One high-profile signing does not necessarily mean much. But when you read between the lines, the Braves are a lot closer to pushing in all their chips than you might think.
Atlanta Braves new/old catcher Brian McCann during Monday’s press conference: “to come back here… means a lot… I want to win a championship here … this team has the possibility of doing that.”
In this next segment, he mentioned keeping up with the progress of the team and the notion that he came back to a club that’s “knocking on the door” to win championships.
Brian McCann kept tabs on the @Braves organization from afar over the past five years: "This organization, this jersey, it's a big deal and the players today are bringing that back." pic.twitter.com/ybdntEg3IS
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) November 26, 2018
So the thing you have to guess at is how much of “The Plan” that Alex Anthopoulos divulged to McCann and how much less he signed for in order to get back on this roster… the 1 year, $2 million deal certainly garnered a lot of “that’s all??” reactions when it was revealed, and it smacks of a player willing to ‘buy in’ for a special reason.
Given where this team is currently situated, it doesn’t take a big leap to suggest that ‘all in’ is the next frontier – and that’s something Brian McCann might have been told to cement his ‘buy in’ on the plan.
What does ‘All In’ look like?
Two points to ponder in our context.
First off, a report on MLB Network Radio today from morning show co-host Steve Phillips is relevant. Of note, Phillips (the former Mets GM) was the first to report that Donaldson was going to Atlanta.
He indicated that talks surrounding Donaldson were actually in the $14-15 million per year range with loaded incentive clauses that could get him up to his $23 million level of last year, given enough games played.
The fact that @BringerOfRain20 signed now indicates he got an offer that’s he didn’t expect to hear at any point this winter. I anticipated he would get a lower base salary around $13-15M with incentives based upon games played to get to the $23M he made last season with #Jays
— Steve Phillips (@StevePhillipsGM) November 26, 2018
Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves trumped all of that – offering a fully-guaranteed $23 million deal. That’s what Phillips described as ‘all in’ in this context… they shut down the competition and aggressively snapped up their targeted player.
That says a lot.
Point 2: where are the Braves heading next?
#Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos told us last night on @MLBNetworkRadio that he has 3 remaining offseason priorities: front-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, late-inning reliever, and one more outfielder. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 28, 2018
Well if you truly are targeting a frontline rotation guy, that’s definitely putting you “All In”… and that by itself would be enough of a ‘hook’ to reel in a very capable (free agent) outfielder – or a backend reliever – or both.
The question, then, is about how to handle your resources in meeting these needs, but it doesn’t take a telescope to see The Promised Land from where the Braves are currently sitting.
That’s exciting.
Here’s one possible path
MLB Trade Rumors is highlighting the notion that the Mariners might be amenable to a player swap if they could also dump Robinson Cano and his contract. This report came from reliable columnist Joel Sherman:
ICYMI https://t.co/7yoBXB1eLl the #Mariners are “motivated” to move Cano, enough that they are thinking of attaching Diaz in some scenarios. Most interested so far in Diaz: #Mets #Yankees #Phillies #Braves #Redsox. At bottom, Atl gambling that Sept was the real Donaldson/McCann.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 28, 2018
Part of the trick with this – and this is exactly why there are teams like Atlanta with a policy against such things – is that Cano’s contract contains an air-tight no-trade clause (for the record, he’d also have 10-and-5 rights by now anyway).
Cano is owed $120 million ($24m per annum) over the remaining 5 years of his deal.
Despite this encumbrance, Seattle is still very active right now in attempts to move Cano, though the match-ups for them are poor.
That said, here’s a longshot thought that could be employed that involves Atlanta, given the Braves’ interest in closer Edwin Diaz:
The Yankees are one of the few teams that Cano might entertain as a trade destination, yet they are also one of the few team with little interest in either (a) a full-price Cano; or (b) add-on players Seattle might have to send to facilitate a deal. New York could also use a second baseman.
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- Show the bullpen some love
Enter the Braves:
- Atlanta takes Cano and his entire contract, plus Edwin Diaz
- Seattle gets Julio Teheran as a ‘gap filler’ starter for them
- Braves flip Cano to New York – Yankees getting a half-price deal on Cano with the Braves eating $12 million of the contract annually.
- Yankees send back a 20-ish ranked prospect to Atlanta as a token of their gratitude.
- Braves end up even on payroll for 2019; down $12m for each of the next 4 years.
Sure – this is pure speculation, but is also an example about how the Braves could leverage their new payroll flexibility to fill a key need while they also avoid spending prospect capital.
Do something like this and now the pursuit of a frontline starting pitcher via trade looks very doable… and then the ‘All In’ scenario would be essentially complete, save for an easily reachable right-fielder.
McCann knew what he was getting into.