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Atlanta Braves could sway the market by taking on money

By Benjamin Chase

BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 10: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals and Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles talk during their game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 10, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 10: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals and Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles talk during their game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 10, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves
ST. LOUIS, MO – MAY 6: Dexter Fowler #25 of the St. Louis Cardinals returns to the dugout after a rain delay was called in the third inning during the game against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium on May 6, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

St. Louis Cardinals

One of the real controversial parts of the competitive balance draft picks that came into being starting in the 2013 MLB draft was the inclusion of the St. Louis Cardinals in the lottery for those selections due to the size of their market. While the Cardinals may appear to have a limited market, their presence as the dominant team south of Chicago and west of the Appalachians led to them gaining a huge fan base a century ago that remains a giant revenue stream to this day.

That allows the Cardinals to often make big splashes in free agency, and while they often work out very well for the team (Larry Walker and Matt Holliday re-signed the winter to big deals after being mid-season acquisitions, Miles Mikolas coming back to MLB from Asia last offseason), there have been some bad fits. Now as the team looks to possibly make a run at either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, the team needs to shed some big salary.

One chip that would work well in trade to pair a salary with for many teams would be slugger Jose Martinez, however, Martinez should really never put a glove on his hand at any position, so he is not a player the Braves should have any interest in employing. He would seem to be an ideal fit for the Tampa Bay Rays, working as a DH-only, and those two teams have swung deals in the past, so there’s a possibility there.

That just clears up some roster space, though, as Martinez really doesn’t make much money until he hits arbitration after 2019. The guys who are gumming up the works in St. Louis in finances and position are Dexter Fowler and Jedd Gyorko.

Fowler is a Georgia native, and while many would point to his advancing age (33 by Opening Day), it’s his production in 2018 that often gets brought up as reason to run far away from Fowler after hitting .180/.278/.298 over 90 games and 334 plate appearances.

Anyone who remembers the Reggie Sanders era in Atlanta knows that there are just some guys who don’t fit for your team that can go on to their next destination and do just fine. Sanders went from .285/.376/.527 with San Diego in 1999 with 26 home runs and 36 steals to a paltry .232/.302/.403 line with Atlanta in 2000. He left and went to Arizona in 2001 and won a World Series for the Diamondbacks, hitting .263/.337/.549 with 33 home runs.

Fowler is in a horrid situation in St. Louis. He’s had his effort questioned and sparred with fans on social media multiple times since signing with the team. It got so rough that his former manager came to his defense last summer in the midst of another fan firestorm while Fowler fought off another unfortunate injury that has plagued him in St. Louis.

Here’s the truth with Fowler. He’s not getting any younger, so no, he’s not going to steal 25 bases or lead the league in triples anytime soon again, but he has an excellent eye at the plate, is a switch-hitter, an above average defender, and brings a blend of above-average gap power and speed to the table that would allow him to be a very nice asset to the team when he’s healthy.

The Cardinals are looking to dump big money to make room for Bryce, so moving Jedd Gyorko and his guaranteed $14 million would also make some sense. While Charlie Culberson was a cult hero in 2018, if the Cardinals looked to bring in Culberson to swap with Gyorko (to give them a backup behind Matt Carpenter at third and Kolten Wong at second), they could pool $29.5 million of 2019 commitments into a deal.

The Atlanta Braves don’t have room for that much money to come on the books, but if the Cardinals were to, say, eat a small chunk of 2019 money and a big chunk of future money on Fowler (owed $49.5 million through 2021), there could be a deal to be made. Atlanta could even do some picking through the Cardinals farm system in exchange for eating the majority of Fowler’s salary or reduce the trade package to near nothing going back to St. Louis.

While this deal seems like it’d be paying big money for a player who’s at a very low value point right now, the Braves could be getting a very good player on the cheap by eating money.

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