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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An old friend. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
An old friend. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

We have OF and Cole Hamels, now what about that fifth rotation spot?

By spending $18 million on Hamels and $10-15 million on an impact outfielder, the Braves won’t have enough to spend on Donaldson at third.

They should have enough to scrape a veteran right-hander off of the bottom of the barrel. This may not be a bad idea with the uncertainties of the youth we are projected to have right now.

Pitching: Tier-Two Free Agents

Targets: Tanner Roark and Julio Teheran

Visualize the difference between adding a veteran or sticking with in-house options.

Option 1 – In-house

Soroka
Hamels
Foltynewicz
Fried
Wilson/Wright???

Option 2 – Veteran

Teheran
Soroka
Hamels
Foltynewicz
Fried

I have a couple of notes. The first rotation has more question marks. Do you know why? Yes, it’s because I put three of them next to “Wilson/Wright.”

Also, you may have noticed Teheran is listed as the Opening Day starter in Option 2, I did that just to irritate you.

Projected Lineup

RF Acuna
2B Albies
1B Freeman
LF Castellanos*
C   d’Arnaud
3B Healy*
SS Swanson
CF Ender Inciarte
Pitcher

Key Bench Players

Markakis
Duvall
Camargo
Riley (Although in this scenario he would likely start in Triple-A)

Projected Money Spent: $18 million on Hamels, $10-15 million on an outfielder, $8-10 million on a RHP veteran pitcher. This scenario puts us at a minimum of $154 million.

It’s high compared to the previous season but not as a percentage of our revenue. It’s do-able. If we currently sit at $136 million and we can afford $154 million, might we find enough to bring back the rain in the next slide?

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