Braves GM John Coppolella took over his club’s Twitter account today to address the organization’s direction. While he expressed disappointment that the win-loss record hasn’t shown much improvement, the focus obviously remains on the future for Atlanta. Still, he continued to suggest that the expectation is for the on-field product to begin improving in the near term … and also left no doubt that he follows Braves fandom rather closely on social media.
Here are some of the key points, with all links to Twitter:
[Related: Braves Depth Chart]
- Coppolella predicts that the Braves will be quite active in free agency, saying that the team has “more money to spend than in the past 10 years.” Atlanta has never been one of the biggest spenders around, so it’s not exactly a lofty bar, but with only $50MM on the books for 2017 (before arbitration raises) there ought to be some added freedom this winter. Coppy adds that he’s interested in making “major [free agent] signings” to bring in “impactful” players, with a focus (whether in free agency or trade) on adding “at least two” starters and bolstering the catching unit. The latter area, at least, is one of some depth on the coming market.
- The upcoming crop of open-market starters, of course, is about as thin as we’ve ever seen. But that remains a need for the Braves, with Coppolella saying he was disappointed in the lack of progress from the club’s young rotation members. He adds that “opportunity time is over in 2017” for those pitchers, who will “have to earn a rotation spot once [the Braves] add free agents.” One still-youthful staff member, Julio Teheran, has turned in an outstanding year. While Coppolella did not address the topic, I’d note that it’ll be interesting to see whether there is any chatter regarding the talented righty, whose stock is firmly on the rise. He has often been mentioned as a trade candidate, but with Atlanta looking to add at the major league level, the time for a deal may have passed.
- There isn’t a general need for arms, Coppolella insisted. In addition to noting the many minor league talents who are in the pipeline, he says that the “bullpen is likely the least area of concern” entering the winter.
- Looking back, Coppolella acknowledges that acquiring Hector Olivera “still haunts me.” That deal obviously did not pan out on or off the field, and Olivera’s contract was sent to the Padres in the deal that netted Matt Kemp. The Braves GM copped to being “shortsighted” in commenting recently on Kemp’s poor conditioning, saying the veteran has been “terrific” in all regards since coming over. As for a trade that has gone in Atlanta’s favor, Coppolella expressed surprise at Shelby Miller’s struggles with the Diamondbacks and said that as many as twenty teams attempted to acquire him last winter.
- The Braves did not promote young infielder Ozzie Albies to the majors this year because they “didn’t feel Ozzie was ready,” says Coppolella. But he notes that the youngster “will get an opportunity to fight for a [major league] job” this spring despite being passed over. Generally, Coppolella added, the organization expects to “continue to push players and provide opportunities.” He hinted that service time won’t be a factor in determining when the club’s touted minor league assets make it to the bigs.
- With a laundry list of interesting young arms on the farm, Coppolella singled out towering, 22-year-old righty Patrick Weigel, who he says has a “chance to be a frontline starter.” The 2015 seventh-round draft pick has posted 149 2/3 innings of 2.47 ERA ball at the High-A and (briefly) Double-A levels this year, with 9.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, leading Coppy to name him the most improved minor league pitcher in the organization. The GM cited outfielder Dustin Peterson as the recipient of that honor on the position-player side after his .282/.343/.431 batting line and 12 home runs over 578 plate appearances at Double-A. Peterson came over as part of a group of increasingly interesting prospects in the Justin Upton trade, with lefty Max Fried also drawing praise from the organization’s baseball operations triggerman.
- All said, it promises to be another interesting winter in Atlanta. It’s generally a quiet time right now on the rumor front, but Coppolella says the club is already holding talks on prospective offseason trades. Primary attention seems to be going to the major league roster at present, but Coppolella suggested that he will continue to focus on infusing young talent to the system, writing that the organization “will always try to trade for draft picks” when possible.
Hi
Hello!
Goodbye. Braves have enough corner outfielders with lead feet. already
Really interesting to see how candid Copp has been on these online questions. However, free agency has never solved a team’s issues so I hope he doesn’t spend just to spend on this mediocre SP class. 3B is perhaps their most important and toughest spot to improve.
Hopefully they sign Prado on an affordable contract. And hopefully, they don’t overpay on Ramos. It will be fun to watch it unfold
If they want Ramos, they will have to overpay him. I agree that they should not do that though. They really shouldn’t over pay for anyone at all until they get an actual idea of what their talent base looks like going forward.
You mean aside from the atrocious outfielders they’re already overpaying?
I don’t see the Braves signing any free agent that costs them a draft pick, which Ramos certainly will. Plus I’d have serious issues giving 100 mil+ to a guy with his injury history and performance record prior to this season.
As for Prado, he’ll probably want 3 years. That’s not something the Braves should do with Ruiz, Riley and Demeritte all in the pipeline. I kind of hope they can find a good platoon partner for Garcia instead.
Have you watched Adonis Garcia lately? I would say catcher and the rotation should be priority 1 and 2 with the latter coming via trade.
Maybe trade and sign chris sale? He said a big pitching started needed
You do understand that trading for Chris Sale would take the Braves deep farm system and completely pillage it, correct? And while doing that, you’d add Chris Sale to a team where it is likely that his highest value years (those in the near term(, will be on a team that is terrible.
No way on Sale. I’d take him for sure but not for what it would cost us. Remember the best trade Wren didn’t make was the one for Peavy. Pitcher with a funky delivery approaching 30, no thanks.
his funky delievery isn’t the reason the braves should pass. It’s that obtaining a player like him just does not match their likely window of contention in 2018/2019=ish
Hindsight though, we didn’t give up Tommy Hanson and Jordan Schafer. Hanson was good for us a few years before his own delivery cost him a MLB job. Flipping it, Peavy was never the Top of the Rotation arm the White Sox thought they were getting. Trades are relative value at the time of the trade. Prospects don’t always pan out. For the majority of fans, we judge prospects based on what the ‘experts’ are saying along with their stats. 50% success rate compared to a proven MLB talent. That’s what makes it all so fun.
what are you talking about.
First, no, “fans” do not judge prospects based on what expects say. Many involved fans spend the time to read reports, watch vids, look at stats and form their own opinions.
Where are you getting a 50% success rate? And what are your parameters for success?
And you understand that it wouldn’t be something like the braves giving up 2 prospects to get sale? It’d be swanson/albies/high ceiling arm (lets say newcomb)/ and something like an A ball pitcher with some project ability.
First, unless you’re personally going to the games, practices, etc. and extensively watching players, examining their fundamentals, talking to coaches and trainers about their work ethic, how good a teammate they are, coachability, etc. then you’re just trusting what a person who actually does that says. Of course everyone forms opinions on prospects bc of the reports that the experts write up and the parts of video they do post online. Stats are pretty black and white. The whole point of reading is to form your own opinion based of the information you have.
2nd. 50% is a pretty general number. It’s more to the point that a lot of people pan out and a lot of others don’t. I’m sure you can do a quick google search and find out the exact percentages. The point I was trying to make was that not all prospects pan out and we live in a world where teams would rather hold onto a person who MIGHT help in the future in order to get a person who at least has some MLB experience to form an idea of how likely that player is to help your team.
Finally, I’m not sure why you asked that question. Of course, I won’t insult your intelligence the way you attempted to insult mine, but we both know that a 2008-Peavy deal and a 2016-Sale deal aren’t just two top prospects. (I believe the Peavy deal that was agreed upon was Escobar, Reyes/Morton, Boyer,and Gorkys.) Its that the two players the Braves said they wouldn’t trade ended up being Jordan Schafer and Tommy Hanson, who I already said gave us a few good years before he flamed out.
That, sir, is what I’m talking about.
It’s all in good fun and in the spirit of debate.
“he continued to suggest that the expectation is for the on-field product to begin improving in the near term” – well, it can’t get much worse…
One note in there that might get lost; 20 teams tried to acquire or had interest in Miller. Does that mean there was a bidding war and that’s why Arizona paid such a high price. You got to believe that teams like Houston, Boston, Chicago and the Dodgers, all who had/have good farms, were in on him. Perhaps bregman, benintendi, Urias were some of the names in proposals, and Stewart was forced to beat those offers. At some point you got to know when to stop and I don’t want to defend him, but maybe that’s just why it was such a big haul Arizona had to give up.
Where was the interesting note in there?? You’re assuming there was a bidding war, but he said that as many as 20 teams attempted to acquire him. It’s pure speculation naming names especially when they’re newly-drafted guys (Benintendi, Bregman, etc.) and such. I’ve read that ARZ had a package in mind for Jose Fernandez and when they saw MIA wouldn’t move him, they moved much of that package on to Miller, and once ATL came away from demanding Pollock, a deal was had. Don’t know that’s how it played out.
Think you are being overly critical in this, DMC. The second sentence was a question, not a statement despite the lack of a question mark. So he is only hypothesizing how Arizona ended up making an overpay for Miller.
Additionally, to turn your rebuttal back on you, you also have to assume Arizona FO just woke up one day and decided to propose an insane package to acquire Miller’s services, or that Stewart just kept throwing in a better piece everytime Coppi said no.
Out of EITHER assumption, the theory of a bidding war sounds like a better idea for the gross over payment than other theories.
Yeah, or not. The cubs balked at soler +, so I imagine that the dodgers just laughed their asses off at the idea of urias or seager.
Until you can give me any real definition of what “had interest in” actually means, then I’m just going to discount your post.
I had interest in a few houses, after looking at them and the price, I quickly put them in the back of my mind. That didn’t create some bidding war.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Dodgers never offere Urias in a Shelby Miller deal.
Ya they probably never offered him, but maybe that’s what Atlanta was expecting
Never met Coppy, but I would venture to say that even on his best day he’s didn’t expect LAD would consider parting for the best pitching prospect in the game (Urias) for Shelby Miller.
I love that Coppy does these fan interactions, as an aspiring GM it’s really cool to see one be so open with the fans. Annoying to see people wasting everyone’s time still asking him simpleminded questions along the lines of “why aren’t we good?” though…
From John Hart being in the broadcasting booth during tonight’s game, it sounds like they really like Prado and want to bring him back, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the main infield target this offseason. And based on one of Coppy’s in-game interviews last month, I’m pretty sure Wieters and McCann will be the primary catching targets.
No chance there’s a move for someone on the level of sale, but I could still see maybe offloading a couple pitching prospects for a no. 2 starter (there’s a reason we stocked up on all these pitching prospects).
Looking forward to next season in SunTrust, still don’t quite believe that Coppy seriously believes we’ll contend in 2017 but who knows?
“Looking forward to next season in SunTrust….”
I finally found somebody looking forward to the new stadium!
Prado will resign with the Marlins or join a team with a better shot at contention. The Braves will not get him back.
This was a very fun article. Thanks for posting it
Isn’t the biggest need catcher? Without AJ are they going to put a stool back there? They have 0 power outside of Freeman and to a lesser extent Kemp. Freeman and Inciarte are the only position players that have a decent WAR, This team is a wreck and a weak FA class isn’t going to solve any issues. Could be the Marlins 2.0. Hell they could go crazy and spend big on mediocrity like the Marlins did for the year they opened their new stadium. Then blow it up at the trade deadline for nothing.
Catcher is one position that I think they look strongly at the free agent market but probably don’t come away with the prom queen on. Wilson Ramos is almost assuredly going to get the biggest interest and contract. The problem is that several teams will be looking to sign him and he will certainly cost a draft pick (although with the Braves it would be their 2nd pick and not their very first one since the top 10 picks are protected). Although they have their warts for sure I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the Braves sign either Wieters or Castro. I do think they will try to limit the contract to the absolute most of 3 seasons and preferably only 2 years.
I would personally like to see if they could sign Prado to a two year contract, but almost assuredly someone else will offer more years and he will go that route. He offers decent defense, versatility (although he has mainly been a thirdbaseman of late), seldom strikes out, and the Braves have comfort knowing he is a positive influence in the clubhouse which would be useful for the younger players there (think Swanson, Albies and others). I wouldn’t rule out Valbuena but I think the most likely option for better or worse is that the Braves still stick with iron glove Adonis Garcia and perhaps spell him at some point in the season (or at least platoon him some) with Rio Ruiz.
The Braves seriously need to improve their starting pitching some for 2017 if they want to be significantly better. Both Folty and Wisler have shown the ability to at times pitch quite well but at other times they have serious issues keeping runs off the board. They still probably start the season in the Braves rotation alongside Teheran. Blair, Gant, Whalen and the other ‘might be’s’ will likely start in AAA to see if they can improve. That will leave two spots the Braves will seek to fill via either free agency or trade. We all know, as you said, this is a weak free agent class, but I’m sure they will be at least kick the tires on the following (for better or worse): Ivan Nova, Jeremy Hellickson, Bartolo Colon, Andrew Cashner, Colby Lewis, and even Kris Medlen. Obviously NONE of those are sure fire candidates but it isn’t unknown for the Braves to take a pitcher with flaws and see if they can get something out of them, or to value age and experience (in the case of someone like Colon). If they sign ANY of them it will boil down to whether or not the Braves feel that pitcher can pitch at least the first half effectively. To be honest I would feel at most one of those pitchers are signed and it is more likely that the Braves seek to trade some low minor talent for a more established pitcher who perhaps is on a more expensive contract. That route will depend on which teams decide to sell and at what price (and I expect decent pitching to be overvalued this off season).
I don’t really expect to see a Marlins like debacle or a situation like Preller did with going all in for the Padres a couple off seasons ago. I do realize however that to get value the Braves are going to have to give up value, and that might hurt for sure.
I see Nova resigning with the Pirates and Colon resigning with the Mets due to his durability and ability to throw strikes. Hellikson is interesting for sure I thing the Phillies will make a push to get him back. The Braves aren’t the Pirates when it comes to “fixing” a bad pitcher. Folty looks like he should be in the pen. Weisler showed some flashes last season. The minors is full of backend guys. One did well at high A and limited AA. Fantastic but as he moves up the batters will adjust more and quicker. Plenty of guys kill it in A ball and stall out. It’s a good sign but it doesn’t mean they are a stud. The braves will lose 100+ next season again. The 2017-2018 FA class is crazy deep but I bet they are to stingy to do anything of note there too. But the other issue is most big name guys the braves acquire suck once they land in Atlanta, at least in recent memory. Remember how bad Vinny Castillia was?
Forgive me for not being clear:
I never said that the Braves would be the first choice for any of those names I threw out for the free agent pitchers, only that the braves would at least kick the tires on them (show them some interest). I’ll definitely agree that there is more than a good chance Nova resigns with the Pirates and that Colon resigns with the Mets.
I also never said the braves were as good as the Pirates at ‘fixing’ a bad pitcher. They have however attempted to on several occasions with a few moderate successes thrown in along the way. I meant to convey the idea that it isn’t unknown for them to take gambles on pitchers coming off of down seasons more or less.
I’m not sure what I said warranted the comment about backend guys or minor league pitching prospects stalling out: There is at least some worth to back end of the rotation pitchers and as you said there is always a chance that any prospect (even happens with top 10 ones by the way) stall out. I am not sure what of my previous post made you think I wasn’t aware of that fact.
I also wasn’t suggesting in any way that the Braves were likely to sign any big name free agent (not that there are any real big ones in this class). Atlanta has probably had as bad as history signing ‘big name’ free agents as much as any other team dating all the way back to Andy Messersmith who basically only had one decent season in a braves uniform. There is always risk involved with players which is why some teams often go the numbers route (more mid level prospects instead of gambling on one high potential prospect of course that is a whole other discussion).
My initial reply was most directly about your points about catching and the braves spending on mediocrity. I was basically saying in my opinion it is likely (but obvious not guaranteed) that the braves will seek to sign some sort of upgrade at catcher, probably do little or nothing at thirdbase, and seek some sort of buy low candidate for one rotation spot and possibly make a big (and very potentially costly) acquisition of another starter through trade. The problem is that the situation seems to imply that Coppy will attempt to do something instead of simply sit on his hands this offseason (for better or worse) I hope that clarified what I was saying.
I get what you are saying. I just don’t see a big deal happening unless they want to mortgage the little glimmer of hope the Braves have. Sorry, I’m an extreme pessimist when it comes to the Braves. I haven’t been happy with the front office for quite some time now. I’m still fuming over the blowing up of the team and the minors upon Wren’s departure. It seemed as though the goal of that was to do anything to rid themselves of Wren’s “guys”.
Please take a look at Wren’s drafts — they’re terrible. Abysmal. Laughable even. AAA is one of the worst teams of the Braves farm system and many of those are from Wren. Wren drafted in the first round Sean Gilmartin (lost in Rule 5 draft, RP for NYM), Jason Hursh (barely a RP), Mike Minor (hasn’t pitched in 2 years for KC), Lucas Sims (decent upside, but not turning the corner) and the list goes on and on. Wren ran off our top scouts (Roy Clark) only to have them come back after he departed and the farm system suffered. Furthermore, the play of JHey, Justin Upton, Gattis should prove that they were not the building blocks people thought they were. CHC is winning despite JHey and his 8 HR and sub-.230 AVG. Upton has, again, been inconsistent, though decent in the last couple of weeks, but certainly not worth $160M. Wren banked on free agent and trade acquisitions and when he couldn’t go to the farm to supplement those bad free agent pick-ups because he hadn’t developed it, it was ultimately his undoing. There’s a reason he’s not a GM right now (and won’t be anytime soon).
I never said I liked Wren, I did state that most major signings were busts. By Wren’s “guys” I meant a few that were drafted in the last 2 years or so that have shown promise. I think the Braves are returning to the 80’s pretty quick. I don’t see any light, a few sparks nothing substantial. They should deal who they can for more minor league talent. This team isn’t going to be good because of a couple players, they need at least 10 more guys to make this team viable at all. If they have a winning season before 2020 I’ll be surprised.
I will admit when it comes to the future of the braves I am less pessimistic than you are. I think that the team will make some personnel changes this off season and finish with 75 or more wins (because I feel that often small changes have cascading effects on other players and often make a pretty significant change in win loss records especially combined with bringing young players and the maturation of other young players). I expect the team to definitely have a winning record in 2018 and without a doubt one in 2019. I see absolutely no reason why they would not have a winning record until 2020.
If you mean returning to the 80’s by referring to the teams abysmal record that decade, then I will disagree with you. If you are referring to the improving farm systems of the late 80’s then I will agree with you. Personally I am more excited about the Braves farm system than I have been since Gant, Glavine, Avery, Lemke, Blauser, Harper, and others were there. Definitely more excited than when Heyward and Freeman were farmhands, because at the time it didn’t look like there was much else. The Braves may be lacking the big name farm hands (with the exception of Swanson and Albies) but the sheer depth of having so many guys that project as likely major league contributors is nice. They may have no potential #1 or #2 starters in the minors, but they have a lot of guys that many experts feel should be strong #3’s or #4’s. Those have increasing value over the last few years and the number of them should ensure that a handful pan out. Even if you ended up with a 60% failure rate of all the prospects in the braves top 30 you’d still be talking about 12 guys that end up contributing at the major league level. You have to remember that many teams don’t hesitate to take young prospects as currency for established players that may not be in their own long term plans. So in other words that depth of minor league system may end up bringing major league talent to Atlanta even if many of the prospects never actually make it there. (again I’m NOT saying that most of them will succeed but saying that the depth brings value in and of itself in other ways too: the sheer numbers of high quality prospects will generate some success and the value in trade).
Just my opinion, and you can happily disagree.
That’s probably good…If I’ve learned anything from tv shows and movies, the Prom Queen tends to become a disappointment when viewed in later years.
I have to wonder about the kind of pressure Coppollela is receiving from the higher ups over contending in 2017. I would think that most GMs would be playing it safe and continue the rebuild given the weak FA class and the fact that all the talent in the Braves system is in A ball and lower. It seems they will either overpay for a few marginal upgrades at best or trade away some serious talent they spent the last 2 years collecting for maybe 1 impact player.
Then there’s this comment: “opportunity time is over in 2017”. I assume he’s talking about Wisler and Blair. I’d hate for the Braves to give up on those guys this early all for the hopes of “maybe” being a WC contender next year.
I think the dynamic that exists between the higher ups and the baseball decision makers (I’ll just use that term instead of GM because at this point so many teams have president/gm/assistant gm/etc. in their front office) is a really interesting subject for a lot of teams. Personally, I know I am often curious to know exactly how much some front offices actually have control over what moves they end up making.
And to the opportunity thing – perhaps he just means that the people who are contributing will be the ones that earn playing time. Further, I don’t think you’d need to worry about Wisler or Blair not getting chances. When was the last time any team in MLB managed to make it through the season with out losing at least 1 starter for a period of time? There are always extra SP innings throughout the course of the grind.
Well Coppy, if you honestly follow social media to find out how fans feel about the Braves…..do not trade Inciarte. That would be comparable to the Braves trading Brett Butler in the early 80’s. He is a tremendous player. As much as it pains me to say because of his on the field talent, do not trade for Chris Sale. He will be a cancer. Do not give up any prospects for Brian McCann. I love him as do most Braves fans, but he will more than likely not be worth whatever the Yankees asking price is. Don’t blow the teams future payroll commitment on free agents this year. Make sure to lock up all the actual young talent we have in our organization before paying has beens and one year wonders on the hopes of repeat performances. Don’t trade Soroka. His control reminds me of Maddux and he’s only 18. As much as I like Adonis Garcia, he’s not the future at 3rd base, sell high on him. Jace Peterson puts more effort into the game than probably 90% that play it, he just doesn’t have the talent to back it up. The catching position is a complete eye sore. For that position and that position alone, the Braves should look to free agency (Wilson Ramos) or for a trade with legitimate prospects for a young MLB ready player at the position. I’d prefer free agency myself though as to not give up any prospects. Any trade you can make for Aroldys Vizcaino would be a welcome one. Sell as high on him as possible. He’s hurt too often and too inconsistent when not to ever be a major factor for any team. If Maitan is the real deal, take the time to develop him. Don’t rush him because of hype. I’m a patient fan who has been a fan of the Braves since the mid 80’s, I don’t mind a few bad years because I understand the good that can come afterwards with draft picks and player development. Go Braves and I look forward to being at the Ted on October 2nd to say goodbye.
I absolutely agree with you on several points you mentioned:
don’t trade Inciarte
don’t deal for Sale
don’t deal for McCann
don’t trade Soroka (I really like the kid, but if they deal him it hopefully should be for something of good value and not a filler piece)
don’t do long term big contracts this off season (from your referrence to don’t blow the teams future payroll commitment on free agents this year)
Jace has hustle and effort but doesn’t always translate that into good play (especially defensively when imho he gets into a hurry at the wrong times and takes too much time at others).
catching needs definite improvement
I will say however that even though I definitely don’t believe Adonis Garcia is the long term answer I don’t think the braves can really sell high on him. Thirdbasemen with only a .932 fielding percentage and an OPS of just .724 don’t really have that much value to begin with (although I will admit that Garcia has done MUCH better the second half of the season: .294/.342/.482 for a .824 OPS post all-star break). I have this fear that Coppy and the Braves will try to make an impact send Austin Riley and a bunch of young pitchers to Tampa for Longoria and Odorizzi or something along those lines. While I’ll readily admit that Riley (and many of the young pitchers) are far from a sure thing, I wouldn’t want the Braves to take on an older expensive thirdbaseman right now.
I would hate to see Riley go anywhere. I would love a reunion with Prado playing third base for the next couple of seasons until Riley is ready. I don’t see Ruiz ever being a factor at the major league level. I could see the Braves sending Albies, Newcomb, and another top pitching prospect for a frontline, established starter. I say Newcomb in hopes of it actually being him that is traded, because I watched him pitch in a game in person against the Tennessee Smokies this year and he just does not have the proverbial “it” associated with great players. The 2nd baseman they got from the Rangers, Demeritte, should be ready for a shot soon. A middle infielder who knocks 28 out of the park in AA gets a chance at some point, deserving so. That would cushion the blow of losing Albies for that front line starter. Another subject of interest is that it seems as if we have 4 outfielders for 3 spots next year. I don’t see a problem with that. Rotating Kemp, Inciarte, Markakis, and Smith would keep each of them fresh. Also to get each of them a few more games, Markakis can and should spell Freeman at first from time to time to keep him fresh for the full season. Everyone plays around 140 games that way and no one gets worn down.
Braves already have the pieces to be a postseason contender. Platooning Garcia and Ruiz covers 3rd. Flowers and recker excite me way more than paying 100 million to a 30 year old catcher. But I bet we get wieters for 4/50 options. There is nothing else to do except signing a few lotto ticket veterans along the lines of a beachy/medlen/Norris to come in to ST and push the kids to compete/solidify the back of the rotation. Unfortunately Folty Wiseler Blair Jenkins Ellis Newcombe Sims Gant Whalen will take more time to develop at the MLB level. 2017 was ambitious to expect a championship contender. Don’t blow the rebuild by hyping the new stadium. We have money and Sp prospects out the wazoo but that doesn’t mean we should be spending to spend. We are always two bad 100 million dollar contracts and a couple injuries from being back to square 1. Let the kids struggle and learn to pitch to MLB hitters. Folty and Wiseler are turning the corner, Blair Jenkins and friends are only a year behind. 2018 is our year to bust out, unless Ruiz Swanson and albies all have sophomore slumps #cocksthegunlol
Post season contender in….2019. You forgot that part
I love the direction of this club. It may not be progressing as quick as everybody would like but with all of the talent in the farm system and some major league pieces playing very good ball right now in Atlanta. The future of this team is built to succeed for the long term. There are way to many players in the minors to name that have potential to be great in the majors someday soon and the major league club is only a few pieces away. I do however disagree with Coppy that the bullpen is of least concern. This team has been averaging 5+ runs a game since the all star break but the bullpen is giving up wayyyy to many runs in its own right. If we had even an average bullpen we prolly would have won 15 more games since the all star break. This team needs a couple relief pitchers that put up zeros atleast 70% of their outings and if we can get a solid catcher (not that flowers hasn’t been doing well) and a full time 3B that can hit 15 HR for us. With Kemp and Freddie’s power along with maybe another piece could really get us moving is right direction. We will get Mallex back in center. We can move Inciarte to right, keep Kemp in left and have a very solid OF. Use Peterson as a super utility player which I think he could be like a Zobrist. Swanson at SS and either bring up Albies or find a better 2B other than “double play Gordon Beckham” and like I said some bullpen pieces and a top of the rotation starter and I personally believe we could compete in the NL East. This team isn’t as far away as many people seem to think
Braves should pick up Avila(C),platoon with Flowers. Sign Fister and Niese