The beginning of the offseason for the Atlanta Braves has been a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, Atlanta already re-signed relievers Joe Jimenez and Pierce Johnson to multi-year contracts. Both players were key contributors to the Braves' bullpen. The Braves also exercised their option to bring Charlie Morton back which is certainly risky given his age, but the move at least provided some clarity to the Braves' rotation.
However, the Braves were dealt a pretty severe blow this past week when third base coach Ron Washington was hired to be the Angels' next manager and took first base coach Eric Young Sr. with him. Both Wash and EY had such a huge impact on this Braves' team and their loss adds a level of uncertainty with the Braves' coaching staff that is unusual for the last few years. There are also some pretty unsettling rumors early on that could be pointing to a disappointing offseason for Atlanta.
Here are 4 early Braves rumors that should have fans concerned
To be clear, nothing is finalized and running around and screaming "the sky is falling" is not a thing that should be happening here. Most of the rumors floating around this time of year need to be taken with a grain of salt as there is a lot of misinformation and posturing happening right now. Moreover, the Braves could very well end up looking really smart if some of these rumors are true. Nearly everyone was blown away that Orlando Arcia was named the Braves everyday shortstop last spring and we saw how that worked out.
However, there are certainly some whispers that are a bit concerning at the moment, so here is a look at some of the bigger ones.