Wild Juan Soto contract stat shows how savvy the Braves have been with their payroll

ByChase Owens|
Division Series - Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves - Game Three
Division Series - Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves - Game Three | Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/GettyImages

At the beginning of the offseason one superstar free agent set out to make history, and he ended up doing just that. The Atlanta Braves NL East rival up in Queens handed out the largest contract in baseball history when they signed generational hitter Juan Soto to a 15 year $765 million contract.

Soto's talent was always going to command a large payday, but hitting free agency right in the middle of his prime at 26 years-old set up for the perfect storm. Then factor in Mets owner Steve Cohen has no financial limits or fear for that matter, this is how you get a record breaking deal.

Recently, Soto's contract began to be compared to some of the core players on Atlanta's roster. Stephen Tolbert of Battery Power put into perspective how insane these financial figures showcase just how savvy Alex Anthopoulos has been over the past few years.

Braves entire starting lineup has nearly the same amount of guaranteed money as the massive Soto contract

Looking at the projected starting lineup for the Atlanta Braves the total of their contracts came out slightly more than Soto's deal. When you combine the guaranteed dollars to Sean Murphy, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Orlando Arcia, Austin Riley, Jurickson Profar, Michael Harris II, and Ronald Acuña Jr. the total number comes out to $775 million. The only difference is instead of 15 years of production for Soto, the Braves are paying for 57 possible seasons of production for their entire starting lineup.

To have a lineup loaded with stars and be paying nearly the same amount as ONE player within your division is an unheard of feat. Something this impressive takes years of ground work, and Alex Anthopoulos started that years ago.

The Braves were on the forefront of extending core players prior to their big money arbitration seasons, and as a result wound up with some of the most team-friendly contracts in baseball. That's why we haven't seen much turnover in the Braves lineup year after year.

Yes, stars like Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson have left via free agency in years past, but that didn't stop Anthopoulos from acquring more quality bats to build around Acuña Jr. and company. From there he filled in the lineup by acquiring hitters like Marcell Ozuna and Jurickson Profor in free agency. Yet somehow both of those deals came in below what the market was valuing productive hitters in each respective offseason.

Sometimes it takes a simple comparison like this to put into perspective just how fortune we are to have Alex Anthopoulos captaining the ship for the Atlanta Braves. He's the reason the team has a lineup full of winning players, and not just ONE highly-paid superstar.

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