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Atlanta Braves have a choice if they want to go there: Archer or Yelich

By Alan Carpenter

MIAMI, FL - JULY 27: Christian Yelich #21 of the Miami Marlins hits during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Marlins Park on July 27, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JULY 27: Christian Yelich #21 of the Miami Marlins hits during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Marlins Park on July 27, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 5: Detroit mayoral candidate Mike Duggan fills out his ballot while voting at Detroit’s 12th Precinct on Election Day November 5, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. Today’s election will determine who will replace outgoing Detroit Mayor and former Detroit Piston player Dave Bing, who chose not to seek reelection. If Duggan is elected he will be the first white mayor of Detroit in nearly 40 years. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 5: Detroit mayoral candidate Mike Duggan fills out his ballot while voting at Detroit’s 12th Precinct on Election Day November 5, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. Today’s election will determine who will replace outgoing Detroit Mayor and former Detroit Piston player Dave Bing, who chose not to seek reelection. If Duggan is elected he will be the first white mayor of Detroit in nearly 40 years. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) /

The Case for ‘None of the Above’

Ah, a curveball to start.

Doing nothing is still a valid choice here.  For right now, that means going into the season with a presumed lineup that includes the following:

  • OUTFIELD – Inciarte, Markakis, Acuna (soon)  -or-  Inciarte, Markakis, Tucker/Adams/Peterson
  • ROTATION – Teheran, McCarthy, Foltynewicz, Gohara, Newcomb/Fried/Kazmir

Those new guys – McCarthy and Kazmir are in on 1 year deals…though we’ll have to see if Kazmir has healed up.  Of course McCarthy could only manage 93 innings himself last season.

So do the Braves need another starting pitcher?  A starting outfielder?  Well, both Archer and Yelich would be upgrades, true… but at a serious price of prospects.

So the biggest arguments in favor of this point would be as follows:

  • Too expensive/damaging to the farm system
  • We’re not ready – these guys would not be the ‘final’ pieces to a playoff contender.

The Case for ‘Get One of Them’

If not now, then when?  Next year when the free agent pitching options are more sketchy?  Next year when the uber-free agents are out there getting $200+ million deals?  Next year when you still need to fill 2-3 holes (including catcher, potentially) and still don’t want to get 2 free agents or make 2 big deals at once?

The ‘one each year’ idea sounds plausible… lessening the impact of getting 2 impact players simultaneously.

Also, there’s the ‘control’ bit:

  • Yelich:  under contract from 2018-2021, plus a team option in 2022 at quite reasonable rates.  So 5 full seasons.
  • Archer:  under contract from 2018-2019, plus 2 team options for 2020-21.  4 more seasons of control.

That’s pretty significant… especially if you’re going to lament the loss of a premium prospect and the 6 years of control that comes with them (once hitting the majors).  So getting 4 or 5 years from an already proven major league player should trump a prospect’s 6 years that may never happen.

Also, if you’re in the “we’re not ready for these guys” crowd, then you’d have to argue that by 2019 or 2020 the Braves would certainly want to be competitive by then… and they’d still have either player we’re talking about today.

Another related point:  guess how many players currently on the Braves’ roster that have that much control.  The answer is just 2:  Freddie Freeman (through 2021) and Ender Inciarte (2022 if you count his contract option).

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