Braves Rumors — Still In On Pagan
Oh, the rumor flame we all thought went out. Nope, get out another match and light that puppy up! The Atlanta Braves are “still in on Angel Pagan.”
The 35-year-old is clearly the top free agent still available and the Braves reportedly had multiple attempts to sign the outfielder. Atlanta has offered a minor league contract to Pagan, but he’s turned that down in hopes for a major league deal.
While playing in the World Baseball Classic he told reporters “I just feel I don’t need to be fighting for a job.”
Playing for Puerto Rico, Pagan had an on-base percentage of .324 and a batting average of .286 in the WBC. The 11-year veteran is a career .280 batting average hitter, that can play all three outfield positions.
A few days ago, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution told us on Twitter that there’s “nothing happening” right now. Key words there could have been “right now.”
This morning, ESPN’s analyst and insider Jim Bowden tweeted the following…
Atlanta Braves still in on Angel Pagan according to club source
— Jim Bowden⚾️🏈 (@JimBowdenGM) March 31, 2017
At this time, no Braves beat writer or Pagan’s camp has reported anything.
If the Braves do add Pagan
What’s not to like about this possible signing? I would welcome Pagan with open arms!
Can the Braves afford it? Oof, that’s a tough question. They already have their highest payroll ever and he’s asking for somewhere in the range of $5MM for 2017.
Does he want to be in Atlanta? That’s the better question. We’ve got our three outfielders so we can’t offer him a starting gig. I’m not sure he wants to be a bench bat and a fourth outfielder, but starting jobs are hard to come by at this point in the year.
If he’s cool with this job offer, Pagan immediately improves the bench for the Braves…I should say a few nonappealing Braves bench. Right now, the Braves have Kurt Suzuki, Jace Peterson, Emilio Bonifacio and most likely Chase d’Arnaud.
Adding Pagan shoots up this bench from being eww, to okay!
Hypothetically, what does it do to Emilio Bonifacio? The Braves told the 31-year-old that he will be on the Opening Day Braves roster just a few days ago. Can they go back on that? Sure. What will it effect? Roughly $100,000 and hard feelings.
Could the Braves really do that to Boni? I don’t think so. If Braves GM John Coppolella and the Pagan side comes to an agreement, I see the Braves going with a five-man bench and a seven-man bullpen — instead of four-man bench and eight-man bullpen as previously talked about by Manager Brian Snikler.
It was just announced by Mark Bowman that relief pitcher Mauricio Cabrera will begin the season on the 10-day DL. Does that open up a spot for Pagan?
Braves play their last game until the regular season starts tonight against the New York Yankees. The game is on FOX Sports South starting at 7:35pm ET. Our first regular season game is on Monday against the New York Mets, first pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm ET. Julio Teheran takes the hill for the Braves as Noah Syndergaard goes for the Mets.
Next: 3 Other Options For Braves Bench Spot
So that means the Braves have roughly 72 hours prior to their Opening Day first pitch. Will the Braves add another to the roster be the year kicks off? We can never count out Coppy!