How did Atlanta Braves reliever Shane Greene become the villain?

1 of 3

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JULY 29: John Hicks #55 and Shane Greene #61 of the Detroit Tigers celebrate a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 29, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

In the flurry of moves made by the Atlanta Braves at last season’s trade deadline, this one looked like one of the best… yet now is the club looking to go in another direction?

Early in the Summer months of 2019, Detroit’s Shane Greene was one of the most coveted trade-deadline targets for teams… the Atlanta Braves obviously included.

He was mowing down hitters with a strikeout rate above 10, a WHIP under 0.90, and an ERA even lower than that as late as July 2nd.

None of this was happening via some fluky small sample sizes, either: Greene appeared in 38 games for Detroit, finishing 32 of them with 22 saves over 38 innings.

As a result, the Braves decided he was worth both Joey Wentz and Travis Demeritte, particularly so as Greene was not a ‘rental’ acquisition – he’d be available to the Braves in 2020 as well.

Or maybe not?

The AJC’s Tim Tucker picks up the story in a discussion about the Braves’ payroll, budget, and remaining needs after the signing of Will Smith.

"The most interesting tender/non-tender decision will be on Greene. If the Braves retain him, they will have about $33.5 million of their 2020 payroll tied up in three relievers."

Well yeah, but it’s a bullpen league now, isn’t it?

On top of that, while the Atlanta Braves have – for the moment – stockpiled Smith, Mark Melancon, Greene, Darren O’Day, and Luke Jackson to be their primary firemen, there’s another point that shouldn’t be missed…

If Atlanta has them, nobody else does – a point that’s obvious, but it also makes this current collection of relievers the elite group in the National League.. at least on paper.

There is a price for quality, though, and that’s the dilemma that the Braves are currently facing:

Melancon: $14 million
Smith: $13 million
Greene: an estimated $6.5 million at arbitration
O’Day: $3.25 million (counting deferred monies from prior contract)

So it’s really $36.75 million for this foursome of Irish-sounding punch-out specialists – over 25% of an estimated starting payroll budget of $140 million.

Home/Braves News