An early look at which free agents Atlanta Braves could target

Free agency is just a few weeks away. It’s never too early to see who the Atlanta Braves may go after.

Of course last year, the Atlanta Braves big signing turned out to be Josh Donaldson early in the offseason.

Fast forward one year later, and many Atlanta Braves fans would tell you they hope it’s the same way this year (this person included).

The Braves are in a fortunate position as they have many of the core pieces of this team locked up for the next few years, but as every other team in the game, they still have holes to fill.

They still need at least 1 more catcher (I’m assuming they are going to pick up Tyler Flowers club option). And they still need a third baseman as I am not ready to hand the reigns back to Johan Camargo (If he is on the team at all) and I’m also not ready to rely upon Austin Riley full time there either yet.

Of course, the Atlanta Braves need arms to come out of the pen, just like every other team in the Majors.

And lastly, two more holes to fill include another reliable rotation piece and a bat to protect Freddie Freeman in the middle of the order.

Again, hopefully it’s the same bat as it was last season.

The Atlanta Braves history would suggest that trades may be the likelier route to fill out most of these holes, but we are going to look into players they could potentially sign in the upcoming free agency period.

The majority of this article will focus on players who I would consider the best of the “realistic” players the Braves could chase over the next few months.

At the end, we will list some players who we could sign that maybe wouldn’t move the needle as much, but could be big none-the-less.

And let me go ahead and tell you, there is no mention of Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon here. Yes, that would be marvelous, but we are being realistic.

Yasmani Grandal

Signing Yasmani Grandal would do two things for the Atlanta Braves. It would give us a good catcher who has experience on good teams and being in the playoffs and it would relegate Tyler Flowers to strictly a backup.

You don’t sign Grandal with the intention of platooning him.

The Brewers can retain Grandal by simply exercising their $16 million option, so this might be for nothing here, but maybe not?

The soon to be 31-year-old has plenty of power and could actually slide right in the middle of the Braves order.

Mike Moustakas

Another Brewer who could soon be a free agent and who could help the Atlanta Braves is Mike Moustakas. Much of the same story that applied to Grandal applies here. Milwaukee can bring back “Moose,” but they will have to pay.

Will Milwaukee elect to spend their funds toward pitching?

The two-time All-Star has always been known to hit some home runs and have the ability to knock in runs.

Defense is not as good as Braves fans have come to love with Donaldson, but it is respectable.

The downfall to Moustakas is you can’t expect a .300 hitter as his career average sits at .252. Not much else is out there for the Braves unless they make a trade for a third baseman.

Nicholas Castellanos

Nicholas Castellanos was connected to the Atlanta Braves for what seemed like the entire 2019 season. He was eventually traded to the Cubs were he mashed and was their team’s best hitter throughout August and September.

Castellanos proved he could be a 30 home run hitter in the right situation. His numbers in Detroit were misleading for two reasons.

One was the fact that Comerica Park is huge. Second, let’s be honest, the Tigers were just brutal last year.

Still in his twenties, Castellanos will surely be able to land a 4 or 5-year deal this Winter.

Marcell Ozuna

Yes, the guy that killed us in the NLDS series would be a good fit for the Braves. Marcell Ozuna seemingly hit a double right down the line every time he faced us in the latest playoff series.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have him hit the doubles for us next time?

Despite that, Ozuna did have a down year at the plate in 2019, especially in the second half. His average of .241 was a career low and more than 30 points off of his career average of .272.

Even with that said though, Ozuna still managed an OPS of exactly .800 and was just shy of 30 home runs and 90 RBI.

Put him after Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna, and those numbers will surely jump up.

Yasiel Puig

Admittedly, I only included Yasiel Puig on this list due to the lack of star power in the upcoming free agency class.

Puig isn’t an elite player in my estimation, but he is a good player still. I just don’t see him being a great fit on this current Atlanta Braves team.

The one positive I can tell you is due to him being traded mid-season this past year, he cannot be tied to draft pick compensation.

We all know how the Braves feel about giving up a draft pick at least until the International sanctions are extinct.

Madison Bumgarner

If you are expecting the old Madison Bumgarner, you will probably be disappointed. Let me say though, that the new Bumgarner is still a really good and effective pitcher.

It has also been reported that there are rumblings Bumgarner wants to return and pitch close to his North Carolina home.

Bumgarner would still become the #1 pitcher for the Braves in my estimation. He still threw over 200 innings last year and was just shy of a strikeout per inning.

The other side of that story is his road ERA last season was over 5.00. Most of his success came in the pitcher friendly park in San Francisco.

Still, expect Bumgarner’s name to be attached to Braves rumors this offseason.

Zack Wheeler

Could the Georgian born Zack Wheeler be coming to pitch for his hometown Braves? Certainly, a case could be made arguing for it and it is something I think the Braves will obviously consider.

A reliable piece any manager would love to insert in the middle of their rotation, you know what you are going to get with Zack Wheeler.

Around a strikeout per inning and right under 200 IP a season and someone who should win double-digit games easily.

Also, someone you could trust and hand the ball too in a big time game in October.

Dellin Betances

Dellin Betances has wicked stuff when he is healthy. But therin lies the problem as well. Betances didn’t make his 2019 debut until September, and he came out of that game with an Achilles injury after facing only two batters.

With that being said, their is a team that will take a chance on Betances, even if that means having to wait a month or two after the season starts to put him in the bullpen.

It will be interesting to see if the Atlanta Braves are one of the teams mentioned to have interest in the former New York Yankee.

Will Smith

Yet another free agent this year that was linked to the Atlanta Braves a ton before the trading deadline this past year.

Ultimately San Francisco held onto Will Smith and barring a mild surprise by offering him a qualifying offer, will get nothing in return for losing him.

We all know the Braves need bullpen help, and Smith can pitch in any circumstance out of the bullpen.

He has experience closing, setting up the closer, and middle relief.

For his versatility alone, and the fact he is just a good pitcher, I expect Will Smith to be linked to many teams this Winter.

Here’s to hoping one is the Atlanta Braves.

Cole Hamels

If the Braves choose to try and get a veteran starter on a 1 or 2-year deal at the most, then it will probably be Cole Hamel’s name attached the most to them.

Obviously, not quite the pitcher he was in his heyday with the Phillies, Hamels is still an effective starter.

Cole still gets punchouts and manages to have low numbers, but his problem has always been with the free pass.

Certainly, the Braves and their fans have seen enough walks to cover a lifetime these past few seasons, would they be willing to bring Cole in and possibly see more of them?