What Would You Do With the Atlanta Braves OF?

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Oct 31, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes fields a ball hit for a double by Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (not pictured) in the fifth inning in game four of the World Series at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Scenario 2 – Signing Cespedes

I covered most of this earlier this week, so I won’t redo that now. I do think that it would require something around 5 years and $100 million overall, and the question for today is whether the Braves would care to do such a thing under the guise of adding that one Big Bat that might not be easily available next off-season.

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Additionally, Cespedes would have to play right field in a nominal lineup of Olivera/Inciarte/Cespedes covering the grassy bits of Turner Field. That means Nick Markakis would have to be traded elsewhere. Based on events this morning, that might actually have gotten a bit easier to do: both the White Sox and Orioles could have interest there. Since Markakis is a bona fide hitter, I don’t think that would be much of a problem.

The question for today would be whether Atlanta would be better off with up to 3 more years of Markakis or ~5 years of Cespedes. So Scenario 2 is “get that Big Bat now“.

Scenario 3 – Do Neither

In this scenario, this is the “hold fast to what you’ve got and make a bridge to the future” idea. John Coppolella believes that the roster he’s assembled can be more productive on offense than in 2015. Admittedly, it’s going to be hard to be as bad as they were in 2015, but there is reason to agree with Coppy:

Markakis should be better
Inciarte should be better – akin to having Cameron Maybin‘s two good months (May-June) for the entire year
Olivera should be better
Adonis Garcia – if he can play third – might be a little better than all the 3Bs run out there in 2015.
Our 2nd base platoon should improve the position
1st base depends on Freeman’s wrist, but there’s hope here.

All of this is actually plausible, though (a) the left side defense is going to be worse; and (b) there isn’t a lot of depth for injuries, other than moving Kelly Johnson and Emilio Bonifacio all over the diamond.

Scenario 4 – Trade Enciarte and Get Cespedes

This could work under certain circumstances:

In a Cubs trade, SS/3B Javier Baez is obtained, which resolves third base. Cespedes plays RF. Garcia is flipped or becomes a bench bat and Markakis is traded elsewhere. The Braves also get additional prospects – such as a top catcher – from the Cubs. Michael Bourn opens the season as the CF and Mallex Smith is promoted when ready. Braves add two bats (Cespedes/Baez), a lead-off hitter (Smith), and are stronger defensively.
I do not have a reasonable way to make a Houston trade for Inciarte work if Cespedes is also signed. It would simply be too complicated. Other teams might allow this to work, but the best chance would seem to be the Cubs.

This scenario is the “finish the re-build early” plan. In all reality, this would only be done under the Perfect Storm of being offered the exact right fit of players for Inciarte. But with the Cubs… that might actually be possible if the scouts believe in the prospects that would come back.

Which Plan Appeals?

There are merits to all of these, but now it’s time to play GM for a moment: which of these scenarios works best over the long haul for Atlanta? Let us know what you think!

Next: What Did the Braves Pick up in Jose Ramirez?

One more thing: forget trading Freddie Freeman in any scenario… it’s just not going to happen, okay?

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