After a quiet start, the Braves made a fascinating play to lock up multiple young stars, then reacted boldly when two top pitchers were lost to their second UCL tears.
Major League Signings
- Ervin Santana, RHP. One year, $14.1MM.
- Gavin Floyd, RHP. One year, $4MM.
- Aaron Harang, RHP. One year, unknown.
- Total Spend: $18.1MM
- Yenier Bello ($400K bonus), Mat Gamel, Freddy Garcia, Tyler Greene, Mark Hamilton, Steven Lerud, Yunesky Maya, Luis Perez, Atahualpa Severino, Jose Yepez
- Acquired C/OF Ryan Doumit from Twins for LHP Sean Gilmartin.
- Acquired RHP Zach Stewart from White Sox in exchange for cash.
- Freddie Freeman, 1B. Eight years, $135MM.
- Andrelton Simmons, SS. Seven years, $58MM.
- Craig Kimbrel, RHP. Four years, $42MM.
- Julio Teheran, RHP. Six years, $32.4MM. Club option for 2020.
- Jason Heyward, OF. Two years, $13.3MM. (No team control added.)
Notable Losses
- Luis Ayala, Scott Downs, Tim Hudson, Paul Janish (non-tendered), Elliot Johnson (non-tendered), Reed Johnson (declined option), Kameron Loe, Paul Maholm, Christhian Martinez (non-tendered, still unsigned), Brian McCann, Eric O'Flaherty
Otherwise, the major concerns for Atlanta are those that the team expected to face going into the year. Will high-dollar veterans B.J. Upton (center field) and Dan Uggla (second base) do enough to justify regular roles, if not their contracts? If not, the team may be forced to turn to other, far-from-certain options (such as Jordan Schafer and Tommy La Stella) to supplement or replace those veterans. Will the Gattis/Laird combination behind the dish be serviceable over a full season, and/or can Bethancourt force his way into the bigs? And can Chris Johnson approximate his surprising 2013 at third?