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Is it time for the Atlanta Braves to be a snake in the grass?

By Benjamin Chase |
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 16: Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves and Bryce Harper #34 shake hands during the T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Nationals Park on July 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 16: Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves and Bryce Harper #34 shake hands during the T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Nationals Park on July 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The Atlanta Braves have been rumored heavily to be a “mystery team” in negotiations for the top free agents remaining. Is it time to pull the trigger?

Multiple reports have now hinted at the Atlanta Braves being a “mystery team” with one (or multiple) of the big free agents left to sign – Bryce Harper, Craig Kimbrel, and Dallas Keuchel. Is it now time to strike?

MLB Trade Rumors put out a list on the “big deals” from March recently, and outside of last offseason, there really are not a lot of big names on that list. With the market for Harper seeming to finalize right now, could the Atlanta Braves sneak in and make a big move, or even two, to really shake the current market?

The big question has been whether the Braves could afford such a move. While social media is filled with Atlanta Braves fans upset about the team’s spending, the fact is that the Braves have really made significant strides in their spending since the 2014 season that keyed the rebuild:

  • 2014 Opening Day payroll: $112 million (team record)
  • 2014 year-end payroll: $114.7 million (team record)
  • 2015 OD: $97 million
  • 2015 YE: $107.5 million
  • 2016 OD: $86.6 million
  • 2016 YE: $128.3 million (team record)
  • 2017 OD: $122.6 million (team record)
  • 2017 YE: $133.4 million (team record)
  • 2018 OD: $118.3 million
  • 2018 YE: $136 million (team record)

Currently, Roster Resource lists the Atlanta Braves with an Opening Day payroll of $118.4 million. The discussion in the offseason was that the team could work up to $140-$150 million for an Opening Day payroll.

With that much salary room, there would be $22-$32 million to spend. That could definitely handle just Kimbrel or Keuchel on the low end and potentially both of them on the high end. With a push on that number, the Atlanta Braves could potentially expand their “snake in the grass” status on Harper.

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The Atlanta Braves have notably been shy on long-term deals this winter, and currently, they have no one on the roster that’s signed to guaranteed money beyond 2021 (

Ender Inciarte

has a 2022 option, but that’s it even for 2022). If Harper was willing to take the chance to win now and make big bank, the Braves could potentially land him with a big money deal that allowed them to stay in their current financial structure and not hurt their future finances over a 3-year, $110 million deal.

That would allow Harper to far surpass the previous record for average annual value recently set by Nolan Arenado when he averaged $32.5 million per season over his extension with the Colorado Rockies.

Structuring the deal something along these lines would also allow the deal to fit in the team’s current financial structure:

2019: $30 million
2020: $40 million
2021: $40 million

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This sounds huge, but it will take a big offer to pull Bryce away from the 10-year deals. With the chance to play with Freddie Freeman, one of Bryce’s friends in the league, could the Atlanta Braves get the deal done? Should they?

Right now, they’re still in the grass. It’s time to strike – if not on Harper, then on someone!

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