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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: trying to take advantage of bad economics

By Alan Carpenter

ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 03: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals walks to the dugout after a strike out during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on June 3, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 03: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals walks to the dugout after a strike out during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on June 3, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /
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ANAHEIM, CA – JUNE 18: General view of the front entrance to Angel Stadium of Anaheim before the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Kansas City Royals on June 18, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – JUNE 18: General view of the front entrance to Angel Stadium of Anaheim before the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Kansas City Royals on June 18, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Now … a Guessing Game

On a slightly different tack, I’ll start this section by saying that I don’t believe that the Braves are going to get “him”:  I’ve said that a lot over the past 3 months, and I’ll keep saying it now.

“Him” is Bryce Harper.  The reason for the restatement involves the tweet reproduced above… specifically the part of “at least one other team remains involved on the periphery”.

Let’s play an elimination game.  Who is known to be “in” on Harper now?  Check that tweet – it tells us…

  • Nats (who really aren’t in for the reasons listed above)
  • Phillies
  • White Sox
  • Padres

More from Tomahawk Take

Next… who are the teams known – or essentially known – to be “out”?

  • Cubs (same payroll tax issues as Washington)
  • St. Louis (no room; Goldschmidt)
  • Reds (Kemp, Puig, budget)
  • Pirates (seriously?)
  • Brewers (full OF, budget)
  • Boston (no room)
  • Yankees (budget; no space)
  • Toronto (rebuilding)
  • Orioles (tanking)
  • Rays (not their style of acquisition)
  • Cleveland (budget)
  • Minnesota (budget)
  • Detroit (tanking)
  • Kansas City (tanking)
  • Houston (space, budget)
  • Seattle (space, rebuilding)
  • Rangers (rebuilding)
  • Oakland (seriously?)
  • Dodgers (Pollock)
  • Mets (full OF, budget)
  • Marlins (seriously?)

Who does that leave that I haven’t mentioned?

  • Angels
  • Giants
  • Rockies
  • Braves

There was a rumor that some club made a clandestine meeting with Harper in La Vegas sometime within the last week… around the weekend to Monday, perhaps.

Of these 4 teams, which one do you think would be the most secretive?  Probably the Braves.

Of these 4 teams, which would be least likely (the Rockies, especially since they just agreed to give Nolan Arenado $26 million and would like to extend him).

Before I tease too far here, I think the team that could be most likely is actually the Angels.  Their motivation is this:

  • Get Trout a title before he bolts to Philly
  • Get a pre-replacement for Trout in Harper
  • Fill a widening hole in right field

They also have money to spend, and if they can’t keep Trout in 2 more years, this isn’t a bad idea.

The only surprising part about this is the notion that they’d want to stay ‘on the periphery’ and stay silent.  That sounds a lot more like Atlanta… but again, I don’t think so.

You gotta love the ‘mystery team’ aspect to all of this, though.  That part is always fun.

Who is this Spring Invitee??. dark. Next

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