Atlanta Braves Should Rebuild Under The Radar In 2016
Veterans Waiting On the Market
Last season, the Braves maneuvered through this market masterfully. Jason Grilli was signed in early January after much of the relief market had already settled. A.J. Pierzynski, Kelly Johnson, and Jonny Gomes were signed in January. Eric Stults was signed in February. Adonis Garcia was signed in April!
Then the trades happened. Craig Kimbrel was traded, and Grilli was installed as the closer. Pierzynski turned into a tremendous find at catcher, and Garcia became a late season source of power, but the rest were used to build pieces for the future. Stults was paired with Alberto Callaspo and others to trade for Juan Uribe and Chris Withrow, a power reliever with high upside that the Braves can control for a number of years going forward. Uribe was then flipped at the July deadline with Johnson for John Gant and Rob Whalen. Gomes was moved late in August for Luis Valenzuela, who ended the season on a complete offensive tear for the Braves.
This method should certainly be explored in this off season as well, but I see two ways that it could be explored still with just a couple of weeks before pitchers and catchers report. The Braves have some very attractive trade pieces in Ender Inciarte, Arodys Vizcaino and Julio Teheran. They could also move veterans Nick Markakis, Michael Bourn, and Nick Swisher. If they would begin trading those guys, they could utilize short-term deals to bring in some of the guys who are still out there with some significant talent on the trade market. A starter like Cliff Lee, Doug Fister, or Tim Lincecum could replace Teheran as the veteran voice of the rotation and both have good bounce-back ability to be an attractive arm in July as well. Greg Holland was non-tendered by the Royals, and while he’s rehabbing from Tommy John surgery this season, he could be a very valuable arm to give a back-loaded multi-year deal to in order to have him in the bullpen for 2017 and beyond at the right price if his market fails to develop. Along those same lines, a guy like Tyler Clippard could add a very steady arm to the bullpen, and for some reason, his market just hasn’t developed this winter.
Next: Reclamation Projects
Among hitters, the notable thing is that there are some guys that have been finding their qualifying offer a hindrance to building a market, like Dexter Fowler and Ian Desmond, which is one reason I would wager the Braves stay away there, at least until after the draft. Beyond those guys, if you moved Inciarte, someone like Austin Jackson to patrol center field could make some sense as he is struggling to get a deal this offseason. He could particularly be a guy at 29 that takes a one-year deal to return back into a much thinner market next season. Other guys that would make some sense for the Braves as bench/platoon guys are Pedro Alvarez to pair with Garcia at third (though that may be the most poor defensive third base in the entire league) and Ryan Raburn to provide right handed power at the infield and outfield corners.