Alex Anthopoulos

MLBTR Podcast: The Cubs’ Activity, Marcus Stroman And Jordan Hicks

By Darragh McDonald | January 17, 2024 at 10:54am CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

The Cubs signing Shota Imanaga (1:20)
The Cubs acquiring for Michael Busch and Yency Almonte from the Dodgers (8:30)
The Yankees signing Marcus Stroman (13:20)
The Giants agreeing to sign Jordan Hicks (17:50)
The Braves extending Alex Anthopoulos (22:30)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Ben Cherington of the Pirates has repeatedly said that he would be active in the market for another starting pitcher and another outfielder. With Spring Training starting in about one month, has he given up on this quest? (25:35)
Why do general managers not come out and say reports are B.S.? Use the Jays as example. They are not interested in Blake Snell but their name gets thrown in for leverage. Should GMs step in and say this report is false? The endless number of sources is ridiculous and leads nowhere except larger pay days or trade hauls because of fake competition. (27:30)
I think most of the baseball world is getting really sick of the Dodgers and Yankees buying all the major names. It’s terrible for parity and makes for season after season of “wash, rinse, repeat” storylines. Is the league ever going to enact a salary cap? It’s done great things for the other three major sports leagues. What is the reason for the resistance to it? (31:40)

Check out our past episodes!

Teoscar Hernández Signs With L.A. And The Move-Making Mariners and Rays – listen here
Yoshi Yamamoto Fallout, the Chris Sale/Vaughn Grissom Trade and Transaction Roundup – listen here
Tyler Glasnow, Jung Hoo Lee, D-Backs’ Signings and the Braves’ Confusing Moves – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!

Braves Extend Alex Anthopoulos Through 2031

By Steve Adams | January 12, 2024 at 9:08am CDT

The Braves announced this morning that they’ve signed president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos to an extension that will keep him with the team through the 2031 season. Anthopoulos had previously been entering the final season of a three-year contract extension that spanned the 2022-24 seasons. He’ll now be in Atlanta for an additional seven years.

“Alex and I have enjoyed a wonderful working relationship, and I look forward to that continuing for many years to come,” Braves CEO Terry McGuirk said in the team’s press release announcing the extension.

“I have been around this game a very long time and know that Alex’s track record of success is truly something special. There is simply no one better in the business. This extension gives Alex the runway to make long-term decisions and the opportunity to continue his track record of assembling teams that are perennial contenders. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to deliver championship baseball for our fans well into the future.”

The seven-year term of the contract extension is massive in relation to Anthopoulos’ baseball operations peers throughout the sport; most president of baseball operations and/or general manager contracts are three to five years in length. Given the unparalleled young core that the Braves have not only developed but also largely managed to sign to club-friendly contract extensions under Anthopoulos’ watch, however, it’s not surprising to see the team reward him with an uncommonly lengthy contract of his own — one that’ll allow him to see the bulk of those player extensions play out in full.

The 46-year-old Anthopoulos’ ascension to the top of the sport’s executive sphere is one rooted in the humblest of beginnings. His first job in baseball came with the Expos, where he was an unpaid intern working in their mail room and printing stat sheets. Expos scouts eventually took Anthopoulos under their wing, and he was moved to the team’s scouting department before being hired by the Blue Jays in 2003. From there, Anthopoulos climbed the ranks of Toronto’s baseball operations staff, rising all the way to general manager — a role he’d hold through 2015 before rejecting an extension under incoming president and CEO Mark Shapiro.

The Dodgers quickly added Anthopoulos to their front office, hiring him as a vice president of baseball operations working alongside president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman and then-GM Farhan Zaidi. That proved to be less than a two-year stop, as Atlanta hired Anthopoulos away from Los Angeles and named him general manager after former GM John Coppolella was dismissed and banned from baseball following reported violations on the international free agent market and in the MLB draft. (Major League Baseball lifted Coppolella’s “lifetime” ban after six years, in 2023.)

While some of the core pieces comprising the Braves’ roster were signed or drafted under the former regime — most notably, Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Max Fried — it was Anthopoulos who oversaw the extensions for each of Acuna (eight years, $100MM), Albies (seven years, $35MM) and Riley (ten years, $212MM). While Anthopoulos himself doesn’t necessarily oversee the draft, he did hire now-former scouting director Dana Brown — who’s since been hired as Houston’s general manager — and set the stage for a remarkable run of success in the amateur draft. (Brown and Anthopoulos worked together both in Montreal and in Toronto.)

From 2019 onward, Atlanta drafted names like Michael Harris II, Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, Vaughn Grissom and Shea Langeliers (among others), each of whom has either emerged as a core contributor or been included in a trade to help build out the club’s current roster. (Langeliers was sent to Oakland in the Matt Olson trade; Grissom recently was traded to the Red Sox for Chris Sale.)

In addition to Acuna, Albies and Riley, Anthopoulos has succeeded in brokering long-term deals with the majority of Atlanta’s core. While Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson did ultimately depart in free agency — and Fried could well do the same next winter — the Braves have had more success on the extension front than any team in the game. Harris inked an eight-year, $72MM deal midway through his rookie season. Strider followed suit with a six-year, $75MM contract.

Less than 48 hours after acquiring Olson in what’s now a wildly lopsided trade with the A’s (who received Langeliers, Cristian Pache, Joey Estes and Ryan Cusick in return), Anthopoulos signed his new first baseman to an eight-year, $168MM extension. A year later, Anthopoulos again pried a star away from Oakland on the trade market, acquiring catcher Sean Murphy in a three-team deal that sent William Contreras to Milwaukee. As with Olson, Murphy quickly put pen to paper on a new contract: a six-year, $73MM deal.

The Braves, under Anthopoulos, have also made veteran Charlie Morton a fixture in the rotation, repeatedly signing him and extending him on a series of short-term contracts. Morton, originally drafted by Atlanta back in 2002, is now entering his fourth straight season as a Brave and has given the team 521 innings of 3.77 ERA ball and was a key part of the team’s 2021 postseason staff (3.24 ERA in 16 2/3 innings). Similarly, catcher/designated hitter Travis d’Arnaud has become a veteran staple on the club, winning a Silver Slugger in 2020 and making the 2022 All-Star team while combining for a solid .256/.315/.446 slash in four seasons since originally signing.

That 2021 postseason run, of course, is the crowning achievement of Anthopoulos’ career thus far. The Braves, powered by a juggernaut core and buoyed by deadline acquisitions like Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario, blitzed through the second half of the season as the sport’s hottest team and rode that momentum all the way to a 2021 World Series title.

As with any baseball operations executive, not every move Anthopoulos has made has worked out. The three-year, $40MM deal for lefty Will Smith and the four-year, $65MM signing of Marcell Ozuna have had mixed results, at best, and the trade to swap out Smith for Odorizzi played out poorly as well. Smith rebounded in Houston, while Odorizzi struggled in Atlanta before being sent to the Rangers, with the Braves remaining on the hook for the bulk of his 2023 salary after Odorizzi exercised a player option. The Braves also acquired Kevin Gausman at what now looks like a bargain rate from the Orioles in 2018 but cut him loose via waivers a year later after he struggled in Atlanta. Gausman signed with the Giants the following offseason, broke out in San Francisco, and has since become a bona fide No. 1 starter in Toronto, where he signed a five-year free agent deal.

In comparison to the litany of successes under Anthopoulos, however, those misses are relatively minor in nature. And, while perhaps the Braves would like mulligans on some of those decisions, the simple fact of the matter is that none of them have stood as roadblocks to success. The Braves have won the NL East in all six of Anthopoulos’ seasons as general manager, and the team’s unrivaled collection of talent under long-term contract has positioned Atlanta as a legitimate dynasty in the division.

We’re reminded each year of the MLB postseason’s intrinsic randomness, but it’d be a surprise if the Braves didn’t reach the playoffs in the majority of the seasons under this new contract for their president — and another World Series appearance (if not victory) wouldn’t be a bad bet, either. It’s somewhat fitting that an executive known for his ability to hammer out club-friendly extensions now secures his own long-term deal — one that’ll assure him the opportunity to reap the benefits of the incredible crop of talent that’s been drafted, acquired, developed and signed long-term under his watch.

“I’d like to thank Terry for his continued support and trust,” Anthopoulos said in his own statement this morning. “The Braves are an incredible organization to be a part of, and I’m proud of the success we’ve achieve together. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead baseball operations and to strive to bring another World Series to Atlanta.”

Alex Anthopoulos, Craig Breslow Discuss Chris Sale Trade

By Nick Deeds | December 30, 2023 at 8:20pm CDT

The Braves and Red Sox got together on a major trade earlier today where Boston swapped left-hander Chris Sale and cash considerations to Atlanta in exchange for infielder Vaughn Grissom. In the aftermath of the deal’s announcement, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow both spoke to reporters about the deal and what’s next for their organization as 2023 comes to a close.

Anthopoulos spoke glowingly of Sale in the aftermath of the deal, describing him to reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) as a “playoff-caliber starter” while noting that adding such a pitcher to the club’s rotation was a major goal for the Braves this offseason. With right-hander Kyle Wright having undergone shoulder surgery and been shipped to Kansas City earlier this offseason, the club had little certainty behind its front-of-the-rotation duo of Spencer Strider and Max Fried.

Veteran righty Charlie Morton figured to slot into the #3 spot in the rotation, but posted the highest full-season walk rate of his career in 2023 and celebrated his 40th birthday last month. Meanwhile, youngster Bryce Elder started the season strong but faded down the stretch with a 5.49 ERA across his final 15 starts. The addition of Sale, a seven-time All Star who posted a 3.16 ERA across his final 15 starts last season, adds an arm with potentially elite upside to the club’s mix while also bolstering the club’s overall pitching depth to help make up for the departure of Wright. As noted by The Athletic’s David O’Brien, Anthopoulos made clear that Sale is “locked” into the club’s rotation for 2024 alongside Fried, Strider, and Morton.

Of course, it can’t be ignored that Sale has managed just 31 starts over the past four years due to injuries, including Tommy John surgery. Anthopoulos acknowledged the injury concerns that come with adding the veteran lefty, but noted that “anyone you acquire, there’s risk” while also adding that “it was a shot we wanted to take” thanks in part to Anthopoulos’s strong belief in Sale’s ability and makeup.

“We think he’s an absolute perfect fit with our group,” Anthoupolos said, “We’ll get to know him and we’ll do everything we can to put him in the best position to stay healthy and have success.”

When discussing the club’s plans for the remainder of the offseason, Anthopolous remained vague, noting that the offseason has no set end point and that moves continue to happen even into Spring Training. He went on to note that the club will “keep an open mind” for the remainder of the offseason. It wouldn’t be a shock if the club was done with the heavy-lifting of its offseason at this point, as they’ve already bolstered the pitching staff with Reynaldo Lopez and traded for a starting left fielder in Jarred Kelenic in addition to the acquisition of Sale.

On the other end of the trade, Breslow called moving on from Sale “a really tough, tough decision” when speaking to reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe), particularly considering Sale’s legacy as a key piece of the club’s 2018 World Series team. At the same time, Breslow lauded Grissom for his “really strong right-handed bat” while also noting that he figures to remain under club control for the next six seasons.

“I’ve talked long about the exciting emerging core of players around whom we want to build,” Breslow said, “…we certainly count Vaughn in that group.”

Though Breslow noted that Grissom has the versatility to play all over the field, he made clear that he views the 22-year-old as the club’s everyday second baseman. That would seemingly leave veteran infielder Trevor Story poised to return to shortstop on a full-time basis. Story struggled in 43 games last season after returning from UCL surgery over the summer, but prior to that injury had a long track record as a quality, two-way shortstop that earned him a six-year, $140MM deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2022 season.

One curious aspect of the deal from Boston’s perspective is that the club has made adding to its starting rotation an explicit goal throughout the offseason, and parting ways with Sale, who in spite of his recent injuries arguably remained their highest-ceiling starter, creates an even bigger hole in their starting five. Breslow emphasized (as relayed by Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe) that the club still plans to add to its rotation even after yesterday’s signing of Lucas Giolito, and that the club views both free agency and the trade market as potential avenues for a deal. Speier relays that Breslow noted the importance of the club being willing to part with prospects in order to acquire “quality, controllable starting pitching.”

The club has recently been linked to a reunion with left-hander James Paxton while also frequently being connected to top remaining rotation arms such as Jordan Montgomery and Shota Imanaga. Of course, there are plenty of other players still available who could represent an upgrade for the club’s rotation including Marcus Stroman and Yariel Rodriguez in free agency or Dylan Cease and Shane Bieber on the trade market. A trade would likely become an even more attractive route for adding to the rotation if the club’s reported pursuit of outfielder Teoscar Hernandez winds up successful, as it would add an everyday bat to the outfield mix and make the likes of Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela easier to part with in trade.

Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts

By Mark Polishuk | December 30, 2023 at 10:27am CDT

On paper, a longer contract equals a larger amount of job security. And yet every year, we seem to be adding a longer list of caveats to this annual post detailing which managers and front office bosses (a GM, president of baseball operations, chief baseball officer, or whatever the title may be) are entering the final guaranteed year of their contracts.

First off, this list is somewhat speculative — some teams don’t publicly announce the terms of employee contracts, nor are details always leaked to reporters. It is entirely possible some of the names listed have already quietly agreed to new deals, or were already contracted beyond 2024. Secondly, obviously a contract only carries so much weight if a team drastically underperforms, and if ownership feels a change is needed in the dugout or in the front office. Or, ownership might still desire a change even if the team is doing well on the field, i.e. the Marlins parting ways with Kim Ng after a wild card berth last season.

Craig Counsell’s five-year, $40MM deal to become the Cubs’ new manager also provides an interesting wrinkle to the managerial market. With Counsell’s contract setting a new modern benchmark for managerial salaries, some of the more established skippers on this list will surely be looking to match or top Counsell’s deal. These managers might choose (as Counsell did) to finish the year without signing a new contract and then test the open market, since you never know when a mystery team like the Cubs might swoop in to top the field.

As always, thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts for reference information on some of these contract terms.

Angels: The Halos have had eight consecutive losing seasons, including the first three years of Perry Minasian’s stint as general manager. Minasian now faces the challenge of trying to break this losing streak without Shohei Ohtani on the roster, and even before Ohtani joined the Dodgers, Minasian was clear that the Angels weren’t going to be rebuilding. This tracks with the overall aggressive nature of owner Arte Moreno, yet this approach has also manifested itself in five non-interim GMs running the Angels since Moreno bought the team in 2003. As Minasian enters the last year of his contract, it will take at least a winning season to keep Moreno from making yet another front office change.

Athletics: There hasn’t been any word about an extension for general manger David Forst, even though Forst’s last deal purportedly expired after the 2023 season. It can therefore probably be assumed that Forst inked a new deal at some point, as it has appeared to be business as usual for the longtime Oakland executive this winter (or as “usual” as business can be given the Athletics’ bare-bones rebuild and the unusual nature of the team’s impending move to Las Vegas). Manager Mark Kotsay would’ve been entering the final guaranteed year of his original deal with the A’s, except the team exercised their club option on Kotsay through the 2025 season.

Braves: Alex Anthopoulos is entering the last season of his three-year extension as Atlanta’s president of baseball operations, and one would imagine that ownership will aim to lock Anthopoulos up to another deal as soon as possible. The Braves have won six straight NL East titles and the 2021 World Series championship during Anthopoulos’ six seasons with the organization, and look to be contenders for years to come thanks to the core of star players under long-term deals. Anthopoulos would seemingly be eager to stay in Atlanta for this same reason, though if he did choose to play out the year and test the market, he would undoubtedly command a lot of interest from teams looking for a new chief executive.

Cardinals: For just the third time in the last century, a Cardinals team lost 91 or more games. This unexpected interruption in the Cards’ run of success has naturally put a lot of heat on Oliver Marmol, who is entering the final season of his three-year contract. Unsurprisingly, the team had yet to have any extension talks with Marmol as of early December, and it remains to be seen if Marmol will get even one extra year of security. With such franchise stalwarts as Yadier Molina or Joe McEwing perhaps waiting in the wings as managers of the future, Marmol will surely need a quick start and at least a winning record in 2024 to retain his job.

Guardians: Chris Antonetti’s contract details haven’t been publicly known for more than a decade, yet there isn’t any sense that the longtime executive will be leaving Ohio any time soon. Antonetti has been part of Cleveland’s front office since 1999, and he has been running the baseball ops department (first as GM and then as president of baseball operations) since 2010. While the Guardians stumbled to a 76-86 record last year, Antonetti has a long track record of building contending teams on low payrolls, and he’ll now embark on a new era with Stephen Vogt replacing Terry Francona as the Guards’ manager.

Mariners: Another somewhat speculative situation, as while president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais signed extensions in September 2021, the exact length of those extensions wasn’t reported. It is probably fair to assume both men are signed beyond 2024, though Servais’ previous two deals were three-year contracts, and 2024 would be his final guaranteed year if the skipper’s latest contract was also a three-year pact.

Orioles: Baltimore is particularly mum about the details of any employee contracts, as GM Mike Elias’ contract terms have never been publicized since he took over the club in November 2018. Manager Brandon Hyde has already signed one extension that flew under the radar, and that deal has apparently stretched beyond the 2023 season, as there hasn’t been any suggestion that Hyde won’t return to the AL East champions. In either case, Elias and Hyde won’t seem to have any worries about job security given how the Orioles won 101 games last year, and might be budding powerhouses for the next decade given the amount of young talent on the roster and in the minor league pipeline.

Pirates: Ben Cherington is entering his fifth season as Pittsburgh’s general manager, and terms of his original deal weren’t reported. With the Bucs perhaps starting to turn the corner after their long rebuild, there wouldn’t appear to be any reason for ownership to move on from Cherington, if he hasn’t already been quietly signed to a new deal. The Pirates already extended manager Derek Shelton back in April, in another hint that ownership is satisfied with the team’s direction.

Rays: Kevin Cash’s last extension was a lengthy six-year deal covering the 2019-24 seasons, with a club option for 2025. It seems like a lock that the Rays will at least exercise that club option and seek out another multi-year deal, and Cash has a good case to argue for a Counsell-esque contract. Widely considered one of baseball’s best managers, Cash is 739-617 over his nine seasons in Tampa Bay and has led the team to five consecutive postseason berths.

Red Sox: Alex Cora is entering the final year of his contract, and the Red Sox are coming off a pair of last-place finishes in the AL East. Despite these results, the blame seems to have been placed on now-fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, as there hasn’t been much indication that ownership is dissatisfied with Cora’s performance as manager. Since Cora has hinted that he might like to run a front office himself in the future, it will be interesting to monitor if he might pursue those ambitions as soon as next offseason, or if he might sign a new extension with the Red Sox as manager, or if Cora could perhaps let the season play out and then accept bids from several suitors outside of Boston.

Rockies: In each of the last two Februarys, Bud Black has signed a one-year extension to tack an extra year onto his run as Colorado’s manager. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Black do the same this spring, as past reports have indicated that Black and the Rockies are working on an unofficial roll-over arrangement with the manager’s contract status. As loyal as owner Dick Monfort is known to be with his employees, however, one wonders if the Rockies’ 103-loss season in 2023 (or their five straight losing seasons) might lead to questions about Black’s future, even if the team’s roster construction or their boatload of pitching injuries last year can’t be blamed on Black. For what it’s worth, the terms of GM Bill Schmidt’s deal weren’t publicized when Schmidt was promoted to the full-time position after the 2021 season, though Schmidt isn’t thought to be in any danger of being replaced.

Twins: Chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine are both apparently entering the final year of their contracts, though Minnesota has been known to be somewhat quiet about employee contracts (such as manager Rocco Baldelli’s last extension). The duo known as “Falvine” have been on the job for seven seasons, with something of an all-or-nothing track record of either losing seasons or playoff berths, and the Twins were on the upswing again with an AL Central title in 2023. Assuming either exec hasn’t already signed an under-the-radar extension, the Twins would seemingly be eager to retain both Falvey and Levine, though either could explore options elsewhere for at least leverage purposes. For Levine in particular, he could be looking to lead his own front office, after being a finalist for Boston’s CBO job this fall and previously getting some consideration for front office vacancies with the Rockies and Phillies in recent years.

Yankees: Perhaps no skipper in baseball faces more public pressure than Aaron Boone, given how a lot of Bronx fans were calling for his ouster even before the Yankees missed the playoffs and won only 82 games in 2023. Boone is entering the last guaranteed year of his contract, and the Yankees have a club option on his services for 2025. For as much loyalty as owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman have shown to Boone, it is hard to imagine the manager would be retained if New York doesn’t at least make the postseason again, and another miss could also raise some new questions about Cashman’s status (though his deal runs through the 2026 season).

Alex Anthopoulous Discusses Upcoming Braves Offseason

By Nick Deeds | October 14, 2023 at 8:52am CDT

After posting an MLB-best 104-58 record during the regular season this year, the Braves were once again vanquished in four games by the Phillies during the NLDS. With the club’s 2023 campaign now officially in the rearview, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulous conducted Atlanta’s end-of-season press conference yesterday. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and David O’Brien of The Athletic were among those to relay Anthopoulous’s comments during the presser.

One item Anthopoulous quickly addressed was that of the manager’s seat. The club’s GM quickly made clear that manager Brian Snitker would return to helm the team from the dugout in 2024. The move is hardly a surprise, even as the club found itself exiting the playoffs after just one series for the second year in a row. After all, the Braves have won a combined 205 games the past two seasons, won the World Series in 2021 under Snitker’s leadership, and extended the soon to be 68-year-old with a contract that runs through the 2025 campaign back in January. Since Snitker took over the manager’s chair in Atlanta back in 2016, the club has posted a 646-509 record under his guidance while making the postseason in six consecutive seasons.

Another topic of discussion was the starting rotation. Righties Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, and lefty Max Fried all figure to return to the club’s rotation in 2024, though Kyle Wright will miss next season after undergoing shoulder surgery. That leaves two spots in the rotation to be filled out, though the club holds a $20MM club option on the services of veteran righty Charlie Morton for next year, which could round out the rotation. Anthopoulous spoke positively of Morton during the presser, noting that his addition ahead of the 2021 season have the club a “frontline starter” for their World Series run. Morton will turn 40 next month, and Bowman suggests that the club could look to work out a different contract with the righty even if they ultimately turn down his option for next season.

Speaking of the rotation more generally, Anthopoulous wouldn’t get into specific offseason plans but acknowledged the club’s struggles with injuries in that area of the roster this season. Morton missed the NLDS this year with an index finger issue, while Fried and Wright followed up excellent seasons in 2022 by combining to make just 21 regular season starts this year as both battled injuries throughout much of the season. Though Morton, Elder, and Strider each made thirty start or more, the absences at the front of the rotation forced the club to rely on depth options like Jared Shuster, Dylan Dodd, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Michael Soroka to cover the club’s last two rotation spots.

16 pitchers ultimately drew starts for Atlanta this season, with the aforementioned quartet combining for 6.10 ERA in 144 2/3 innings of work across 29 starts. Though it’s certainly feasible one of the club’s young arms could take a step forward in 2024, it seems reasonable to expect the Braves to consider potential rotation upgrades this offseason regardless of whether or not Morton remains in the fold for next season. The upcoming class of free agents figures to be flush with mid-rotation or better arms, giving Atlanta plenty of options if they do seek an addition to their current mix of starters.

Looking toward the club’s position player corps, there figures to be little in the way of change this coming offseason. The club’s entire infield mix is locked up for the 2024 campaign and beyond except for utility player Nicky Lopez, who is controlled via arbitration for two more seasons. In the outfield, each of Marcell Ozuna, Michael Harris II, and Ronald Acuna Jr. are under contract for 2024, though Kevin Pillar is a pending free agent and the club holds a $9MM club option on left fielder Eddie Rosario, which seems likely to be declined after he slashed just .240/.289/.408 in 786 trips to the plate the last two seasons.

With Pillar and Rosario both potentially headed to the open market, the club could have a hole to fill in left field next season. The crop of free agent corner outfielders this offseason is headlined by Teoscar Hernandez, though former Braves Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, and Jorge Soler could all be available as well. One other option for the club’s left field mix could be youngster Vaughn Grissom, who spent much of the season at the Triple-A level after losing out on the starting shortstop job to Orlando Arcia.

Though Grissom hit just .280/.313/.347 in 80 trips to the plate with the big league club this year, Anthopoulous spoke glowingly of the 22-year-old, referencing his strong slash line of .330/.419/.501 in 102 Triple-A games this year. Grissom played exclusively up the middle in the minor leagues this year, mostly playing shortstop with occasional reps at second base. That being said, the youngster has previous experience at third base and could see time in a utility role next year, per Anthopolous. Though he hasn’t played the position previously in his career, it’s at least conceivable such a role could include time in left field. After all, Austin Riley appeared in the outfield just nine times during his minor league career, but wound up getting occasional reps at both outfield corners early in his big league career before ultimately settling in at third base.

NL East Notes: Marlins, Escobar, Phillies, Soto, Braves Extensions

By Mark Polishuk | January 7, 2023 at 4:41pm CDT

Jean Segura is the Marlins’ biggest addition of the offseason, even though Miami is known to have looked into several other options before inking Segura to a two-year, $17MM contract. Some of those other free agent and trade targets are already off the board, and it appears as though signing Segura ends any chance of an Eduardo Escobar trade, as Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald report that the Marlins had some talks with the Mets about a possible swap.

Timing is everything in trade negotiations, and it seems as though the Marlins checked in on Escobar after the Mets reached their 12-year, $315M agreement with Carlos Correa. Had the Correa deal been finalized fairly quickly, there would’ve been a greater chance of Escobar being moved, as the veteran infielder suddenly would’ve been out of a starting job in New York’s infield. However, the Mets’ issues with Correa’s physical have led to stalled negotiations in finalizing or perhaps even reworking the deal, to the point that other teams have reportedly re-entered the picture. As such, it isn’t surprising that the Mets have opted to hang onto Escobar, leaving the Marlins looking elsewhere for a more immediate lineup fix.

Braves Notes: Dansby Swanson, Charlie Morton, Kenley Jansen

By Maury Ahram | October 16, 2022 at 2:11pm CDT

After following up their underdog 2021 Cinderella World Series win with an improved 101-win season, the Braves have been eliminated from the 2022 postseason by the Phillies. With their 2022 season in the rearview mirror, General Manager Alex Anthopoulos will be hard at work improving the already impressive Braves core.

Perhaps the most important question facing the Braves as they head into the offseason is their hole at shortstop. Atlanta native Dansby Swanson has been the Braves’ starting shortstop since 2016, and will be a free agent for the first this offseason after receiving a $10MM salary during his final trip through the arbitration process. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that the Braves had opened extension talks with Swanson in mid-August, but there has yet to be a tangible result.

Swanson, who is coming off his fourth consecutive strong season, slashed .277/.329/.447 while posting the highest Outs Above Average (20) among qualified shortstops en route to his first All-Star appearance. He joins Trea Turner, and, if they exercise their opt-outs, Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts as the top options at short.

When asked about his thoughts on free agency and potentially leaving the Braves, Swanson responded that free agency is “the last thing on my mind,” per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. However, Anthopoulos confirmed in a press conference earlier today that there is mutual interest in getting a deal done, but he didn’t provide specific figures, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Braves, who have become notorious in recent seasons for signing players in the early stage of their career to ‘team-friendly’ contracts (Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, Spencer Strider, Austin Riley), currently have roughly $186MM committed to the 2023 season, not factoring in arbitration, per Roster Resource. However, out of arbitration-eligible players, only starter Max Fried is predicted to significantly impact the Braves’ payroll, with other arbitration-eligible players expected to earn under $3MM if they are tendered contracts.

Importantly, in the 2021 offseason, the Braves reportedly offered long-time first baseman Freddie Freeman a five-year contract in the $135MM-$140MM range. When talks stalled, the Braves moved to acquire Matt Olson from the Athletics, signing him to an eight-year, $168MM contract. Freeman then went on to sign with the Dodgers on a six-year, $162MM contract.

The Braves, potentially, already have Swanson’s replacement in Vaughn Grissom, who posted a strong .291/.353/.440 line in 151 at-bats after being called up in mid-August. Grissom has primarily played second in his brief Major League career but came up through the Minors as a shortstop. If Swanson is re-signed, Grissom may be forced to transition to the outfield or work as a utility player with Riley and Albies patrolling the infield.

Transitioning to the mound, starter Charlie Morton was forced to exit yesterday’s game in the third inning after taking a line drive to his pitching elbow. Morton initially stayed in the game and completed the inning but was pulled by manager Brian Snitker after Snitker watched Morton warm up prior to the third inning. During an in-game interview, Snitker announced that x-rays showed no structural damage in Morton’s elbow, and that Morton wanted to try and continue to pitch, per Mike Axisa of CBS.

Morton had pitched two innings prior to leaving the game, giving up four hits and three runs, all on a Brandon Marsh homer. Morton, who turns 39 in November was a steady force in the Braves’ rotation, pitching to a 4.34 ERA in 172 innings (31 starts) with a strong 28.2% strikeout rate. His strong performance led to a one-year, $20MM contract extension for the 2023 season, with a $20MM club option for the 2024 campaign.

Reliever Kenley Jansen is entering free agency, but Anthopoulos has made it clear that the Braves would “love to have him back,” per Toscano. After leaving the Dodgers in free agency to join the Braves on a one-year, $16MM contract, Jansen led the National League in saves with 41, posting a 3.38 ERA in 64 innings with a lofty 32.7% strikeout rate. However, Jansen’s HardHit percentage spiked from 26.1% in 2021 to 32.5% in 2022, and his ground ball rate dropped from 37.3% to 29.1%, the second-lowest mark of his career.

If the Braves and Jansen are unable to come to an agreement, they likely have his successor in Raisel Iglesias who was acquired at the 2022 trade deadline in exchange for pitching prospect Tucker Davidson and Jesse Chavez. Since joining Atlanta, Iglesias has allowed only one run in 26 1/3 innings, resulting in a minuscule 0.32 ERA. These strong numbers are backed by a high 30.0% strikeout rate, a low 5.0% walk rate, and a solid 40.6% ground ball rate.

Braves’ President Alex Anthopoulos Says Payroll Will Increase In 2022

By Darragh McDonald | November 7, 2021 at 2:23pm CDT

Braves’ president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, who recently added a World Series victory to his resume, spoke with members of the media today about what the club has planned between now and their upcoming title defense in 2022. When it comes to the budget, Anthopoulos said that it will go up next season, though the exact figure is still being finalized. (Twitter link from David O’Brien of The Athletic.)

It’s hardly surprising that ownership is going to invest some more money into the club, given that they surely saw increased revenues from ticket sales and television viewership during their triumphant march to becoming World Series champions. They began the 2021 season with a payroll over $131MM, the highest opening day figure in franchise history, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. In July, they acquired Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, Stephen Vogt and Richard Rodriguez, taking on about $15MM in salary and pushing their season-ending payroll to somewhere in the $145-150MM range. At the moment, their outlook for 2022 is just over $141MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, already fairly close to 2022’s final outlay. Therefore, their offseason strategy will depend upon exactly how much of increase the front office has to work with.

Anthopoulos himself acknowledged that it will be hard to keep all of the outfielders. (Twitter link from Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.) Soler, Pederson and Rosario are all heading into free agency today, leaving the club with a 2022 outfield of Duvall, Cristian Pache and Guillermo Heredia. Ronald Acuna will retake a spot as soon as he’s healthy but isn’t expected to be ready by opening day. There’s certainly room to add to that group, on paper, as long as there’s money available to do it.

Of course, there’s another area that the club surely wants to dedicate some resources to, and that’s bringing Freddie Freeman back into the fold. When it comes to the slugging first baseman, Anthopoulos said, per Burns, “We’ve made it clear we want him to stay. He wants to stay.” The mutual interest in reuniting is understandable, given that Freeman has been with the organization since they selected him in the second round of the 2007 draft and since has become the face of the franchise, but he’s also 32 years old, meaning this is going to be his best shot to land a huge deal in free agency. As much as he may want to return, he’ll also want to take advantage of his first and potentially only trip to the free agent market and can’t be expected to offer huge hometown discounts.

Freeman has been one of the most consistently-excellent hitters over the past decade or so. Since his 2013 breakout, he’s never had a wRC+ lower than 132 and never produced less than 3.3 fWAR, even including the shortened 2020 campaign. In 2021, he hit 31 home runs and slashed .300/.393/.503, good enough for a wRC+ of 135 and 4.5 fWAR. It’s hard to fathom him doing that in any other uniform at this point, but the Atlanta brass will surely have to put some cash on the barrelhead to keep it that way.

NL East Notes: Anthopoulos, Mets, Afterman, Nationals, Bones

By Mark Polishuk | November 3, 2021 at 10:55pm CDT

Alex Anthopoulos couldn’t celebrate the Braves’ World Series triumph with the rest of the organization last night, as the president of baseball operations had to watch from home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. The diagnosis left Anthopoulos “surprised,” as he told Scott Miller of The New York Times, but fortunately, “I’m fully vaxxed, I don’t have any symptoms, I feel great….My family is fine.” To avoid any distractions for the team, Anthopoulos told only manager Brian Snitker and team chairman Terry McGuirk about his diagnosis.

As unusual as the situation was, Anthopoulos got to celebrate with his wife and children, adding to the special moment. The Braves have reached the postseason in each of Anthopoulos’ four seasons at the helm of the front office, and the 44-year-old has now captured his first championship after 10 total years as a general manager (counting his six years with the Blue Jays from 2010-15).

Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos Discusses Deadline Moves

By Darragh McDonald | October 6, 2021 at 10:37pm CDT

In a chat with Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Atlanta’s general manager Alex Anthopoulos discussed the moves that he and his club made before this year’s trade deadline. In particular, they focus on the Adam Duvall trade and how, although the discussions with the Marlins and general manager Kim Ng had been going on for over a week, the final deal came together in the last 24 hours.

“We had been talking to them about Duvall for at least 10 days and it just wasn’t going anywhere,” Anthopoulos said. “That [late-night] call was a breakthrough conversation, but there would still have to be discussions the next day. Then finally around 12:30 or 1 o’clock, we got that deal done.” Presumably, it was during this late-night call that Anthopoulos put catcher Alex Jackson on the table, as he was the only other player involved in the deal. It is perhaps not a coincidence that, three weeks later, the club and catcher Travis d’Arnaud signed a two-year extension to make up for the subtracted depth at the position.

“After that call, it felt like this was going to happen… We wanted to talk about it internally, and [the Marlins] were going to do the same thing.” Bowman then goes on to detail the acquisitions of Eddie Rosario, Richard Rodriguez and, finally, Jorge Soler. As Bowman writes, “Around 3:30 p.m. ET, assistant general manager Jason Paré suggested the Braves call Kansas City one more time.”

These details give some insight into the collaborative nature of front offices and the different factors at play. As much as Alex Anthopoulos, or other GMs, might occasionally seem like rogue traders, a baseball front office is a multicellular organism that requires good rapport, within itself and to other clubs.

Of course, the other factor that is always present is the budget. Anthopoulos and his team got a midseason boost in that regard, as he told Bowman that Atlanta’s chairman Terry McGuirk offered an increase based on their good early-season revenues. “He basically gave me a large amount of money to work with. I was ecstatic. That’s a credit to those fans who came out and supported this club and put us in this position.”

Due to the ability to take on these contracts, the club upgraded their bullpen and totally remade their outfield, propelling them to a strong finish to the season. On the day of the deadline, July 31st, Atlanta was actually below .500, sitting on a record of 52-54, five games behind the Mets in the NL East. But from August 1st onwards, they went 36-19, leapfrogged the Mets, cruised to a fourth-consecutive division crown and now find themselves preparing for an NLDS matchup with the Brewers that begins on Friday.

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