The Atlanta Braves have signed Marcell Ozuna: 3 important takeaways
3. Is there still any doubt?
In 2018, the Atlanta Braves were the surprise team… not really expected to excel in the manner they did. As a result, Anthopoulos made some deadline moves to bolster the club (Kevin Gausman being the most notable), but that was only after the team had proven they were contenders.
In 2019, there was an expectation of success, though at the outset, other divisional rivals were supposed to be better. Donaldson was clearly the most significant addition, and he was added during the Winter so that he could be of most impact for the full season.
Dallas Keuchel was added at mid-season, partly thanks to quirks in the free agent market, but also because the Braves really needed more reliable innings out of a starting pitcher.
The biggest holes were in the bullpen, and strong moves were made to take care of that problem… in-season. These moves insured that Atlanta would be a post-season club.
But those were years in the past…
The 2020 Difference
Pick your favorite cliche here: the Atlanta Braves are truly ‘all in’ and they are ‘going for it’.
Short-term deals aside, their payroll is now already at an all-time high. Going by the MLB Trade Rumors’ list of the top 50 free agents, they have now signed #11 (Ozuna), #13 (Smith), #15 (Hamels), #26 (d’Arnaud), and #27 (Chris Martin).
They have chosen to ink two players that had rejected Qualifying Offers (Smith, Ozuna), which will require draft pick compensation (the Braves will get back one pick via the loss of Donaldson). This team has never done that before.
This team – even if they do nothing else – is already built to win, and built to win now. This is not a ‘let’s see how it goes in the Spring and add more later if needed’ club… or at least it doesn’t have to be.
The young starters are a year older with the experience of a full season under their belts. The ‘kids’ likewise enjoyed a successful season that can be built on. The Braves have a true lock-down bullpen for the first time since the days of “O’Ventbrel”.
Part of this idea that Atlanta has – to a large degree – controlled much of the off-season includes the fact that the Nationals have been playing ‘catch-up’ all along and the Phillies have been hamstrung by their own prior spending. Aside from their headliner signings, both teams have been left choosing from the leftovers.
Both the Nationals and Braves needed to get 3rd base figured out due to significant losses from their 2019 rosters.
Turns out that neither club was able to get their first choices (both choosing to exercise considerable restraint from Donaldson; the Nats unable to compete for Rendon), but Atlanta has now been able to exercise an option that Washington did not have available: getting an outfield bat.
Was that the recommendation from here? To eschew Josh Donaldson in favor of an outfielder?
No… it wasn’t. But that was when the expectation was that Ozuna really wanted a 4+ year deal. But a single-year contract? That’s a game-changer, both for now and for later down the road as Atlanta now has a well-motivated middle-of-the-order bat.