It was a busy offseason for the Braves, the back-to-back National League East champions, but maybe not an ideal one. While the Braves signed nine players to major league contracts, they lost their top free agent, third baseman Josh Donaldson.
Major League Signings
- Will Smith, LHP: Three years, $40MM
- Marcell Ozuna, OF: One year, $18MM
- Cole Hamels, LHP: One year, $18MM
- Travis d’Arnaud, C: Two years, $16MM
- Chris Martin, RHP: Two years, $14MM
- Nick Markakis, OF: One year, $4MM
- Tyler Flowers, C: One year, $4MM
- Darren O’Day, RHP: One year, $2.25MM
- Adeiny Hechavarria, INF: One year, $1MM
- Total spend: $117.25MM
Trades And Claims
- None
Notable Minor League Signings
- Felix Hernandez, Josh Tomlin, Charlie Culberson, Yonder Alonso, Chris Rusin, Yangervis Solarte, Peter O’Brien, Rafael Ortega
Notable Losses
- Josh Donaldson, Dallas Keuchel, Julio Teheran, Matt Joyce, Jerry Blevins, Billy Hamilton, Francisco Cervelli, Anthony Swarzak, John Ryan Murphy
Led by general manager Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves made it no secret that they were interested in retaining Donaldson, who flourished in their uniform in 2019 after signing a one-year, $23MM contract. For his part, the 34-year-old Donaldson expressed a desire to remain in Atlanta. Ultimately, though, the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement, leading Donaldson to join the Twins on a four-year, $92MM contract. The Braves reportedly matched the Twins’ offer in years, but they weren’t willing to approach the $92MM mark.
Donaldson and Anthony Rendon, who was never a Braves target, were the best third basemen in free agency, though the market fell off after those two. There were rumors connecting the Braves to the Rockies’ Nolan Arenado and the Cubs’ Kris Bryant, but those players haven’t changed homes to this point. Atlanta could circle back to those two in future trade talks, but as of now, the club appears as if it’ll ride with in-house options to start the season (because of the coronavirus, no one knows when that will occur). Johan Camargo and Austin Riley have been competing for the No. 1 job in recent weeks, but it’s possible the Braves will end up platooning them.
While Camargo was a quality contributor for the Braves two years ago, his production cratered last season. Riley was a top-50 prospect in baseball when the Braves promoted him last May, and with the presence of Donaldson, most of his reps came in the outfield. Although Riley did fare well in the grass, his high-strikeout ways helped prevent him from making a significant impact at the plate as a rookie.
It’s obviously not yet clear who will garner the majority of time at third for the Braves this year. That player will have a hard time replacing Donaldson, and his loss should damage the Braves’ chances of winning the division again. That said, the Braves did work to fill his offensive void during the offseason with the signing of former Marlin and Cardinal outfielder Marcell Ozuna.
Even though he had a qualifying offer from St. Louis weighing him down, it was still a surprise that Ozuna settled for a one-year, $18MM offer, barely edging out the $17.8MM value of the QO. Ozuna’s no Donaldson, but as someone who can typically be counted on for somewhere in the vicinity of three wins above replacement, he looks like a nice short-term addition. With Ozuna in left, superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. in right, Ender Inciarte in center, the re-signed Nick Markakis as an affordable fourth outfielder and Adam Duvall as a No. 5, the Braves seem to be in better shape than most teams in the grass (and don’t forget that exciting prospects Cristian Pache and Drew Waters are looming).
Similarly, despite their uncertainty at third base, the Braves are doing well in the infield. Most clubs would sign up for a first base/second base/shortstop alignment of Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson, after all. They’ll have a bit of a different catching group looking out at them, though. Tyler Flowers, a Brave since 2016, is back for a reasonable salary. He had his worst offensive year as a Brave in 2019, but Flowers is at least a pitch-framing darling on the defensive side. He was joined last year by Brian McCann as the Braves’ duo behind the dish, but McCann retired. The Braves went the free-agency route to replace him, signing former Met and Ray Travis d’Arnaud after the 31-year-old’s solid showing in Tampa Bay last season. For $16MM over two years, it’s a bit of a risky deal for Atlanta – not only has the former top prospect had an up-and-down career in terms of production, but he has had difficulty staying healthy.
The Braves clearly experienced some position player turnover in the offseason, but a large portion of their attention went to their pitching staff. The team’s bullpen was something of a sore spot last season, and Anthopoulos acted early and often to address it over the winter. His biggest move was to strike a three-year, $40MM guarantee with southpaw Will Smith, who’s coming off a pair of great seasons with the Giants. Smith, 30, thrived as San Francisco’s closer a season ago, but the plan for now is for him to set up ex-Giants teammate Mark Melancon in Atlanta. He’ll have company there in, among others, Chris Martin and Darren O’Day – two righties the Braves re-signed for fair value in the offseason. With Smith, Melancon, Martin, O’Day and the righty duo of Shane Greene and Luke Jackson as the Braves’ most prominent relievers, they look to be in pretty good shape for late-game situations.
Meanwhile, there is some uncertainty in the Braves’ rotation, a group that waved goodbye to Dallas Keuchel and Julio Teheran in the offseason. There is no shortage of confidence in Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Mike Foltynewicz (who rebounded after a terrible start in 2019). However, it’s anyone’s guess what the Braves will get from the other two spots in their rotation. They signed longtime stalwart Cole Hamels to a one-year, $18MM pact with the hope that the lefty would provide a stabilizing veteran force this season. It’s entirely possible he will, especially with the delayed start to the season, but shoulder troubles have weighed him down over the past month or so. As of about two weeks ago, Hamels didn’t even have a timeline to return. That’s the risk you run when you pin your hopes on a 36-year-old coming off an injury-shortened campaign; in fairness to the Braves, though, it’s tough to bash them for signing an accomplished, still-effective hurler (when healthy) to a one-year deal.
Assuming the season starts sometime fairly soon, Hamels is all but guaranteed to miss a portion of it. That should leave the Braves with Sean Newcomb and Felix Hernandez as the last two starters in their rotation. The 26-year-old Newcomb is a former well-regarded prospect who – despite a high number of walks – held his own as a starter in 2018. Newcomb then spent most of last season as a reliever, and he also did fine in that role. Meantime, as one of the most successful starters of the past couple decades, Hernandez needs no introduction. The problem is that the longtime Mariner and former Cy Young winner, 33, has floundered over the past few years. Hernandez impressed this spring before the league shut down, and he seems likely to make the Braves’ roster, but you’d be right to be skeptical about a bounce-back effort.
If Newcomb and/or Hernandez don’t provide the answer for the Braves, they do have some other interesting in-house possibilities. To name a few examples, righties Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright and Touki Toussaint – all still in their lower 20s – were each recent top 100-prospects. No one from that trio has lived up to the billing in the majors yet, but perhaps one, two or even all three of them will emerge this season. If not, the rotation may be an area the Braves look to bolster when the trade deadline comes.
2020 Season Outlook
The Liberty Media-owned Braves are projected to start 2020 with a franchise-record Opening Day payroll of $157MM. It’s money well spent overall, as – despite questions at third and in the rotation – this continues to look like a team capable of challenging just about anyone in the National League. However, it’ll be tougher for the Braves to continue their reign atop the NL East with the defending World Series champion Nationals, the Mets and the Phillies all set to field strong rosters that could push for the top spot in the division.
How do you feel about the Braves’ offseason? (Poll link for app users)
So much overpay
Glad someone else feels that way. I guess they felt they had to in order to try and mask the fact they let JD walk and didn’t sign a high end SP.
Glad someone else agrees. They overpaid players to mask the fact they weren’t going to resign JD or bid for a high end SP.
That’s not what he said but continue in LaLa land if you like.
I’m guessing you’re an ATL fan? Enjoy seeing them in 3rd place.
The only possible overpay is Hamels, but that’s what the Braves had to go to so they could land him on a 1yr deal. Hamels had several multiyear offers, but with Wright, Anderson, Davidson, etc. all knocking on the door, the Braves only wanted a “reliable” veteran for 1 season..
They certainly were not going to overpay for MadBum, they had to spread that money around, and especially couldn’t risk paying him for several seasons..
I saw it as a pretty safe and smart off-season for the Braves. They cannot operate among the big budgets in the league, so they cannot afford to make big multi-year mistakes. Also, they still have to see what their younger players can provide them in 3B Riley, CF Pache, OF Waters, SP Wright, SP Davidson, SP Anderson, etc. among a few other talented position players and pitchers.
By only signing Ozuna and Hanels to 1 year deals it allows the Braves the opportunity to contend this season, and they can further gauge how their younger players are developing. Then, next off-season they’ll have a better understanding of their short and longterm needs, and then they can spend their remaining money accordingly.
All these moves only strengthen their chances at fielding a competitive and sustainable winning team…
If someone is not able to see that, well…I’m not entirely sure what to tell you. I can understand a complaint about them not doing “more” to further strengthen their chances this season.. However, the Braves have positioned themselves very well for possibly making another move at or before the deadline.
These moves gave the Braves a tremendous amount of flexibility moving forward, so for those complaining, AA could very well still have a move or two up his sleeve..
You told me that last year, and the year before that. When are you going to get it right?
Prediction: Donaldson will be on DL (long term) before July. He’s a year older, has a history of injuries, and he’s playing in a colder climate. Risk reward is to high. Face it, Donaldson’s great years are behind him. Don’t understand why so many guys like you are all about high priced free agents instead of old school. Let players like Riley work up the ranks. Riley can be an all star third baseman at a much lower cost!
Season may not start before July.
They don’t even know if Riley is going to be the opening day 3B. He was battling in ST with Camargo. Win now teams sign win now players.
Thanks Nostradamus.
@Cheapgm4hire the cold climate sure didnt keep the Twins from breaking the all time record in home runs in a season by a team, so, that argument is kinda moot.
whoa whoa! Connor Byrne bomb?!?!…the plan is for Will Smith too setup Mark Melancon as the closer?…When the heck did that come out as the plan?!
its not exactly an unrealistic assumption
ok..but is that the plan regardless of assuming?
@braveshomer
There are no assumptions being made, nor is this breaking news of any kind..This is just what Snitker has previously stated..
In a previous interview, Snitker was asked about Smith being the closer, and he responded by saying, “Right now the plan is to still use Melancon as their closer.” However, he has also gone on to say that it is a fluid situation, and it could end up changing depending on matchups, various different situations, or he could hist end up riding the hot hand as his closer for different periods of time..But, yeah, he basically stayed that for now the plan is to use Melancon as the closer, and he will use Smith as a setup man…
If you are looking for the specific interview, I am not entirely sure who interviewed him, but I do know this interview came out shortly after the Braves signed Smith..
gotcha didn’t see that comment by Snit…but honestly if anyone thinks it’s not more than just coach speak we’re just fooling ourselves. You don’t sign one of the best closers in baseball the last few seasons to make him a setup guy…heck the Braves themsleves didn’t want Melancon to close to begin with, that was Shane Greens job to lose which he obviously did. The last 3 outs (or 4-5 outs) are the toughest in baseball and just brought in the guy to handle it….its a good problem to have, but let’s be honest it’s just posturing
too ‘ass-u-me’ does what exactly again?..I forgot lol
It would be unbelievable to make Will Smith the setup man to Mark Melancon. If the Braves decide to do just that then there is a problem with the decision-makers in that franchise. Can’t trust Melancon in the 9th over Smith. Otherwise there was no reason to pay that much for an 8th inning guy and lose a draft pick over it.
I think Smith will be used in a capacity such that he pitches whatever the highest leverage inning is. For example, the 8th inning in a one run game with Realmuto, Harper, and Hoskins due up. That would make the most sense to me rather than throwing Melancon out in the 8th to face them just because Smith is deemed your “closer.”
People are in for a rude awakening when Acuna proves to be a bad player.
Sure bud
Why? Literally there are no red flags with Acuna.
Ignore the bitter troll.
You are going to be in for a rude awakening when you are proven wrong. Just what was so bad about him last season? Did he refuse to sign an autograph for you? Do you realize he had one of the best seasons EVER for a 21 year old? Why such bitter hatred?
Please don’t feed this troll, he just wants attention. He doesn’t believe the things he’s saying.
It looks like NoBum figured out a way to vote eleven times.
C grade. Giving up Comp picks hurts. Smith got a lot of money. Cheaper non comp pick pitchers were available and relief guys are a gamble. Though you would think Ozuna will be motivated if there is a season. If no season it’s a F grade. Can’t blame them for Donaldson as he got paid a lot. They did a average job.
I give a D because they over payed for just about everyone, still a great team though.
They did fine in the bullpen. They overpaid for Hamels and Ozuna. Hamels is past his prime. Ozuna is and has always been overrated. He will be caught for PEDs eventually. Other than that, the team is average and not much better from last year. Still relying on overrated prospects. Freeman is still there best player and likely will be going forward. Bad GM who has done nothing but talk
Hamels and ozuna are for one year only. Hamels is past his prime the same way bumgarner is but bum is signed for a long time, they did give up a comp pick for smith but get one back for Donaldson so no big deal. Their bullpen unit now is one of the strongest in in NL..Also most teams rely on prospects to help them out and most prospects don’t pan out so keep crying about it.
To hoard these prospects when you can get Bryant or Arenado is the definition of poor decision making. At some point, you cant field a AAAA team on the field. The whole point of prospects is to rebuild and eventually trade them away when time is right. Don’t think the time will ever come.
Dude, Carmargo and Riley are prospects who got railroaded by Donaldson. They both deserve their shot before you act like they’re a bust.
I’m referring to their pitching prospects. Camargo is a career bench player who got his shot because the Braves failed to develop a third baseman since Chip retired. Riley has been a flawed power hitter all his career in the minors. Expectations are reasonably low given he was striking out at a high rate in the minors as well.
I knew someone would bring up, well they got one for Donaldson so it evens out. And they lost one by signing Ozuna as well. I would rather have 3 draft picks instead of 1. Not the end of the world but I like as many early round picks as possible. Union will probably push to get rid of them which would be a good thing but really didn’t matter this year because players got top dollar. I mean would Ozuna have gotten 20 some million with no qualifying offer? Donaldson 6 years? Cole 350 million? They weren’t much of a deterrent.
They did trade 2 solid pitching prospects at the trade deadline to get Greene and melancon so they do trade them. However there are more variable in play than simply saying trade for bryant. Who says Chicago is trading him. As for arenado there is an opt out after 2 seasons and more than 200 million left on his contract so he is hard to trade for also. Neither of those 2 have been traded and several contending teams such as the Nats, Braves and rangers could use those guys . Maybe they just are not getting traded until trade deadline or not at all.
That argument makes no sense. If you are going to trade for Bryant or Arenado, then trade for them now so you can have them for a full year. I understand the concerns but my point is the Braves just talk more than show. Until they make a legit push to prove they care about winning a WS, all else is just talk.
Nats just won the WS. They no longer have the pressure to go for it. The Rangers are far from being a good team and Arenado will not put them much ahead. The Braves were just embarrassed again in the first round and all they did was acquire an inferior hitter and did not improve in their biggest weakness which was their rotation.
I agree with you that is usually a good idea to have as many draft picks as possible. They lost the 69th and 71st but got back the 73rd along with the pool money that goes with all those picks. Not too drastic. The odds of those picks ever matching the production of the players they lost them for is slim so I feel that it was worth the gamble. Smith was the best rated reliever on the market and ozuna was needed for the right handed bat in the lineup. If I’d a risk for sure but so are the players that would have drafted with those picks. I understand both sides.
There is no possibility that the Braves would even consider paying any player 35 million dollars a year. You can forget about Arenado.
If they’d be willing to trade prospects plus pay Arenados contract, they would have been better off trying to sign Rendon
If only Hechavarria learned how to handle a bat, he’d be making more than a cool mill.
IHad Hechavarria, Bourjos, and Billy Hamilton learned how to hit, that’d be one fast and defensively spectacular group. Such is the story of so many…..
Giving the Braves an A, is a straight homer move. I’ll tip my hat to the bullpen, if they don’t perform, it wouldn’t be because the Braves didn’t try. But that rotation and lineup is weaker, especially with Hamels hurt… not getting JD might prove to be the worse decision. Although I like Riley’s swing this spring and Camargo looks slick also… maybe they more than make up the lost of an elite 3B
I gave them an A, probably should’ve been a b grade. I think adding Will Smith to what could be considered an elite bullpen, makes it even better although it could turn into a huge tire fire at any moment. I think the d’arnaud was an overpayment unless he can stay healthy and put up the numbers he did with the Rays. I also think the Hamels and Ozuna signings were overpayments, especially Hamels. 18mil for a 36 yr old is a bit much. Ozuna getting 18mil is a slight overpayment, considering the rather pedestrian seasons he put up the last 2 years. Furthermore I think losing JD was a big blow, I get he’s 34 almost 35 but there is no way Ozuna nor the Riley/Camargo platoon could fix that hole.
I would also give them an A, but that’s all based on potential and what was available in the offseason.
However, it could easily by a B or C by the end of the season, when based on what was accomplished.
Less than 20% gave a C or below? Wow
Never got the Hamels signing, dont like the Ozuna one as well but at least they are 1 yr deals-
Do love that Will Smith deal though-
Letting Donny go for 25 a pop then spending 40 on Markakis Ozuna Hamels doesnt make sense to me- This is almost a case of playing it too close to the cuff here with short contracts….. yes you decrease risk but your on field product suffers and you overpay on 1 yr deals in most cases as shown
The offseason was operated with hope more than confidence. They went with a 1-year for a Hamels rather than the bigger, longer deal for a better pitcher. They gave Ozuna a 1-year deal rather than take a risk on a bigger, longer deal for a better OF. The bullpen was a soft spot and they got Smith and overpaid for Martin, who’s only pitched well for 1 season. Prior to 2019 he was barely MLB material. The Braves might regret that one.
Then there was the spending on catchers. The Markakis deal looked better before the Ozuna signing. Now Markakis is lost in the crowd. I think the Braves want to win without make a monumental mistake with a long-term contract to hamper their development.
Sad – Braves had a really good chance to win it all this year.
“They overpaid for Hamels” – imo they overpaid – as in they did not NEED him at all.
This nonsense about Newk having to ‘win” or “earn” a starting spot has been as silly as it’s been stupid since last year. The man went to the minors changed his ways or got some better coaching – came back and showed he should be in the rotation. Finally gets one start, gets hit in the head and it was back to the pen,. How stupid can you get? The worst part was Chip finding a new line and using it over and over and over and over – “I think Newk has really grown in the pen! I like him in the pen!” What a bunch of stupid BS.
Why’d they sign Hamels? I give Alex high marks overall – mainly because he has NOT traded away all the seed corn as everyone at MLB and others wanted him to do so many times. But in the case of Hamels – we did NOT need him.
It sometimes seems a Braves thing to not have confidence in what they have and can do. I think we are kind of getting over it. Lord, Freddie G used to manage like a scared rabbit. Snitker does a great job but I do like the three batter rule to keep him in the dugout longer.
No doubt we will eventually have to trade some more pitchers because we have an overload – but we need to wait for more of the young ones to mature before we toss them away like the Joey Wentz trade for a year and couple month rental good reliever but nothing remotely with Wentz’s potential and value. Detroit gets revenge for the Smoltz trade.
The better move would be, as the young ones are ready, to trade away someone I like a lot, Folty – at the right time – who would bring very high value prospects from the Yanks etc…to replenish the minors – keep the train moving. Kyle Wright is clearly ready but it is doubtful he would have made the team. Touki is so very close.
Never make a trade or change relievers out of fear. You can’t go for the ring by pooping your pants.
btw…We got lucky Donaldson didn’t sign.
Why does anyone talk to NoBum anymore? Talk to him about stats and he ignores it. He just makes wild claims and doesn’t back anything up, just expects us to take his word for it. Oh he’ll go on for paragraph after paragraph but there is no content. Acuna is going to be bad? MadBum was the salvation that the Braves missed?
NOBum=NONLCS wasn’t spouting all his tin foil garbage until MadBum signed with Arizona. Just let him have his own little space and spout his unsubstantiated claims and emotional views.
The Braves will be fine. This time last year this site was littered with pessimistic comments about the Donaldson signing, how he was washed up and it was an overpay. I like the Ozuna signing. While I’ll miss Donaldson, I wasn’t comfortable signing him to a long term deal for that kind of money. I think Riley is going to have a break out year. I’m glad we haven’t pursued Bryant/Arenado. The off-season has been far from perfect, but I trust in AA and think that he’ll continue to assess and make other moves if/when the need arises.
Also, the article is incorrect when it states the Braves might platoon Riley and Camargo, or that they might use both in some sort of time share at 3B.
Snitker has gone on the record saying the EXACT OPPOSITE. He has stated that it would be doing both players a disservice by having them share at bats and playing time. He did not exactly state the loser will go back down to AAA, but he just about said everything but that..
Better than the Marlins and Mets.
Cole is going to be an huge get for the Braves. He will do great in the field. He will also help Fried. If Ozuna can hit 28-30 and knock in 100 and play okay defense—-fine signing. The pen seems like it could be outstanding. Having Luke Jackson be you 6th inning guy…..great. Travis talked a lot about having a positive club house made a world of difference to him last year—-I think he will play well for snit. Hech is a great signing for a million. I think Riley will be the 3rd basemen whenever the season starts. Soroka may be what everyone has been saying ‘Maddox that can hit 96 when needed.’ Albies is my favorite brave and he will keep getting better. Acuna will mature and learn how to pick his spots better to steal and be better in right field. Freddie will have a monster year. Swanson’s floor will a good solid year and could be top 5 ss in NL. Hopefully Pachee makes the Braves move ender at some point this season because his bat is ready. Hopefully Ian and Wright and Touki (Turn the corner so strongly) make the Braves find room for them in the staring pitching because they are doing so well.