How the Atlanta Braves lost out on Josh Donaldson. Probably.
P$ychological Warfare
We also noted reports that Minnesota – figuring they were fighting an uphill battle all the way – were on a ‘charm offensive’. They kept a conversation going directly with Donaldson to build a rapport and to try and tear down any walls of hesitation.
Still, in the end they still knew they had to outbid Atlanta… and they did – adding that clause which itself likely trumped the Braves by an additional 10%.
The Braves, already having exceeded their comfort zone with the 4th year, then had no place to go.
While all of this was going on, Atlanta really didn’t seem to be pushing other avenues other than ‘due diligence’ calls about free agents and perhaps about the availability of possible trade targets.
No, their eggs were mostly in Donaldson’s basket… and that’s okay… if you win the day.
Despite all of that, there was still (obviously) a point at which the Braves were willing to walk away. That’s a difficult – yet healthy – thing to do whenever competition at an auction is getting too zealous.
Of course, that’s more of a problem when you actually need to win the auction, for now they have to start over… that hole in the lineup hasn’t gotten any smaller.
As important as this player was to Atlanta, though, there are lines they had to draw. Perhaps it was because they had a good guess on his future production. Perhaps it had to do with future health and concern that instead of having four strong shots at the World Series, they might only have a couple of them if Donaldson were to break down soon.
Regardless… it’s done. It only takes one team to go the extra mile, and it wasn’t the Braves this time.
Note: It would be unfair to suggest (as some will) that ‘the Braves never go the extra mile’… after all, you can take a look at the current roster and say otherwise: Hamels, Melancon, Smith… heck, even Donaldson a year ago. All of these players are (or were) on the club because the extra dollar was spent.
Just not this one. Not this time.
Still – it’s because of this extra money already spent that Anthopoulos is going to fill this spot. He has to. He’s ‘pot committed’. It just won’t be done as originally hoped and planned.
Next. Rounding the Bench into Shape. dark
Depending on what happens from here, that may or may not be a point of regret in the future. But that’s what makes GMs restless at night: the unknown future.