Braves News: Braves earn B+ this offseason, all-time outfield, more
By Eric Cole
While we could still see some minor moves before the season starts, the offseason for the Atlanta Braves has pretty much come to an end. It is fair to call it a mixed bag of an offseason as the Braves were able to add Sean Murphy to shore up the catcher position with one of the best backstops in the league, but they also lost Dansby Swanson in free agency which is less than ideal.
There was obviously more to the offseason than those two moves, but when the dust settled, The Athletic ultimately gave the Braves a B+ for their offseason overall. That rating feels a bit generous, but I also don't think the Braves had to add a ton of talent to remain one of the best teams in baseball, either.
More Braves News
Elsewhere on the site, we took a look at starting to make an all-time great Braves roster with the outfield being our first installment. While Hank Aaron was a mortal lock for one of those spots, we also had a pair of players with strong Hall of Fame cases that have yet to make it into Cooperstown occupying the other two spots.
Finally, we are big fans of the Braves minor leagues here and my former colleagues and overall great folks over at Battery Power put together their top 25 Braves prospects list. While there are certainly some differences with our list that we posted back in December, the general notes are very close and it is clear that the Braves' farm system has seen better days.
MLB News
Tony Gonsolin had a stellar season for the Dodgers in 2022 despite dealing with some injuries. If he hadn't missed a chunk of the season last year, it is likely that he would have had a really strong Cy Young case. The Dodgers seem to be big fans as well which is why they closed the deal on a two year contract with Gonsolin that avoids arbitration with him.
In sadder news, Ralph Avila, long-time Dodgers scout and father of former Tigers general manager Al Avila, passed away recently at the age of 92. Avila was a driving force behind the development of MLB's player development in the Dominican Republic before retiring as a scout in 1999. He will be sorely missed.