Atlanta Braves direction as the Winter Meetings begin isn’t a secret
Braves beat reporters asked Alex Anthopoulos the same questions they've asked in the past at the start of the Winter Meetings, and he answered, but we know no more now than we did yesterday.
The Winter Meetings draw every beat reporter, national correspondent, talk show host, and sports network in the hope of getting an inside track on the goings-on.
The networks have to fill air time while meeting to decide the internal workings of the game which means: Outlets interview every GM, player, manager, coach, and retired player to get their share of air time, and Scott Boras always manages to turn up and pontificate on TV and radio,
Rarely are these interviews more than churn.
As proof, here’s a look at some of the tweets after Alex Anthopoulos spoke to reporters today.
What follows isn’t a criticism of the writers; I’ve followed David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) for over a decade and Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) since he took over at the AJC. Both do their job well.
The Atlanta Braves won’t trade core players
First out of the box is a question about a ridiculous rumor linking Ozzie Albies or Ronald Acuña Jr. to a proposed trade.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone who follows the Atlanta Braves to hear that the team isn’t trading players they signed as the core of the team unless the player's performance craters. Other players might well move but the core isn't going anywhere.
What are those guys smoking? Why would anyone – except an Athletics, Marlins, or Rays fan, I guess - expect their team to do that?
Atlanta Braves if the season started today
If-the-season-started-today (ITSST) rumors are more funny than disappointing. Someone asked if Grissom would get a look in left field.
The current depth chart shows Vaugh Grissom as the team’s left fielder, with Forrest Wall as the fourth outfielder. So, yes, if the first game were today, Grissom would play left because there is no one else aside from Ozuna.
Ozuna is a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency left fielder. The Braves would need a new DH that isn’t their backup catcher. Using your backup catcher as your everyday DH isn’t a great idea.
Do the Atlanta Braves need pitching?
It wasn’t posed as an ITSST question, but asked about pitching, Anthopoulos said they had the number but could use more.
We know from past experience that Fried’s blister could reappear anytime, Morton is older and not likely to give a lot of innings, and Elder’s first half of 2023 is an outlier, not the norm. Lopez may return to the rotation, but he may also end up in the pen.
I suspect any Atlanta Braves fan can name five starters now on the roster or in the system that could start games next year, but Anthopoulos had to answer that question too.
He also said the current pitching pool." wouldn't stop them from adding another in the right deal." No POBO or GM who wants to keep the job will turn down the right deal if it drops on the desk.
GMs get paid to make the right deal – a deal that improves their team at the right price in dollars, prospects, or a combination of the two, and pass on the wrong ones.
Atlanta Braves additions and deals not made
When it comes to player acquisitions, the Atlanta Braves front office doesn’t leak information. Agents may leak information to improve their client’s market, and another team may hint at a proposed trade to get a better deal elsewhere, but the Braves front office doesn’t leak.
Asked about the team’s attempts to add players other than those we know about, he said the Braves had tried.
Anthopoulos stepped directly on the neck of writers who wrote, tweeted, or said in a live interview that they knew what the team had offered a player.
The Braves made an offer or offers to one or more players but the specific offers quoted by any writer anywhere weren't correct. Until deals are formally announced, any published deal is pure speculation and didn't come from the Braves.
Epilogue
Writers have to meet a deadline every day, and their only sources of material, until there’s some actual news, are interviews and unnamed sources at the coffee shop.
At the deadline and the Winter meetings in particular, don't get too excited about a report until changes from nearing completion, and even then, it may fall through, as the Carlos Correa deal showed last year.
GMs or POBOs like the Atlanta Braves Alex Anthopoulos need to give interviews to answer questions, squash rumors, and remain engaged with fans. His answers are only restating the obvious, but there’s nothing else he can do until a deal is done.
We here at HTHB have to write about rumors as well, but we ignore rumors from the third stool just before the flush and attempt to offer context to those from recognized sources. I think we do that pretty well.