House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves: Offseason grades for every signing

By Matthew Browning

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Will Smith #13 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Colorado Rockies in the top of the ninth inning at Oracle Park on September 25, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Will Smith #13 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Colorado Rockies in the top of the ninth inning at Oracle Park on September 25, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Travis d’Arnaud #37 of the Tampa Bay Rays. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Travis d’Arnaud #37 of the Tampa Bay Rays. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

The offense

The further the offseason went, the more and more likely it seemed that Josh Donaldson would resign with the Braves.

But that wasn’t a case, so it left the Braves scrambling to find a power bat for the middle of their lineup.

Marcell Ozuna hit 29 home runs for the Cardinals last season, and let us not forget his 1.135 OPS in the NLDS against the Braves.

But now he is Freddie Freeman’s protection and those awful memories of last October can be a thing of the past.

If Ozuna can indeed hit 30-ish home runs again, while also playing okay defense, then this move is a win, because it’s just a one-year deal.

Marcell Ozuna grade: B

The Braves have two promising catchers on the way in prospects Shea Langeliers and William Contreras, but those two are still at least a year away, so the Braves needed to find someone to pair with Tyler Flowers.

There were maybe one or two better options on the free-agent market, but the Braves were hard-pressed to do much better than Travis d’Arnaud.

He obviously needs to stay healthy, but if he can, d’Arnaud has some decent thump in his bat as he hit 16 home runs in 103 games last season.

Back to the health — in his seven-year career, the most games d’Arnaud has played is 112 and he missed nearly the entire 2018 season.

Travis d’Arnaud grade: B+

What would a Braves offseason recap be without talking about Nick Markakis, who was brought back on a 1-year, $4 million dollar deal.

Before the Ozuna signing, Markakis was going to platoon in left field with Adam Duvall, but now he appears destined to a pinch-hit role, as well as a leader on the bench.

Nick Markakis grade: Originally: C After the Ozuna signing: B+

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