If there is one things we have learned this offseason, it is to listen to the Foul Territory podcast whenever an Atlanta Braves player joins the show. Newcomer Chris Sale had a great interview early this offseason. More recently, A.J. Minter joined the show. You can listen to the entire interview here, but we want to break down some of Minter's responses. Here are three parts of the interview that stood out to us.
Adding Chris Sale
Let's start with the excitment around adding Chris Sale to the rotation. Minter has high praise for the lefty. Everyone is aware of what Sale is capable of from a performance stand point but what catches Minter's attention is Sale's mentality. A.J. so eloquently states that Chris Sale "has that dog in him." Adding such a competitor to an already solid rotation may send the Braves over the top and Minter recognizes that.
2024 expectations and goals
Another response Minter had that will get Braves fans fired up is his response to 2024 expectations. Minter went on to discuss how good the Braves are and how winning the division every year is most certainly an accomplishment to celebrate. However, it is World Series or bust for this star studded Atlanta team according to Minter.
Alex Anthopoulos extension and relationship with team
A.J. Minter was asked about how important Alex Anthopoulos' extension was to the Braves organization and what his relationship was like with the team. Of course Minter had nothing but good things to say about the job AA has done in this organization. How could any one not?
We all know that A.J, Pierzynski doesn't hold back when he has an opinion. He confirmed that there are general managers across Major League Baseball that seem non existent until things are going south for their team. This lead to Minter being asked if AA is present in the clubhouse and around the team often.
To no surprise, Minter was able to say that Anthopoulos is often times part of pitchers and hitter meetings, he is in the dugout before games occasionally and has dinners with the team. Not only was Minter able to discuss how good this Braves team is but also how well ran this organization is thanks to people like Alex Anthopoulos. Information like this is what makes Major League players want to play for this team.