What should the Atlanta Braves do after Marcell Ozuna?

What if you could still improve the team while also maintaining the kind of lineup stability already in place?

The Atlanta Braves have now managed to acquire a big hitter in Ozuna at a relative bargain rate:  $12 million for 2021 with the balance of $64 million spread over the following 3 seasons.

That should give them sufficient financial resources to at least do the “necessary” things:  backup catcher, bench bats (1 or 2 of them, depending on Camargo), and another bullpen arm.

But why settle for just the “necessary” pieces when you can really go after the prize?

This is fascinating to consider, even as there’s no way to check the veracity of the tweet (other than saying that Gomez has been consistent on this point about the Braves talking with Cleveland).

Ramirez is but one example, though:  a third baseman who can hit and defend while in his prime years with three years of team control at friendly rates of pay.  He also gets bonus points for being a switch-hitter.

Oakland’s Matt Chapman is another such player… excepting the switch-hitter part.  Cincy’s Eugenio Suarez could be a third option — a year older than Ramirez, but controlled through 2024 or 2025.

Atlanta Braves should make their best trade deal for 3B now.

The Braves could execute a trade with any of these teams and not miss any of the kinds of players suggested above in Gomez’ tweet.  Any team receiving such players would surely benefit… it would be a win for both sides, which is exactly what trades should aim to do.

For Cleveland — after trading away a bunch of their best pitchers and Francisco Lindor — they have to decide what they are doing for the next 3 years.

Can they compete with the White Sox and Twins now?  No.  Does keeping Ramirez or trading him away change that equation?  No.

Their fans may not like dealing away Ramirez, but honestly, they’ve probably been expecting this kind of slow tear-down ever since ownership declared that they should ‘enjoy Lindor while we’ve still got him’.

For Oakland — Billy Beane has shown the desire to use his analytics to trade virtually anyone at any time, and a stout package for Chapman might signal another such deal.

Like Cleveland, this is a team motivated by financial considerations as much as anything.  They already let Marcus Semien walk away, and Chapman’s next 2 arbitration years (after 2021) could get expensive.

For Cincinnati — it’s hard to say what they are doing.  They made budget-minded moves early in the off-season and yet still have Moustakas and Castellanos on their payroll.

On balance, it appears that payroll reduction is important to them, and Suarez is set to make $10-11 million through 2024 at a minimum — and he is their best trade asset aside from Sonny Gray.

Why the Braves should pursue a new third baseman.

The Atlanta Braves, have the potential weakness of two holes in their offensive lineup:  Pache and Riley.

For Pache, he’s still developing while showing some promise… but his glove is All-World and that allows us to overlook any offensive shortcomings.

For Riley, you think things could click into place for him at any point, but it’s hard to know when.  In a league that’s pitching-rich, though, you can’t really count on him getting enough “mistake pitches” to drive out consistently

Cleveland, Oakland, and Cincy could all be fine in having Riley work out his hitting (imagine him hitting in that bandbox in southern Ohio!).  The Braves can’t really afford to wait on him to get there.

In short:  the move to land Ozuna has the potential to rescue this Braves off-season from the brink of stagnation… but one more big move via trade is going to be necessary to complete the task… if the Front Office is game for it.