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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: so this is what a busy off-season looks like

By Alan Carpenter

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 27: Juan Lagares #12 of the New York Mets celebrates their 4-2 win over the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on September 27, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 27: Juan Lagares #12 of the New York Mets celebrates their 4-2 win over the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on September 27, 2019 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 20: Cole Hamels #35 of the Chicago Cubs walks to the dugout during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 20: Cole Hamels #35 of the Chicago Cubs walks to the dugout during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Where does Atlanta go next?

The Atlanta Braves still have at least one more task for the off-season and possibly more.  There is no news on the Josh Donaldson front, and opinions are decidedly mixed on whether the team is ‘in’ on Madison Bumgarner at the $100 million level.

Much of the background scuttlebutt seems to revolve around a big distaste for ‘dead money’ and thus the idea of plowing years and dollars in a pitcher – or any player, really – is anathema to the management above Alex Anthopoulos’ level.

Here’s the rub… when it comes to pitching, 3 things are clear:

  • The Atlanta Braves lost 400 innings when Dallas Keuchel and Julio Teheran hit the door.  The arrival of Cole Hamels replaces only half of that.
    • Yes, I know – Keuchel only did 113 for the Braves… part of the point here was that a patchwork of others filled out the rest with less than stellar results.
  • The trade market for pitching is VERY tough.  The dealing price for a controllable starter is very tough… if you want to acquire quality.
  • The number of quality free agents is down to perhaps Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner, Keuchel, and Hyun-Jin Ryu.  The top pair may both command $200 million; the next ones close to $100m.

Given this rotation and those waiting in the wings, there’s certainly some surplus talent – still – that’s essentially major league ready.

Don’t be surprised if there isn’t a trade deal involving one of these ‘extra’ starters.  It’s a high-leverage play, but the Braves still have the most chips to push into the pot.

That said, this team could still shock us.  Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei is making noises about spending ‘even more in free agency’ to ‘make that last leap into the World Series.’

In his position, you really can’t say that idly.  Such comments can rile up sleepy stockholders if done improperly.

Alex Anthopoulos may want to continue to execute decisions with reasonable restraint, but our observation is that he’s spending with a freedom never seen before.

Next. An Excellent Progress Report. dark

Sounds like the boss may have given him the green light to win.

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