Atlanta Braves fans fume their players in limbo while the fight drags on
By Fred Owens
Fans of the Atlanta Braves like those of the other 29 Major League teams wonder when they’ll have baseball again and what it will look like when it starts.
Atlanta Braves fans and front office staff watched 24 hours of reportedly productive meetings on February 28th go up in smoke on March 1st. Jake wrote last week that the two sides were close to an agreement, but hope surrendered to reality. In the week since the collapse of those talks, reports suggest the negotiations made progress but the solution always appears just out of reach.
Andy Martino reported that a Zoom call of all 30 club owners had four teams say they would veto any raise in the CBT above $220M; at the same time, MLBPA won’t budge below $230M. While this appeared a power move by small-market teams, it turns out that that wasn’t the case.
Friday morning, The Athletics’ seemingly tireless duo of Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal named names (subscription required). The next day reports that as many as 12 teams would vote against a CBT above $230M.
Like every team, the Atlanta Braves need to fill holes on their roster before they take the field to defend the World Series title. Alex Anthopoulos began before the lockout by signing Guillermo Heredia and Manny Pina and, for some reason, extending Orlando Arcia, but significant vacancies remain.
I’ll Take who’s on first for $28M Alex
The Atlanta Braves must fill the vacancy at first base with Freddie Freeman or via trade.
The idea of Adam Duvall as the team’s everyday centerfielder isn’t something to soothe the nerves, and I’ll suggest they need to add a starting pitcher and a left-handed bat; two if they don’t bring Freeman back.
League guidelines mean they can’t discuss anything that involves players on a team’s 40-man roster, and we know, no club will cross that line . . . okay, all of them would if they thought they wouldn’t get caught. However, teams throwing trades at the commissioner as soon as the lockout is lifted would likely face hard questions.