Atlanta Braves: The Front Office Might Be Lazy, But Don’t Sleep on This Team

A lot of talk this offseason has been about what the Atlanta Braves front office hasn’t done. But don’t forget just how good this team already is.

Make no mistake, the Atlanta Braves front office has not done a great job this offseason of improving this team.

They failed to make an upgrade in right field — instead, making a lateral move. And we still don’t have a staff ace or reliable closer.

What we do have is a third baseman who has played 165 games the past two seasons, is 33-years-old, and will make $23 million this year.

We also have a catcher that is on his last leg — although I do love having Brian McCann back in the clubhouse.

I understand not wanting to go out and spend “stupid money,” but they haven’t even tried to bring in veteran guys on small major or minor league deals to add depth.

When I saw the deal that Gio Gonzalez got from the New York Yankees I nearly lost my mind. With all of the pitching injuries we have, are you telling me the Atlanta Braves couldn’t have offered him a similar — if not better — deal!?

There is literally no risk in that deal for the Yankees, and I would have loved to see the Braves do something like that with a starting pitcher this offseason.

But instead, it looks like we are going to give the young guys a shot. And that’s perfectly fine too, but I would feel a lot more comfortable with some veteran depth in the rotation.

And with A.J. Minter injured and Arodys Vizcaino unreliable and unimpressive this Spring, I can’t believe we still haven’t signed Craig Kimbrel.

But having said all of that, the Atlanta Braves are still the defending NL East champs and a great team.