With all of the talk about the Atlanta Braves needing to re-sign Freddie Freeman, they also need to be focussing on locking up their shortstop.
Dansby Swanson is entering his final year of arbitration with the Atlanta Braves and is set to become a free agent next offseason.
While the Braves certainly need to make sure they get Freddie Freeman taken care of first, after that’s done, extending Swanson should be their next order of business.
And I get the fanbase is somewhat split on Dansby, but I’m one of his biggest supporters.
It’s also true the Braves may have some other, more prominent, players they need to take care of soon like Max Fried and Austin Riley.
But as someone who played shortstop, I arrogantly believe it’s the most important position on the field. When you have someone as solid as Dansby there, you don’t want to let that go.
A lot of people forget that Dansby is still just 27 years old. He’s just now entering his prime seasons and will play all of next year at 28.
The Braves shortstop is averaging over 2 WAR a season for the past four seasons. He was a 3.2 WAR player in 2021, and had it not been for the shortened 2020 season he likely would have surpassed that mark.
You can safely assume he’s been a 3-plus WAR player for two straight seasons now, and again, he’s entering his prime years.
I’m not blind to the fact his offense is streaky and downright bad at times. But I’m also still not under the delusion that Dansby has to be a perennial All-Star and middle-of-the-order bat to be valuable to this team.
The fans who don’t like Dansby are the ones still caught up on him being a first overall pick — thinking he has to win an MVP every year to match that hype.
What Dansby brings to this team is invaluable and clear to see for most rational fans.
His defense, at the most important position on the field, is enough for me to want to extend him. How many plays did Dansby make this year that clearly took runs off the board?
If you watch almost every game as I did, there are probably several popping up in your mind. The biggest of which came in Game 3 of the NLDS with runners on second and third and no outs.
Dansby’s career path reminds me a lot of Brandon Crawford. A struggling player offensively for the first four years of his career but always solid with the glove — a winning type player.
Crawford broke out during his age 28 season in 2015 and that earned him a 6-year, $75 million extension.
That paid Crawford $15.2 million a year through his age 31-34 seasons. And the Giants have actually extended him two more years at $16 million a year through is age 36 season.
Dansby is set to make around $10 million in 2022 — his final year in arbitration. So $12-$15 million a year seems about right for him.
If I’m the Braves, I extend him for five more years at about $13 million a year. That’s five years at $65 million — very similar to what Crawford got.
The problem is, the Braves are about to be paying Freddie Freeman around $30 million a year. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies will make a combined $24 million a year starting in 2023.
And we still don’t know what’s going to happen with the $52 million owed to Marcell Ozuna over the next three seasons.
Can the Braves afford to have a winning team every year with $67 million tied up to four players (Freeman, Acuna, Ozzie, and Dansby)? Possibly $85 million depending on how the Ozuna situation plays out?
Max Fried and Austin Riley are still several years from free agency, but they’re going to get expensive in arbitration.
If the Braves will finally start spending like the big market team they should be, then spending $13 million a year on a solid shortstop like Dansby shouldn’t be a problem.
And what are the other alternatives to Dansby?
I don’t see anyone in the system that is close to taking over for Dansby and being any better than he is.
Do you really think Alex Anthopoulos, who is pinching pennies on re-signing Freddie Freeman, will drop $300 million on Carlos Correa or Trevor Story this offseason?
That leaves trading for a shortstop that is relatively cheap and ready to step in on a World Series contending team.
Are there a lot of those out there? And if so, how many teams are willing to move that type of player?
Love him or hate him, Dansby Swanson is a really good option to be the future shortstop of the Atlanta Braves. And when they’re done getting a deal worked out with Freddie, extending Dansby should be next on their to-do list.