Braves' payroll mess means that an offseason roster shakeup should be coming

The current Atlanta Braves roster has a few players who cost too much when they were signed or will cost too much in the future. The process won't be painless and may not be popular, but it has to happen for the team to continue to succeed.

Atlanta Braves' DH Marcell Ozuna’s been the best batter on the team and the best DH in the league who isn't a part-time pitcher.
Atlanta Braves' DH Marcell Ozuna’s been the best batter on the team and the best DH in the league who isn't a part-time pitcher. | Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/GettyImages
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Moving players without a position or who are blocked

The next step is trading Jorge Soler to a club that needs a DH and saving his $16M this season and next. We have the best DH who isn’t also a pitcher in either league. Replacing him with Soler or trying to make Soler a good left fielder is wasted effort. Trading him will likely require packaging him with a pitcher and perhaps a prospect, but it’s time to move Bryce Elder (or Dodd, or both) anyway.

Elder’s not going slip in alongside Strider, Sale, Lopez, and Schwellenbach, next year because AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep are better options, and Lucas Braun and Drue Hackenburg, among others, are on the way.

Trade Kelenic for a starting pitcher with upside. Ronald Acuña Jr in right and Michael Harris in center, Laureano and Merrifield can handle left field and produce as well or better than Kelenic. The money spent is sunk cost. Maybe he figures it out in a year or two, but he’s playing like a fourth outfielder, and the Braves have players who can do that.

It's time to admit that Orlando Arcia is a backup shortstop on a championship team. The 2023 team could hide him, but that team had a historic offense. I’m not sure Nacho Alvarez is ready – his bat isn’t – but if we’re going to play a glove-first shortstop, let’s play the future.

That’s a Wrap

A few weeks back, I suggested trading Raisel Iglesias and moving Jimenez into the closer’s role. That was a really bad idea. Iglesias is now one of the game’s best closers and worth every penny of his $15M contract. Watching Joe and others filling in is painful. You can either close a postseason game or maybe close a postseason game. Right now, Iglesias can, and the others may. I’ll take can over might.

Moving on from the others isn’t that hard. Anthopoulos gave up a lot to give Kelenic a shot and may hang on to him to see if another year will make it happen. Kelenic may do his best Profar impression at some point, but so far, every season’s looked the same.

I understood the Soler trade, but he’ll never be a good defender again. He’s three years older, and he’s going to continue to have hamstring issues and hurt himself trying to make catches because he wants to do the job. I know Anthopoulos said he intends to use him as an outfielder, it was the only thing he could say, but I doubt he plans to keep him past this season.

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