If you ever had a doubt about the way Alex Anthopoulos runs a Front Office, Monday’s twin lightning bolts should leave no doubt.
So the Atlanta Braves had been said to be checking in on a few catchers – none of them named Brian McCann (though there was some sentimental speculation about that).
So Alex Anthopoulos ‘liked’ his infield that way it was configured. Enter Josh Donaldson. I’ll bet he loves his infield now.
[DOB] #Braves' Anthopoulos on 3B rumors, etc: "I think the only thing I can say is, we feel like we’re set in the infield. Camargo had an amazing year for us last year. Switch-hitter, plus defense, good bat. Second half of the season he really emerged." … https://t.co/ultxyk6FSC
— Braves Reddit (@BravesReddit) November 7, 2018
Yep – that’s the way this General Manager rolls. There wasn’t any active rumor about either of these players. No chatter. Not even a sniff of a hint until it happened. Welcome to Alex’s world.
So we’ve had one day since we declared that “this is … the week that you’d expect things to start popping”, and suddenly the Braves sign 2 free agents. Crazy stuff.
There’s a lot of implications and thoughts running about in my head after a very surprising Monday – both for the 2019 edition of the Atlanta Braves and for the future yet to come.
So let’s see if I can come up with a cogent means of conveying them… first up will be a number of observations on the Josh Donaldson signing.