. If next year rolls around and these bye teams do something I’ll still feel this way. Too many teams get a chance to go to the postseason. Be mediocre and get rewarded for it. It’s all a joke to me now.
Phillies weren’t a 6th seed. They were the 4th seed. I think an argument could be made that the Braves should have played the Diamondbacks. I see no reason why teams aren’t reseeded after each round. DBacks upset the Dodgers. As the bottom seed, they should then be forced to play the top seed.
I think that the whole card setup does not fairly weigh in for the division winner. If 162 games can’t determine who the best teams are, then nothing can. I say that winning the division over the whole summer is with more than one extra home game. In the Phillies case I would make the best of 5 series 2-1-2. The WC team is assured of a home game, but not home field advantage if the top seed team stumbled just once. Baseball is the one sport that home field doesn’t determine outcome most of the time. But the division winner has to have a decided advantage over the wc team that stumbles in, which would then gain home field when the better team makes one mistake. Not at all fair imho.
I think it’s too small of a sample size to judge anything about the format yet. 2022 both AL teams advanced while both NL team were eliminated. 2023 1 AL team advanced. The other AL and the 2 NL teams were eliminated. A key factor is the Braves were eliminated by the same team twice. Maybe it’s just a tough matchup for them. I will say one thing, even with the risk of getting rusty, every team would take the bye over facing elimination in a short series. It’s not really about homefield advantage. The Phillies were forced to start their #3 against the Braves ace…twice. It’s a huge advantage for the Braves which just so happened to not work out. It’s incredible that Spencer Strider has 0 playoff wins against the Phillies, and the odds are that will not continue. I think blaming the format is an easy excuse and dismissing what the Phillies had to overcome. In the coming 5-10 years, I think we will find the division winners succeeding more often than not.
The Phillies SP shuffle against the Braves has nothing to do with the Braves winning over 100 games. It has everything to do with Phillies getting WC, and everything that goes with it. It still should be heavily weighed in favor of division winner…regardless of SP issues. The WC SP pitching is baked in… The reward for winning over 100 games the whole summer is not worth one extra home game. It’s worth a lot more.
There is no reward for winning 100 games. There is a reward for winning the division. My point about the SP shuffle is that is a massive reward. The Braves had a very significant advantage, and still lost twice. It’s rather unlikely that it continues to be the case.
Sure, 2 years is a small sample size, but you can’t ignore the fact that only 3 out of 8 bye teams (HOU, NYY in ’22; HOU in ’23) have moved on in the 2 years since the new playoff format/scheduling. What’s more, is how few wins those teams have also had in those games. I mean, MLB’s top-4 teams in the regular season (ATL, BAL, LAD, TB) had a combined 1 win (via ATL) in the playoffs. Could be coincidence, but what a coincidence that those teams got it done better than anyone in the 162, but couldn’t in a 1-week stretch that really mattered. What a coincidence, again.
There kind of is a reward for winning 100 games — usually it’s home field advantage. In ATL’s case this year, they kept pushing for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs (with MLB’s best record). Just so happens that the WS champs (TEX) became the first team to go undefeated on the road in the playoffs — thumbing their noses at the presumed HF advantage.
I would only say that hitting is all about timing, so having a week off from competitive games isn’t ideal.
I was referring to the 6 seed going to the WS both years. And my problem isn’t with who they play, it’s the days off and lack of play while the other teams get to keep playing and build confidence. I would much rather it be 3 days off for the bye. Forcing the wild card to keep playing into the DS if they don’t 2-0 the series is more of a punishment (along with no time to strategize, etc.) while still rewarding bye teams with enough rest, and giving a small reward with a day off to the wc team if they 2-0. I don’t think we’ve had 3 games yet, but it would certainly up the pressure a bit on them to try and 2-0. I don’t understand why that wasn’t the case in the first place. Teams travel to different cities and play the next day all through the regular season anyways. I always preferred when we had 3 division winners and 1 wild card in the postseason. That was perfect to me. I’m not going to stop watching, but I am going to not be watching as much. I’m actually interested to see what attendance and viewership looks like in the regular season going forward. I will be surprised if it keeps going up. Obviously teams like the rangers and Dbacks might see some upticks because of what they did, but are the other really good teams going to see increases? It will be interesting to see.
What if after the divisional rounds, everyone gets a few days off? That gets everyone nice and rusty, but eliminates the pitching advantage. I still think every team in baseball would sign up for the advantage the Braves had and failed to capitalize on.
The winner of the division needs a tangible advantage…not intangible. Winning the division after 162 games should come with a decided advantage…other than the odd game at home. If still using the 5 game series which is suicidal if the home team hiccups, then the format should be 2-1-2. What is wrong with that? You win the division then its going to take more than an errant pitcher overthrow to first base to de-throne you. Why are you so resistant to that? Maybe because the Phils have no way of winning the division?
@VonPurpleHayes – So you’re saying Braves were rusty b/c of the layoff and you want everyone to experience the same offensive rustiness as an equalizer? Sounds like a great idea to get fans disinterested in the most exciting part of the year.
How’s about we just limit the amount of wild card teams getting in (like the good ole days in 2019) and the length of the first series? No way a wild-card series should be 3 games. If they didn’t want to have a 1-game playoff, be the best in your division. OR just do away with divisions, like NBA, if you’re going to minimize winning a division, or worse, punish a team by making them sit for 5 days when they’ve just gone through a 162-game grind with no more than 3 days off (including All-Star Break).
I wasn’t being serious. It’s a terrible idea, and while I think rust is real, I think it’s being overblown. Upsets happen all the time in the playoffs. Even before this new format. The only change I really want to see now is reseeding after each round. The Braves should have played the DBacks instead of the Phils in the DS, but they could’ve lost that one as well.
I think AA’s statement is slightly misleading. All their long term contracts already put the payroll status pretty high, in fact higher than what they traditionally liked to be at prior to a few years ago if I recall correctly (don’t quote me I could be wrong on that). Then arbitration is gonna push it pretty close to what we’ve been at and we just have a couple holes to fill that I find hard to do so without increasing payroll regardless of the quality we fill those holes with. For example, in theory if we address lf with another platoon, it’s prob gonna cost between 15-20 mil for two players at best. Then a starter or two is gonna cost 10-15 mil at a min (likely more). We aren’t exactly talking about top talent here with those prices but those would quickly increase payroll.
If I’m putting my GM hat and trying to be reasonable with money, I’d start training VG to play LF asap and go into the season planning that he was our starter. Then, I’d invest in SP. I’d actually go get 3 despite that being more than we actually need. Id get Wacha, Flaherty, and Severino and hope for the best. My logic is 1 of those won’t work or someone in the rotation is going to be injured most of the season. Heck, Morton likely takes a step back or is out for a while… idk. But overkill depth, especially with 3 guys that are likely solid but not guarantees either.
I don’t want to see a platoon. This lineup is awesome and should still be next year. I would much rather get an underperforming former top prospect OF that can bat in the bottom of the line up and see if he could turn it around in the Braves environment.
Would cost less and if it doesn’t work out by the deadline there will be ppl available to replace them.
If it does work out you got a great talent for Pennie’s on the dollar.
Would much rather invest any money into a reliable mid to top of the rotation arm.
Sonny Gray is my top choice but Nola, Snell, Stroman are others.
Really am not that interested in Stroman but would take him if he is the last option.
> Would much rather invest any money
> into a reliable mid to top of the
> rotation arm.
I agree. SP should be a priority with Fried likely gone next winter and Morton retiring right after him. It gives the “spare parts” time to establish themselves, if at all, instead of relying on them.
Maybe they bring in a LH LF. Joc Peterson?
I’d like to see Jorge Soler back but not at his going rate. $8-10MM would have been preferred but he’s never going to accept that plus he’ll get twice that range. They already have Ozuna at DH, too.
I mean, I hope it’s the case but then again I could see them saying “we went after so and so but we got outbid at the last second.” I’ll remain optimistic though, they already have a top 10 payroll.
Very glad to hear they will consider Grissom in LF. Do that and save the free agency $ for a #3 like Montgomery or Gray. More than one way to skin this cat.
You could always run it back and see if Duvall is interested as a safety net. More than likely he’s looking for a full-time roll that ATL may not have, knowing they need to give enough playing time to Grissom to see what they got. Feels like the same place we were a few years ago when we re-signed Rosario after acquiring a bunch of platoon bats that made good for the LF void.
@Poc Biffaroba I’d much rather they go for it by adding an ace. The Braves are particularly vulnerable in the 5-game series of the current, forsaken playoff series, the NLDS series, which they’ve lost twice in a row.
The Braves should stun the NL and go after Yamamoto. His AAV won’t be all that much higher than Montgomery. So… why not? The bullpen is covered, the offense is historically great. This adds insurance to an early division win and is the one thing they can do that significantly increases their chance of winning the WS.
We need another starting pitcher or 2. I mean heck with injuries every team ends up with 8-10 guys getting starts. Braves had 11 pitchers make 5 or more starts last year. Left field is a question maybe a platoon Grissom and a left handed bat. I think a power arm or 2 in the pen nice to have strike out stuff for post season. Also Anderson should be back next year we do have other young arms possibly for helping rotation or using for trade pieces to get needs. Nicky Lopez at 4 million may not want to pay that much for a backup but he is very good and could start if Orlando struggles at plate. Also with Arcia’s salary doesn’t limit the Braves from exploring a move there.
@ATLBraves Yamamoto. Seriously. The one addition that boosts their shot at getting past the grotesque 5 game NLDS, that lets them coast and plan during the regular season, especially after the ASB.
Not alot of holes to fill on this well run ballclub.
Everyone has at least 2 holes. For ATL: SS/LF. Not very big holes, but holes nonetheless.
If they’re not big holes, they’re not holes.
In any case, even the all-time great teams always have ‘holes.’ Look at the .’27 Yankees. Trying to fill every ‘hole’ is probably a fool’s errand, and tends to mean you’re overlooking something else.
In the Braves case, they need a postseason ace. Spending money on a #4 starter, a SS upgrade, and a LFer is embroidery that fails to attend where the Braves failed: in a short series for the NLDS title.
True, def agree on SS upgrade, but I doubt that happens via FA with how little is available. Extending Arcia (for not much) was AA seeing into the future what would be available and buying some time. Not to say they can’t pursue that on the trade market, but I can’t see him acquiring much of an upgrade without giving up the little depth our farm has. I can see AA going after a SP2 (Gray?) more likely, not to depend too much on Morton, while also providing depth IF Fried goes down to injury again this year and possibly easing his exit after the season. To me, that justifies a shorter-term contract like Gray would need (esp. one tied to a QO) that would further impact your farm.
Very much doubt the Braves are spending big money on a FA pitcher—-especially one w/a QO like Gray. AA’s been quoted numerous times on his views on FA pitching. He’s a one year pillow contract GM. He’ll spend on that (too much at times) but not on long term FA arms.
AA acts based on the market. Although he doesn’t want to give up a draft pick for signing someone tied to QO, he’s done it with Ozuna/Will Smith, so for the right person/deal, he’ll do it. Frankly, Gray could be that guy, as he wouldn’t require the years that most others would, and although there’s some risk because of his age (34), he’s pitched well for years and isn’t overly-reliant on the velocity, while finding new life in the sweeper. Add the always emotional pull of coming back home that ATL loves to sell, and top-of-rotation insurance if this is Morton’s last year…and Fried bolts free agency. AA could regain that lost draft pick a year later by Fried signing elsewhere, and being made a QO. A rotation of Strider, Gray, Elder and AJSS/Waldrep/etc. another year older is a good floor.
why do people always refer to Grissom as an “advanced bat”. it’s one thing to hit slap shots in AAA, but it’s another thing to become an MLB hitter. he has done absolutely nothing and has looked awful at the major league level. his awful defense could have somehow been tolerable if he was an “advanced bat”. he is not close to being MLB ready, he needs to completely revamp his batting stance to incorporate more power instead of being a slap hitter. as for his defense, he has no future in the infield. he looks way too bad out there. it’s either LF or DH for him, and both of those need power production. Grissom is not going to be an MLB caliber player.
@lav – I’ve never called Grissom an advanced bat (until the end of this sentence…), but 0.9 oWAR in 152 PA in ’22, which was on-pace for a 4-WAR season in a full year, is pretty advanced. Sure, you can make the argument that pitchers adjusted to him and he failed to make some adjustments, but that takes time, which ATL couldn’t really give him because of his defensive issues. His cup of coffee was better than most, including (dare I say): Mike Trout (0.5 oWAR: 135 PA in 2011).
@Lav: Finally someone who totally agrees w/me on Grisssom. You’re spot on. Remove Grissom’s results from his first 54 ML ab’s and you have a player who shouldn’t be near a ML roster. No first step on defense dooms him in the infield, and doubt he has the speed to play a competent ML OF. He definitely hasn’t shown the power required to be a ML left fielder no matter how is defense is at the position.
@Nash — I’m no Grissom apologist, but if you had a prospect that had not sniffed MLB and just got through a full AAA season with a .921 OPS — you’d have the fan base petitioning to put him atop the depth chart the next season. Seriously though, if not Grissom, who is your preference for LF? Spending on Gurriel Jr., Duvall or another FA big or small?
Didn’t mean to infer that you are a Grissom apologist. Just giving my view on him. My preference for LF is to play the winner of a ST competition for LF between lefties Forrest Wall and Jesse Franklin V for the strong side of a platoon. Maybe the Braves feel Grissom could handle the RH side of a platoon in LF. Maybe AA signs another cheap under the radar RH hitting vet of’er to man that spot. I’d much rather see them spend money on pitching than spend big on a FA of’er. My hope is they sign Seth Lugo to a 3 year deal @ $40M. Imo the Braves don’t need to invest in a big salary for LF until Ozuna’s salary is off the books after 2024. In fairness to those who advocate for Grissom to get a shot at LF, the Braves lineup is strong enough everywhere else to experiment w/young players in LF.
No worries, the apologist comment was just a disclaimer. Interesting on Seth Lugo. I think we’re on the same page, as I would actually be interested in his SD teammate: Wacha, on a similar contract, since his last 2 years have been good, I think Grissom needs reg playing time, similar to bringing Mike Harris II and putting him at #9 spot. IF Grissom’s defense is decent in LF, it’d be interesting to see him in the 7 or 8 spot (with Arcia presumably being the other, if Harris continues at 9). Not sure if I trust Wall for anything but pinch-running/late game subs, but that’s me the layman. I guess I don’t see Gray’s contract as that big (in comparison to the alternative), though he would definitely be a franchise record for FA signing (BJ Upton: $75.25M). To me, the insurance he provides when Morton/Fried most likely may depart in the same offseason (next year), would be worth it.
Nice. I like Lugo as the first option, Wacha the second. Imo, the thing that probably disqualifies Gray is the QO. Be pretty surprised if AA ponied up the salary plus the loss of their 2nd and 5th draft picks.