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Atlanta Braves: 3 possible ways to structure for 2019

By Benjamin Chase

ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 15: Members of the Atlanta Braves stand during the national anthem wearing number 42 for the game against the San Diego Padres at SunTrust Park on April 15, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. All MLB players are wearing number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 15: Members of the Atlanta Braves stand during the national anthem wearing number 42 for the game against the San Diego Padres at SunTrust Park on April 15, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. All MLB players are wearing number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 04: Right fielder Nick Markakis #22 of the Atlanta Braves makes a leaping catch in the second inning during the game against the Boston Red Sox at SunTrust Park on September 4, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

Save for 2019-2020 offseason

Many don’t realize it, but the 2019-2020 offseason is as loaded as the 2018-2019 free agency class. The Braves could choose to see what they have in a number of their players, saving players for trading during the 2019 season as they prepare for a spending spree in the 2019-2020 offseason, when Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorius, Nolan Arenado, Anthony Rendon, Marcell Ozuna, Nicholas Castellanos, Khris Davis, and Yasiel Puig will all be available as well as Gerrit Cole, Kyle Gibson, Miles Mikolas, Sonny Gray, Rick Porcello, Justin Verlander, Michael Wacha, Zack Wheeler, Michael Pineda, and Alex Wood among starting pitchers.

The 2019-2020 class has a very solid relief class as well, with Jeremy Jeffress, Collin McHugh, Dellin Betances, Ryan Pressly, Hector Rondon, Luis Avilan, Tony Cingrani, and will Smith are all free agents.

That kind of big class, along with a pretty solid team already in place could lead to a minimum investment sort of offseason, where the team invests in one-year fits.

The pieces that will be needed in each of these scenarios will be a catcher to pair with Flowers behind the plate, a left-handed hitting outfielder to either platoon with Duvall or take one of the outfield corners, and a veteran or two in the pitching staff.

In this scenario, working to focus on one-year, make-good sort of deals, the Braves could target a pair of former top catchers with one-year offers in the $5-7M range with an option for $10M in 2020 if they make good, targeting Jonathan Lucroy and Matt Wieters.

The team would then look for a bench player to work with Charlie, ideally someone like Daniel Descalso or Asdrubal Cabrera for ~$5M with playing time escalators and an option for 2020. Being able to bring in someone like Jed Lowrie, Marwin Gonzalez, or Eduardo Escobar and spend $7M or less along with committing less than 3 years would be ideal.

With a short-term view preferred, the Atlanta Braves could choose to spend their money on an outfielder focused just on 2019 and perhaps 2020, maybe bringing back Nick Markakis or signing Carlos Gonzalez for $15-17 million.

That would leave roughly $10 million for 2019 at this point. Right now, the rotation may benefit from someone who could eat innings, but the Braves also have a host of young arms that they could use strategically to ensure there’s always a fresh arm up every 5th day at the least. Otherwise, they can hold out for a veteran that is looking for a make-good deal, like Lance Lynn in the $5M base range with some additional performance incentives that could escalate the overall salary number, but that’s likely something that would be okay’d.

That leaves $5 million for a veteran reliever. That’s not going to sign a stud reliever like Craig Kimbrel, Zach Britton, or Andrew Miller, but it could land the Braves Brad Brach back on the team. They could also make a couple of calculated moves for guys coming off of injuries like A.J. Ramos, David Phelps, and (though he’s back now) Daniel Hudson. Perhaps 2-3 guys like that could be picked up for that $5M base and provide huge return if even one of them is fully healthy.

That definitely is underwhelming for many, even though there is a full stable of prospects to move for in-season targets. Let’s look at an idea for going all-in on a player or two.

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