House That Hank Built
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Braves: Cole Hamels effect on Josh Donaldson and roster construction

By Seth Carter

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 03: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after advancing to third base on a double by teammate Nick Markakis (not pictured) against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning in game one of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 03: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after advancing to third base on a double by teammate Nick Markakis (not pictured) against the St. Louis Cardinals during the sixth inning in game one of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Hamels signed a one-year, $18 million deal with the Atlanta Braves Wednesday. Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

The Atlanta Braves signed LHP Cole Hamels to a one-year, $18 million deal. How will this move affect the rest of the offseason and projected battling lineups for the Braves in 2020?

The Atlanta Braves declared they wanted to spend money this offseason and they have.

On November 21st, Liberty Media (Atlanta Braves parent company) CEO, Greg Maffei was interviewed by David Faber on CNBC. Faber asked about varying ventures Liberty is involved with, including the Atlanta Braves.

Here are some of the highlights of that interview. You can see the video here.

"Faber: “Atlanta Braves, another thing people may not realize…” Maffei: “Better than the Mets, again!” Faber: “Although, the Mets did not have a bad season. “ Maffei: “Yeah, if you don’t mind not winning.” He would go on to add, “I really don’t like the Mets.” Faber asked about offseason moves to which Maffei said “Yeah, we are going to spend some money and we have relative freedom under the cap and in our payroll.”"

He then took another jab at the Mets’ financial situation.

I really like this guy. I know we think of Liberty Media as a faceless evil spirit, but this guy is the CEO and he is pretty awesome.

Current Payroll

Prior to the Hamels deal, the current payroll was about where we started the past two seasons, right around $118 million. The Hamels deal has put us near our season-ending number of $141 million in 2019.

Are we done spending?

The Braves hit a new record of $442 million in 2018. The MLBPA and MLB has set a target at 50% of revenue going toward payroll. That includes minor league salaries and player benefits, so put your calculators away.

I’m going to throw a couple of ballpark numbers out to you, because ultimately, we are just guessing on how much the Opening Day payroll will be. So, humor me, or let me humor you…let’s humor each other.

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