Braves News: McGriff is a Hall of Famer, Sean Murphy fake out, more

While the Winter Meetings are in full swing, one important piece of business relevant to Atlanta Braves fans was scheduled to take place Sunday evening. That, of course, was the announcement of the Contemporary Era HOF committee’s vote as to who among their eight finalists (if any) were going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

While Dale Murphy was again shut out of Cooperstown as he only received six votes (he needed 12), Fred McGriff was a unanimous selection by the committee and is headed for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Congrats to the Crime Dog!

More Braves News

It was a wild ride while it lasted on Sunday evening. Mark Feinsand reported Sunday evening that the Braves were the frontrunners for Sean Murphy and that a trade appeared to be close. For about 45 minutes, that led to a lot of wild speculation about what that trade could mean for future Braves moves this offseason, which catchers would stay or go, etc. Unfortunately, Feinsand came back and said that while a Murphy trade did appear to be making progress, the Braves were not going to be the ones acquiring him. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Elsewhere on the site, we had a write-up regarding how the Braves are not viewing the luxury tax threshold as an impediment to making any moves and breaking down what that means for the team’s payroll in 2023. If the Braves find the right player for the right deal, it still seems like they could make something happen.

The Braves have been rumored to be interested in outfielder Bryan Reynolds. While the Pittsburgh Pirates would still have to play ball to actually, you know, trade him as he requested, we took a look at what Reynolds brings to the table for the Braves if they were to actually acquire him.

All of this activity right now is because the Winter Meetings started yesterday in San Diego. This is prime rumors/trades/signings season and to help get you acquainted with what the Winter Meetings are all about, here is a quick primer.

MLB News

The Dodgers remain connected to, well, just about everybody as they have the resources and farm system to acquire pretty much any player they want. The most recent rumor is that LA has been talking to JD Martinez. Martinez was decidedly not good in the second half last year, but you can do a lot worse when it comes to a pure bat than him (and he may not particularly expensive, either).

The Philadelphia Phillies are very keen on locking up one of the big shortstops of the market which includes Dansby Swanson as an option. Most of the reporting right now is that the Phillies could come to terms with one of them this week with a signing at the Winter Meetings being a very realistic possibility.