Atlanta Braves 2021 payroll projections: How much is left
By Fred Owens
As the offseason has dragged on, we’ve cussed and discussed all kinds of deals to improve the Atlanta Braves roster, to the point where there’s little left to say about some players. I see no way of avoiding them altogether, but I do have one new (this year) suggestion and will attempt not to bore you too much discussing the rest.
Could a Buc stop in Atlanta?
In case you haven’t noticed, Pittsburgh is once more — perpetually? — in rebuild mode. The Pirates’ cupboard is almost bare, but they still have a LHH corner outfielder with a friendly contract that GM Ben Cherrington would likely move: Gregory Polanco.
The Pirates’ 29-year-old corner-outfielder earns $11.6M in the final guaranteed year of his contract. The team holds two option years at $12.5M and $13.5M with buyouts of $3M and $1M, respectively.
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At his best, he’s a .250/.325/.465 – type hitter who’ll hit 24 homers a season and play league-average defense. The Pirates used him in right-field, but he’d man left-field for the Atlanta Braves, where his arm should play up.
Polanco broke his wrist playing winter ball, but medics say he’ll be ready for Spring Training without restrictions. He has a history of mostly minor hamstring and groin injuries, missed the end of the 2018 and beginning of the 2019 season after surgery on a dislocated left shoulder, and suffered a minor hand injury that cost him two games in May.
His 2019 injury list makes it appear that he returned too early; he strained his surgically repaired shoulder and missed the last half of the season. The Pirates placed him on the COVID-19 list in July last year: he returned three games into the season but suffered bruised ribs and missed four days in August.
Polanco’s injury history could well lower his trade value, but a healthy Polanco would slip nicely into left field.
Despite Ben Cherrington’s statement that the Pirates are shifting their focus back on adding to their team, their aim is rebuilding the farm system. Their trades so far took numbers of players from the Yankees and Padres, rather than adding one big prospect, as Mark Polishuk noted for MLBTR.
Packaging Greyson Jenista, Logan Brown, and a couple of low-level prospects might be enough to pry Polanco loose.