House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves GM John Coppolella Q & A

By Fred Owens

MIAMI, FL - JULY 09: Ronald Acuna #24 of the Atlanta Braves and the World Team fields the ball against the U.S. Team during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Marlins Park on July 9, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JULY 09: Ronald Acuna #24 of the Atlanta Braves and the World Team fields the ball against the U.S. Team during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Marlins Park on July 9, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas is a free agent after this season and could be an Atlanta Braves target.
Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas is a free agent after this season and could be an Atlanta Braves target. /

Offseason priorities

Answers to questions about the Braves offseason shopping list  seem to indicate they’ve decided to pick up Tyler Flowers option. I say that because Coppolella suggested he wanted to upgrade third base and the bullpen.

Third base is an obvious vacancy, Adonis Garcia is a nontender candidate, Brandon Phillips is a free agent and Rio Ruiz hasn’t been able to take the job when it was there to be taken.  The only third base free agent worthy of consideration is Mike Moustakas and  there will be a line of teams bidding for him.

Steve Adams writing for MLBTR discussed Moustakas in relation to the Mets and projected  “. . Moustakas to land a five-year deal worth $90MM this offseason. . .”   He also suggested Moustakas’ low OBP might cause teams to pull back from that.

The numbers please

Prior to 2015 I’d agree however, in the last three seasons the Royals third sacker has a .276/.329/.504/.834 line good for a 119 OPS+. His fielding seems to have taken a step back over that period – particularly this season according to FRAA and DRS while UZR has him up slightly; it all depends on which one you prefer. None are bellwethers though  I tend to prefer FRAA.

I wrote elsewhere that I think Moose with ask for and get seven years not five. I also suggested that instead of an $18M AAV, the market will drive his contract as high as $19.5M.

I believe the Braves will try to grab him but won’t get drawn into a bidding war. Instead they’ll use their prospects to trade for someone like Jedd Gyorko whose .257/.324/.482/.805 line since moving to St Louis isn’t as gaudy but his contract is relatively inexpensive and runs through 2020.

Coppy hinted that trades were coming in a response to a question about pitching depth.  He indicated that they have 15 starting pitching prospects who look to arrive is a short period and some will have to be used to improve the team through trades. That would seem to indicate a willingness to use that depth to make a big jump next year.

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