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Post by wncbravesfan on Jul 11, 2021 18:28:17 GMT -5
Unofficial 2nd half begins..............
Friday, 7/16, 7:20 PM ET
Michael Wacha RHP, #52
vs
Charlie Morton RHP, #50
Tampa Bay Rays 53-37, 25-20 AWAY
vs
Atlanta Braves 44-45, 24-22 HOME
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Post by Fumbduckery on Jul 11, 2021 18:34:11 GMT -5
I posted in the Acuna injury tread that our first 14 games after the break would be brutal, it's actually the first 17. The 15th and 16th games will be against the Brewers, with that 16th game being on trade deadline day. We could easily go 4-12 in those games and be completely sunk by the deadline. Unless AA pulls some magic out of his butt and makes a trade during the break. But there's no way he should give up any piece of the future to try to salvage this season.
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Post by wncbravesfan on Jul 12, 2021 13:05:06 GMT -5
My favorite thing about Dansby is how he hits HR’s in games we’re losing horribly.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2021 15:07:18 GMT -5
But there's no way he should give up any piece of the future to try to salvage this season. I will accept that and will not totally object being sellers to a point But I could not stand it if they trade Freddie for a marginal return that would not be looking any better than the compensatory draft pick for next year As I said before, best example for an objectionable return was what the Orioles got for Manny Machado. We would have been better off with the draft pick over what we got for Texiera in that trade with the Angels I am pretty much resigned about this yr as much as I do not like it. Of course what do we have to sell? I think Smyly's value has upped recently. He could be moved. I hate to part with Morton unless its a real decent return As for the guys we would like to dump, Newk, Ender, Smith well, good luck finding takers on that
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Post by wncbravesfan on Jul 14, 2021 10:57:15 GMT -5
There’s no way Freddie Freeman leaves the Braves. Is there?
The good thing about being a good team is that you’re, ahem, a good team. The bad thing is that staying good costs. In 2018, Alex Anthopoulos’ first season as general manager here, the Braves ranked 21st among MLB clubs in payroll. They won the National League East that season, which prompted the big-ticket (albeit short-term) signings of Josh Donaldson and Dallas Keuchel for 2019. That bumped them up to 15th.
They won the East again. Anthopoulos refused to meet the Twins’ price for Donaldson – more about this in a moment – but landed Marcell Ozuna and Cole Hamels with, once again, one-year offers. Ozuna led the NL in RBIs over the pandemic-shortened season; Hamels worked 3-1/3 innings. Win some, lose some. With the 16th-highest prorated payroll, the 2020 Braves came within a game of the World Series.
Spotrac calculates the Braves’ 2021 payroll at $141 million, 14th-highest in the majors, but well above the $121 million of 2018. Yet again, Anthopoulos sought to avoid long-term commitments, signing pitchers Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly to one-year deals totaling $26 million. At age 30, Ozuna was re-upped for $65 million over four seasons. He’s on the injured list with broken fingers; at the same time, he’s under investigation by MLB after being arrested on charges of domestic violence.
As of the All-Star break, the Braves have had their worst season under Anthopoulos. They’re a game under .500; they’re also only four games behind the division-leading Mets. They’re still owned by the Colorado-based conglomerate Liberty Media, which has, by Liberty Media standards, allowed Anthopoulos to spend more, though spending more isn’t quite splurging. The Dodgers’ payroll exceeds the Braves’ by $109 million; the Mets’ payroll is $50 million more than Atlanta’s.
Very soon, Anthopoulos will face even bigger, cosmically and monetarily, decisions than he has had to make since taking the job in November 2017. Freddie Freeman’s contract -- $135 million over eight seasons – lapses at season’s end. The Braves don’t want to let Freeman, the face of the franchise and the reigning NL MVP, leave. And yet: He turns 32 in September and, by his exalted standards, this has been his worst season (going by OPS) since 2015.
Freeman is making $22 million this season. That doesn’t put him among MLB’s 20 highest-paid players. Freeman has said he wants to be a Brave for life, but how far can a hometown discount go? (Also up for discussion, although the answer is surely unknowable: Has the uncertainty over his future affected Freeman’s performance? He told reporters at the All-Star game: “I wish something had been done.”)
In November 2019, Anthopoulos signed catcher Travis d’Arnaud for two years at $8 million each. In what passed for the 2020 season, d’Arnaud batted cleanup and won a Silver Slugger award. The follow-up has been less fulfilling. He hurt his thumb in May. He’s set to return in August. His batting average has dipped 101 percentage points year over year. He’s 32. He’ll become a free agent in November.
There’s no arguing with facts: In Anthopoulos’ first three years, his Braves finished first, first and first. Another fact: Good young teams tend to grow into good older teams, which means they keep winning but cost more. The 2019 contract extensions of Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies – totaling an aggregate $135 million over 15 seasons – bought much wiggle room. (In February, Fernando Tatis of San Diego signed a 14-year deal for $340 million.) Still, the Braves knew other contracts would be less team-friendly.
As we speak, the Braves cannot be sure they’ll have Freeman, d’Arnaud, Morton or Smyly on opening day 2022. Ozuna’s status is uncertain. Dansby Swanson is set to become a free agent after next season. Max Fried is arbitration-eligible. So is Chris Martin, who’s 35. Mike Soroka has worked 13-2/3 big-league innings since October 2019. There’s still young talent here: Austin Riley, Ian Anderson, Huascar Ynoa, Kyle Muller, Kyle Wright, Cristian Pache, Drew Waters, Shea Langeliers. Lest we forget: Albies is 24, Acuna 23. This isn’t an organization apt to implode anytime soon.
The reason Anthopolous didn’t pay $90-some million to keep Donaldson was because, at 34, he was a good player but a bad investment. The reason for the annual parade of one-year deals is that, even with a worst-case scenario (i.e., Hamels), those sunk costs don’t linger. That said, this administration hasn’t faced an issue like Freeman. There’s no way the Braves can lose him. If memory serves, we once said the same of Tom Glavine, who wound up pitching for – ugh – the Mets.
About the Author
Mark Bradley is a sports columnist and blogger for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has been with the AJC since 1984.
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Post by keystone61 on Jul 14, 2021 11:19:08 GMT -5
I really don't think you can go over 5 years with Freeman. Maybe 6, since he's been, well, Freeman.
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Post by Hart's Middle Finger on Jul 14, 2021 11:37:53 GMT -5
All those words just to express what we already know. Freddie is up for a contract renewal. He will be expensive. We have to make choices.
Cutting edge stuff there as usual from an Atlanta sportswriter.
Let d'Arnaud go unless he would sign ultra cheap. We got a fluke year out of him and he has a long injury history. Let Smyly go. That's 19mm right there. Pay Freddie.. he's not costing you a $19mm increase over what he makes now. You've also got Dunder's 6mm coming off the books, and Smith's 12mm or whatever it is comes off after 2022.
You still have double digit millions to re-sign Morton or spend less and find some other veteran presents pitcher for 2022. Dansby can walk when he's FA eligible if his contract demands and counter offers are a problem, and we still have money to deal with our young pitchers.
This is really a non-issue in my opinion. We can sign Freddie and still fill in holes. $25mm off the books not even counting Morton if we don't re-sign him: Another double digit mm figure off after 2022. We're fine.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2021 12:39:19 GMT -5
I really don't think you can go over 5 years with Freeman. Maybe 6, since he's been, well, Freeman. I'll go 6. He has been quite durable and takes care of himself, he should project to still play well in his mid 30's say, up to even ages 36 and 37. The injuries he has had are not severe leg or back type of stuff that can really alter a career, its mostly being hit on the hand and one yr he had the elbow thing
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2021 12:41:52 GMT -5
I get why some would say let D Arnaud go unless you can get him cheap
Does that mean you give the catching duties to another try for Contreras (hope for improvement) or turn the keys over to Langeliers?
Or, more of the Famous Leon type?
Fair question, not ripping for overpaying for D Arnaud, just where do we go from where we are as far a C goes?
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Post by wncbravesfan on Jul 14, 2021 13:23:23 GMT -5
All those words just to express what we already know. Freddie is up for a contract renewal. He will be expensive. We have to make choices. Cutting edge stuff there as usual from an Atlanta sportswriter. Let d'Arnaud go unless he would sign ultra cheap. We got a fluke year out of him and he has a long injury history. Let Smyly go. That's 19mm right there. Pay Freddie.. he's not costing you a $19mm increase over what he makes now. You've also got Dunder's 6mm coming off the books, and Smith's 12mm or whatever it is comes off after 2022. You still have double digit millions to re-sign Morton or spend less and find some other veteran presents pitcher for 2022. Dansby can walk when he's FA eligible if his contract demands and counter offers are a problem, and we still have money to deal with our young pitchers. This is really a non-issue in my opinion. We can sign Freddie and still fill in holes. $25mm off the books not even counting Morton if we don't re-sign him: Another double digit mm figure off after 2022. We're fine. "Pay Freddie.. he's not costing you a $19mm increase over what he makes now."Great statement by you. Good thinking !!!
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Post by wncbravesfan on Jul 14, 2021 13:50:02 GMT -5
The Mets plan to activate J.D. Davis for Friday’s game in Pittsburgh. Davis has spent the last 2.5 months on the injured list.
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Post by Hart's Middle Finger on Jul 14, 2021 16:11:35 GMT -5
I get why some would say let D Arnaud go unless you can get him cheap Does that mean you give the catching duties to another try for Contreras (hope for improvement) or turn the keys over to Langeliers? Or, more of the Famous Leon type? Fair question, not ripping for overpaying for D Arnaud, just where do we go from where we are as far a C goes? Even if you sign d'Arnaud again.. you still have Freddie's money with some left over between Smyly and Dunder. Just understand if you re-sign him you are talking about a guy who is oft injured.. has rarely played more than 100 games in a season, was a -.2 WAR player this year, and was hitting 100 points than he did during his career year in the shortened 2020.. So chances are you need another catcher of some substance anyway.
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Post by Fumbduckery on Jul 14, 2021 17:22:40 GMT -5
Nobody got optioned to Gwinnett to get in some AB's this week?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2021 18:32:34 GMT -5
So chances are you need another catcher of some substance anyway. I am sort of on the fence with D Arnaud IF he is too expensive and would make the budget too tight once something is done with Freddie (hopefully) One way to get some money back is to be able to move Will Smith and some teams just might bite on him even with the year plus left on that contract. Who that is - it only takes one team. Because of his past record and some decent numbers, I would not give up thinking he can be moved. As for a catcher of substance, it should not break the budget to be an upgrade over the Fabulous Leon, got to check the mlb trade listings to see who might be available. Give Lucroy some playing time and see what he can do, can he be worse than the Fabulous Leon? Wonder what it will take to keep Charlie Morton, only the off season can tell. Could another team offer more than 15 mil, I thought that was generous though he has been pretty good for the most part. Could his market be near 20 mil? Who knows.
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Post by keystone61 on Jul 14, 2021 18:35:12 GMT -5
I think Langaliers will be ready next year. I could obviously be wrong, but he's a college guy who has done nothing but impress since we took him. Future star, IMO. Contreras can hit, but can't catch a lick. Trade him or change his position. My 2 cents.
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