There is understandably a LOT of interest surrounding whether or not the Braves are going to re-sign Dansby Swanson and there is good reason for that. Dansby is a premium player who plays a premium position and the Braves are right in the heart of their competitive window. Fans are also still smarting a bit from the botched negotiations with Freddie Freeman last offseason as well and don’t want a repeat of that (it is worth mentioning here that Dansby shares the same agent representation as Freddie).
There has been tons of speculation surrounding Dansby’s impending free agency from some wild estimates for how much he is going to cost to cases for and against re-signing him. However, what has been sparse are details on the current state of the negotiations between the two sides beyond that they have interest in trying to get a deal done.
The Atlanta Braves did at least somewhat try to get a deal done with Dansby Swanson in-season
According to report from Jon Heyman last night for the NY Post, the Braves did approach Dansby Swanson with an extension offer that was worth around $100 million. The details are a bit light here on when this offer was conveyed during the season, how many years the extension was for, and what Dansby’s response to that offer was. However, there are some important things to note.
One, Dansby is almost certainly worth more than that extension offer if it was for more than four years. While he can have maddening stretches at the plate at times, he has been a stalwart performer the last three seasons for the Braves on both sides of the ball.
Two, this was likely just an opening offer so there is no reason to get nervous yet. There was already some reporting in the past that the Braves and Dansby had already exchanged figures and this is likely just the Braves’ side of things. If we hear reporting that the Braves aren’t budging from that number in the present, that will be a different situation altogether.
Finally, be very wary of any figures that get leaked during free agency. The Braves are notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to information so if a number is out there, it is likely leaked with an agenda behind it (from either side of the negotiations) or the source is just flat out incorrect.
Stay tuned, folks, because this offseason is going to be an exciting one to watch.