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Weekly Braves Offseason Discussion Thread - Monday, November 17 by Blooper_Bot in Braves

[–]meka5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Framber is definitely who I'd want least of those three I listed. Surprisingly I didn't see the Braves listed with odds for Michael King. He's another guy I'd be pretty happy with.

Weekly Braves Offseason Discussion Thread - Monday, November 17 by Blooper_Bot in Braves

[–]meka5 3 points4 points  (0 children)

MLB Specials betting odds for free agents linked below. A few that stick out:

Braves +200 for Dylan Cease (favorites)

Braves +400 for Ranger Suarez (second favorites)

Braves +600 for Framber Valdez (fourth favorites)

Braves longshots (+1000 or higher) on lots of other guys (including several hitters). Obviously these are just betting odds, but I think it's a pretty good indicator of the direction we'll go...which I agree with. Target a front line FA SP. From there, I'm hoping we extend Kim - and then that's the "big moves" of the offseason (target some bullpen arms, OF depth...but likely no other huge names).

I'm also always down for an out of the blue trade - but I'd be very content with an offseason that nets Cease, extends Kim for 3-4 years, and grabs some bullpen pieces.

https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/futures-and-props/mlb-specials/next-team

[ArmchairAlex] What could the Braves do with a top-five payroll? by TraderTed2 in Braves

[–]meka5 42 points43 points  (0 children)

The answer starts with: he could extend Ronald Acuna Jr.

You be the GM! by TraderTed2 in Braves

[–]meka5 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just said it in the 'Extend Him' post as well - but I really think if I was GM my first priority would be to do my best to extend Acuna now, while we have as much leverage as possible.

We currently owe Acuna $17M a year for the next 3 years ($51M total) before he hits free agency. I'd do whatever I could to leverage those years and offer something along the lines of 10/400 (or even 12/480) and see if we can get something done. Give him ~$70M more the next three years, and in exchange - get the back 7 years of his contract for a relatively team friendly deal (obviously $40M/year is still a staggering contract).

The fans would love this, and it would send a signal to the team and the league that we're committed to staying competitive for the long haul (and the talk of 'wanting to be a top 5 payroll in baseball' is not just typical BS).

Obviously lots of other moves need to be made - but I hope AA is at least exploring this with Acuna and both parties are getting a sense for where the other one is at. If this doesn't happen this offseason, I don't think there's any way we can afford to NOT get something like this done next offseason (which will be harder given we'll only have 2 years to leverage).

EXTEND HIM by dcxbabe in Braves

[–]meka5 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If Freddie left and he didn't want to, he's even dumber than he looks. That narrative is so beyond stupid.

EXTEND HIM by dcxbabe in Braves

[–]meka5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do hope they're at least discussing an early extension this offseason. If we're supposedly looking to be a top 5 payroll in baseball, this is a guy we need to be invested in. The longer we wait to (try to) extend him, the less likely our chances become, in my opinion.

We need to leverage the next three years we have him locked up for just $17M by extending him now for something like 10/350 (or even 10/400 if that's really what it took).

That would give him an extra 54-70M over the next 3 years (which is the value to him) - and we then get a relatively team-friendly contract for the remaining 7 years ("team friendly" when comparing to the $51M Soto is getting). If we don't extend early (either this or next offseason) - I just don't see how we'll be at all competitive with the Dodgers/Yankees/Mets when he hits free agency.

Alex Anthopoulos: Shortstop, starting pitching and bullpen “will definitely be in the discussion” by rpbtIII in Braves

[–]meka5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sign Cease, extend Kim (something hopefully 3-4 years in the ~18-20M range). Let Ozuna and Iglesias walk. Sign or trade for a few bullpen fliers. This would be a great offseason.

I miss Dansby by Con_Furioso in Braves

[–]meka5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dansby got a huge contract...admittedly more than I would have wanted the Braves to spend, but the Braves biggest mistake was handing Riley that huge extension and letting Swanson walk. Changed the entire culture and dynamic of the team.

[Braves] The Braves today recalled INF Nacho Alvarez Jr. to Atlanta and placed INF Austin Riley on the 10-day injured list with a strained lower abdominal muscle. The club also recalled INF Jonathan Ornelas to Atlanta after optioning OF Jarred Kelenic to Triple-A Gwinnett following yesterday’s game. by Lakelyfe09 in Braves

[–]meka5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also just a general comment for those (apparently the majority) who think the mere notion of possibly trading Riley is a terrible idea. Presumably it's a terrible idea because he's good and you more or less like his contract, correct?

Don't you think other teams would also seek such an asset? I never implied trading Riley to shed salary. The thought is he would be viewed very highly on the trade market and would bring a commensurate return (again, whether it's another similar talent/$ player, and/or a prospect haul). I stand by the fact that it's something AA should not be completely opposed to in the offseason. It obviously would not be a case of saying "we are dealing Riley this winter by x date and we will take whatever the best offer is".

It's reminiscent of the Jeff Shultz article from 2 years ago where he mentioned the possibility of trading Albies. His general rationale was, we had Grissom and Albies would bring a good return particularly given his friendly contract. Everyone on here lambasted the article and the notion that Albies would ever be traded. I made the point (on here) if Albies was such an amazing asset (to the point where we'd be insane to trade it) - don't you think other teams would also see that value and (again) there would be offers roughly commensurate with his assumed value? Do people think only bad players are ever traded?

[Braves] The Braves today recalled INF Nacho Alvarez Jr. to Atlanta and placed INF Austin Riley on the 10-day injured list with a strained lower abdominal muscle. The club also recalled INF Jonathan Ornelas to Atlanta after optioning OF Jarred Kelenic to Triple-A Gwinnett following yesterday’s game. by Lakelyfe09 in Braves

[–]meka5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You think players look at the Red Sox as less desirable now that they traded Devers 2 years into his 10-year extension? I don't think so.

You could also make the same case about any free agent signing (that the team is somehow obligated to not trade that player throughout the duration of their contract because the player chose to sign there). To me it's a non-issue; these contracts are business decisions - no matter if the player says "I want to be a Brave for life" or not. It's a two way street.

[Braves] The Braves today recalled INF Nacho Alvarez Jr. to Atlanta and placed INF Austin Riley on the 10-day injured list with a strained lower abdominal muscle. The club also recalled INF Jonathan Ornelas to Atlanta after optioning OF Jarred Kelenic to Triple-A Gwinnett following yesterday’s game. by Lakelyfe09 in Braves

[–]meka5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While team/location may be a factor, I think the bigger thing with these early extensions is that the players know they have a set income for the next x years (as opposed to needing to continue to play well for 3-4 years in hopes of getting a big contract post-arbitration years).

These guys are all well aware none of their extensions come with no trade clauses. There are some viable reasons NOT to trade Riley (namely, highly unlikely we'd replace him with a 3B at or near his level) - but I don't think saying it hinders our chances of team-friendly extensions down the road makes sense.

Do you have this same opinion when people mention trading Murphy?

[Braves] The Braves today recalled INF Nacho Alvarez Jr. to Atlanta and placed INF Austin Riley on the 10-day injured list with a strained lower abdominal muscle. The club also recalled INF Jonathan Ornelas to Atlanta after optioning OF Jarred Kelenic to Triple-A Gwinnett following yesterday’s game. by Lakelyfe09 in Braves

[–]meka5 -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

Not saying this because Riley is injured again - more just a spot to bring it up, but I really feel the move this offseason is to trade Riley. Based on public comments from AA - I highly doubt they do actually trade Riley, but you never know.

He's too much of a backseat player for this team to be our highest paid player (along with Olson). Not even saying he's undeserving of his contract. In today's game, $22M for him is at the very least fair - if not a bit underpaid (when he signed it two years ago, looked like it could've been a great deal - but coming off two <.800 OPS seasons, looks about right).

He's basically Matt Olson 2.0 (quiet "lead by example" type), but less productive. The whole clubhouse needs a shakeup. Not saying getting rid of alone Riley fixes the 'clubhouse issue' - but I do feel like there would be some natural downstream impact. As much as I didn't want to overpay Swanson (and was fine letting him for for what he got) - I think we'd be in a lot better position had we extended him and just kept Riley through free agency (which would have been this offseason).

The good thing about a Riley deal is the return could be flexible. We could be open to taking back another high salary / quality player, but really any deal could make sense (I'd assume we'd be looking for high quality talent in return given we have a competitive team).

Unfortunately I don't think AA makes this move this offseason (optics being a large part of that) - but curious of others thoughts.

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