Podcast Episode 2: Atlanta Braves news and Winter Meetings Preview

There is only so much that we can put on paper, but for sure… we like to talk Atlanta Braves baseball.

Baseball’s Winter Meetings are normally like an early Christmas present for us with rumors, signings, trades, and lots of Atlanta Braves news.

Except that didn’t really happen last year as it seemed the entire market was stuck in neutral.

Our Tomahawk Triumvirate of Fred Owens, Jake Mastroianni  and myself got together again to talk in detail on our thoughts about the non-tendering of fan-favorite Charlie Culberson, the addition of Cole Hamels, and the 2019 Winter Meetings.

We have some concerns that perhaps the money is indeed running out for Alex Anthopoulos to spend… or perhaps more accurately, that the market prices are developing in a manner that is inconsistent with the organization’s goals.

For sure, we saw that play out this week as Atlanta chose Cole Hamels for a single year – even with higher dollars – over a Madison Bumgarner who is suddenly looking like a $100 million pitcher.

But the Atlanta Braves needed innings… and they still do.  The departures of Julio Teheran and Dallas Keuchel – both of whom still available – means that the rotation must be filled with starters who can reliably be counted upon for 6+ innings per start.

That’s why Hamels was hired, and he’s got a track record of pitching into the 7th inning on average throughout his career.

That’s all well and good, but it will take an offensive bat to win those games, too.

All of that is discussed in detail as we try to figure out just how busy MLB General Managers will be in San Diego next week.

Spoiler: we think they will be quite busy.  Take a listen.