Going into the weekend, the Atlanta Braves just got past one important offseason deadline and are keeping themselves busy ahead of Dansby’s deadline to accept or reject his qualifying offer as well as the deadline for the team to add minor leaguers to the 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.
It was pretty quiet for most of Friday until the Braves decided to make a relatively minor signing, but with real upside when they agreed to a one year deal with Nick Anderson. Anderson just cleared waivers from the Rays and was pretty awesome back in 2020 before he got bit by the injury bug. As relievers go, you can do a whole lot worse than a guy that will be cheap if he is good enough to stick in the big leagues and if not, he is even cheaper and the team can stash him in the minors.
For those wondering about the Braves’ full 40 man roster, the Braves made the news official and announced that Rylan Bannon was designate for assignment to make room for him.
More Braves News
Over the course of the past week, each minor league level announced their individual league All-Star teams. This is just a fun way to recognize minor leaguers for their success even if it isn’t always predictive of their “prospect status”. The Braves were well-represented in 2022 as they had MiLB All-Stars at each level of the minors.
We also had some more original content go up on the site including a piece that argues that the Braves should consider adding Matt Moore to their bullpen this offseason. Our season review series plugged along with William “Wild Bill” Contreras’ 2022 campaign that saw him make his first All-Star Game at a position that wasn’t even his primary one.
MLB News
The biggest news from yesterday came from the Houston Astros. Astros owner Jim Crane has a reputation for being unpleasant to work with and being all-around tone deaf. Well, there was more evidence of that because, despite the fact that GM James Click had put together the team that has back to back World Series appearances including a win this year, Crane was still only willing to offer him a one year deal. Click obviously took exception that and that, combined with lots of rumblings that the two did not get along, the Astros parted ways with their GM.
In unfortunate news for the Dodgers, star reliever Blake Treinen had to undergo surgery to repair damage to his labrum and rotator cuff. It is a certainty that he won’t be ready to start the 2023 season and with a 10-month general timetable for recovery, it is unclear how much he will be available at all in 2023.