After following up their underdog 2021 Cinderella World Series win with an improved 101-win season, the Braves have been eliminated from the 2022 postseason by the Phillies. With their 2022 season in the rearview mirror, General Manager Alex Anthopoulos will be hard at work improving the already impressive Braves core.
Perhaps the most important question facing the Braves as they head into the offseason is their hole at shortstop. Atlanta native Dansby Swanson has been the Braves’ starting shortstop since 2016, and will be a free agent for the first this offseason after receiving a $10MM salary during his final trip through the arbitration process. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that the Braves had opened extension talks with Swanson in mid-August, but there has yet to be a tangible result.
Swanson, who is coming off his fourth consecutive strong season, slashed .277/.329/.447 while posting the highest Outs Above Average (20) among qualified shortstops en route to his first All-Star appearance. He joins Trea Turner, and, if they exercise their opt-outs, Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts as the top options at short.
When asked about his thoughts on free agency and potentially leaving the Braves, Swanson responded that free agency is “the last thing on my mind,” per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. However, Anthopoulos confirmed in a press conference earlier today that there is mutual interest in getting a deal done, but he didn’t provide specific figures, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Braves, who have become notorious in recent seasons for signing players in the early stage of their career to ‘team-friendly’ contracts (Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, Spencer Strider, Austin Riley), currently have roughly $186MM committed to the 2023 season, not factoring in arbitration, per Roster Resource. However, out of arbitration-eligible players, only starter Max Fried is predicted to significantly impact the Braves’ payroll, with other arbitration-eligible players expected to earn under $3MM if they are tendered contracts.
Importantly, in the 2021 offseason, the Braves reportedly offered long-time first baseman Freddie Freeman a five-year contract in the $135MM-$140MM range. When talks stalled, the Braves moved to acquire Matt Olson from the Athletics, signing him to an eight-year, $168MM contract. Freeman then went on to sign with the Dodgers on a six-year, $162MM contract.
The Braves, potentially, already have Swanson’s replacement in Vaughn Grissom, who posted a strong .291/.353/.440 line in 151 at-bats after being called up in mid-August. Grissom has primarily played second in his brief Major League career but came up through the Minors as a shortstop. If Swanson is re-signed, Grissom may be forced to transition to the outfield or work as a utility player with Riley and Albies patrolling the infield.
Transitioning to the mound, starter Charlie Morton was forced to exit yesterday’s game in the third inning after taking a line drive to his pitching elbow. Morton initially stayed in the game and completed the inning but was pulled by manager Brian Snitker after Snitker watched Morton warm up prior to the third inning. During an in-game interview, Snitker announced that x-rays showed no structural damage in Morton’s elbow, and that Morton wanted to try and continue to pitch, per Mike Axisa of CBS.
Morton had pitched two innings prior to leaving the game, giving up four hits and three runs, all on a Brandon Marsh homer. Morton, who turns 39 in November was a steady force in the Braves’ rotation, pitching to a 4.34 ERA in 172 innings (31 starts) with a strong 28.2% strikeout rate. His strong performance led to a one-year, $20MM contract extension for the 2023 season, with a $20MM club option for the 2024 campaign.
Reliever Kenley Jansen is entering free agency, but Anthopoulos has made it clear that the Braves would “love to have him back,” per Toscano. After leaving the Dodgers in free agency to join the Braves on a one-year, $16MM contract, Jansen led the National League in saves with 41, posting a 3.38 ERA in 64 innings with a lofty 32.7% strikeout rate. However, Jansen’s HardHit percentage spiked from 26.1% in 2021 to 32.5% in 2022, and his ground ball rate dropped from 37.3% to 29.1%, the second-lowest mark of his career.
If the Braves and Jansen are unable to come to an agreement, they likely have his successor in Raisel Iglesias who was acquired at the 2022 trade deadline in exchange for pitching prospect Tucker Davidson and Jesse Chavez. Since joining Atlanta, Iglesias has allowed only one run in 26 1/3 innings, resulting in a minuscule 0.32 ERA. These strong numbers are backed by a high 30.0% strikeout rate, a low 5.0% walk rate, and a solid 40.6% ground ball rate.
I think I just assumed that either the Braves or Mets or Dodgers would wind up in the World Series and to see them all eliminated already is a bit jarring. I mean, I think it’s totally cool, just unexpected.
I’m hoping for a Guardians-Padres WS now
Gmen I think we posted at the same time haha
Battle of the Bullpens — let’s do it!
TV doesn’t.
Yanks are on the ropes themselves. A Cleveland VS SD World Series would be crazy haha. It’s been since 48 for Cleveland and NEVER for SD…Not a bad dynamic. I’ll still watch I suppose.
Let’s not count out the stros yet
Heat, Definitely not counting them out. Just not a fan and would rather see Cleveland.
I get that. I’d prefer Cleveland over the Yankees and Phillies over the padres. Padres are the only team that scares me at this point, that lineup is stacked. Hope all is well with you Trumbo
Ditto my friend! Living life day by day as usual! SD does have a STACKED lineup! Just as scary as the Dodgers in my view!
Gonna be a Phillies Astros WS. Phillies have that hot hand right now. Everything they touch is going right.
The question is will the Astros fall again in the WS?
Could be right MJ..Some teams it is just their year…Phillies taking it would feel like Halos in 2002.
What’s cool about a terrible playoff format?
And before some dummy says you only hate it because your favourite team… I don’t have a favourite team so save the stupid opinion
What makes you think you’re opinion isn’t the stupid one?
It’s funny how many people are bashing the new format, as if WC teams didn’t win all the time before. We see upsets every single season, mainly because of the short series. It’s also funny how much value people put in division winning as if there aren’t pathetic divisions (ALC and NLC this year, NLE last year). I get it. It’s a crushing feeling when a team that dominated all season long get beat in a short series, but this usually happens once a year. In my opinion the issue isn’t the additional WC teams, it’s the shortened series. Maybe they shouls lengthen the Division Series to a best of 7, but quite frankly, that would be less exciting for many. I’ve been on both ends of the upset as a fan, and it’s what makes sports exciting even though it sucks sometimes.
That Morton extension is baffling. $20 million???
I agree. It’s at least $5 too much… if not more
True. It is high. But it’s only a one year deal so it’s not as if they are handcuffed long-term to him.
I hated it the second they broke the news. Morton was bad this yr. It seemed like every time the offense got him a lead, he gave the runs back. He got about 10 mil too much.
I don’t know if I would call his season bad. His stuff was there as were the strikeout numbers. Definitely was hit harder though as well. I’m hoping a normal offseason for him gets him back on track.
This is one of those deals where I trust AA (who has been right). He knows the value Morton brings to the staff and clubhouse much more than we do, so if he felt it was important to ensure his return, I won’t question it.
Charlie was recovering from a broken leg, and wasn’t able to do any leg work in the off-season. Hopefully he’ll be able to work out with no restrictions this off-season. I expect him to be better in 2023 than he was in 2022.
I sure hope the Braves trade Acuna and resign Swanson so that the Trump chop avatar can have the right face of the franchise he so desperately needs. Then he can move on to sharing with all of us the next thing that unsatisfies him.
Holy Geez why was Acuña so tuned out ? If I was Snitker I would have benched his a$$ after his complete lack of effort with the Realamuto homerun. Man he was heavily sedated or something. He had at least three defensive lapses that I could count. Absolutely embarrassing.
@ignorant. I normally don’t have much to say about Acuna but he was absolutely horrid the last game of the series. I would’ve pulled him after the inside the park home run he didn’t back up Harris on. The sad part he’s had many of these plays over the years.
Yeah well Acuna was also 1 of 3 guys who was actually hitting the entire NLDS in the team. Defensive lapse maybe but when the rest of your team is asleep at the plate you’re definitely not pulling one of the few who isn’t.
Yeah, the Acuna luster is definitely wearing off on many long-time Braves fans. Maybe part of it was not having Ozzie around to keep him grounded, but not liking what I’ve seen on effort, contact, and being able to stay on th field.. The lack of maturing is glaringly apprent as well, We’d do much better keeping Swanson & dealing Acuna
I think there’s zero chance the Braves sign deGrom unless he takes a massive discount to play close to home. Few players are willing to that anymore. I’m very worried what kind of team this is without Dansby next year and hope he us resigned.
He has nothing to play for. He signed his team friendly contract and knows no matter how hard he plays he won’t get more. Wait until the last year of the contact then we’ll him play great.
At this point you’d be hard pressed to get me to believe Morton is that much better than Ian Anderson. Definitely not at that price. We may have needed a starting pitcher but did you have to give him so much to hurt us? He should have gotten a pay decrease but yeah know, because he’s older we have to throw more money at him. He isn’t worth more now than he was at the start of the season so why the pay raise?
He’s over priced for a 5th starter. But I’m happy just keeping them both. With them both you start next season with 9 possible starting pitchers assuming good health this off-season. That is a wealth of pitching that most teams do not have and all of it cost controlled, Morton being the most expensive.
AA hones in on his target and strikes quickly to get the deal done.
Gone should be the days that just because your older that inherently makes you better at your job. Morton should have looked at his agent or AA and said “I’d love to pitch for you again next season but we need to rework it. I’m gutting you guys and for what? I’m not a better pitcher since I got here. My numbers are great by any standard. I shouldn’t be getting more purely because I’m a year older, my stats aren’t better for it.” Tired of seeing the qualities of players and what they can do go down while the pay jumps astronomically up.
Drew Waters Bat;
Do you also think that Jacob deGrom should drop his salary requirements to a commiserate level of his performance the last 3 years – to maybe $17k plus bonuses for innings pitched after 65 up to 190? And that Max Schurzer should go in and tell Stephen Cohen that he’s worth maybe 40% of what he’s being paid so he’ll take that amount for the remainder of his contract so the Mets can sign some other players?
Ageism bigotry much Waters bat? “Gone should be the days” that the young think they’re better at anything solely because they’re younger.
17k per inning? That a lot.
So a grown person making what he’s worth and a fan pointing it out is bigotry these days? Somewhere along the way people seem to have forgotten what that word actually means. How about I put it this way, Charlie Morton sucked this year and did literally nothing to help this team at all so he’s not worth close to what he got. If you can explain why he got $20 million for next year beside his veteran status I’d love to hear it. He’s old by sports standards and like any other physically demanding job the older you are the worse you are at that job. Try some common sense it works.
Nashville Jeff, what other reason besides his age is he getting paid so much? Why did he get a raise? He wasn’t worth a raise. Performance based he should have gotten less, because he did less. But because of inflation we just have to, have to keep paying more. Why does the price of the qualifying offer keep going up? Half of each team atleast isn’t worth near that value? This idea that time should be a factor is crap when you hear that a player has been a major leaguer for 5 seasons. Yeah, but he’s only thrown 17 innings. Well we must pay him more. He’s been in 5 years. My point is that since the 90s the rise in pay has gone up and the play and players, have gone down.
Just what we had with Cole Hamels a few seasons ago. It was like $100,000 a pitch because of how little he started because of injuries. These paychecks for ball players have become Looney Tune checks.
Everyone references Cole Hamels but leaves out that it was 2020 condensed season and he only took home one-third of that 1 year/$18M he signed (and part of that may have been paid by insurance). Sure, bad, but not all of them are going to be gold, but definitely worth it when you find a Donaldson/Ozuna 1-year deal that really pays off.
They get more money upfront to make it more enticing than a longer deal (future money on the books and more risk) at less AAV. For ATL, if they’re bad, then it’s only bad for 1 season and not multiple years. Morton has had team option this past year and the next year with a $0 buyout, which is unheard of. That’s a savings of a few million dollars per year already. Essentially, Morton didn’t get a pay raise from 2021. 2022 was uncharacteristically bad for him — was it because of an interrupted spring training due to recovery from ankle surgery/MLB lockout — who knows? I would expect closer to his career totals in 2023 with a normalized offseason – barring anything serious from that comebacker to the elbow that has been played down.
Sorry you don’t recognize bigoted thinking when you see it Mystery. Bat believes that a person’s worth should be defined solely by their age. His case for paying Morton less is that Morton is “getting more purely because “I’m (Morton)a year older.” He follows this up in a post below by stating “what other reason by besides his age is he (Morton) getting paid so much?” It’s simple, and there’s no reason to argue a case based on ageism bias. The dearth of quality starting pitching is the the most obvious reason that pitchers who provide bulk innings with good results draw higher pay. The pov that older pitchers like Verlander, Scherzer, DeGrom, and Morton are paid more solely because they’re older as opposed to value provided isn’t reasonable. “Common sense” indicates that the Braves believe that Morton provides value to the rotation. Anthopolous gets ahead of the market by locking up his FA targets as early as possible and pays a higher AAV on 1 year FA deals than long term contracts. League wide, several older pitchers are being paid astronomically high salaries. Verlander, Scherzer, DeGrom, etc. The market for quality starting pitching is extremely high. If you value WAR at 8 mill per, Morton’s 1.5 this season would suggest that a salary of 12 mill next season would be more appropriate. Was 4th in K’s in the NL w/205 in 172 IP. His 3.61 xFIP shows he out pitched both his 4.26 FIP and 4.34 ERA. Those numbers suggest the Braves FO believes that Morton brings more than 4/5th starter value to the rotation. Btw, Mystery we’re not talking about “any other physically demanding job” here. Baseball salaries for older players, especially pitchers, can’t reasonably be compared w/any non athlete’s pay structure. Players demand what the market will bear. Teams decide whether they’re worth it. Fans whine that they make too much. There’s some common sense for you Mystery.
Fried and Wright both heavily credit Morton with getting them to use their curveballs more. That’s worth something.
If money weren’t an issue, I’d love the Braves to let Swanson walk and go get Trey Turner, DeGrom, and a left fielder.
But guessing money will eventually hit a limit for the Braves, I’m ok if we get sawson. Would love him at roughly 20 mil a year or less…. Then I really hope we still try for DeGrom…
At this point we would have to assume he will take atleast a tiny pay cut to play for the Braves. Danby might have played himself into a $150-200 million dollar contract and right out of the Braves hands. Crazy that the last 10 years all of the contracts are getting bloated by forced inflation. They are pitching more but again, thwy have to keep pushing the money up. Randy Johnson and all othe past ball players must be really passed at how they are throwing money around freely in hopes of retaining mediocre talent. Dallas keuchel made $13 Charlie Morton makes $20 million and the most Randy J topped out at was like what, $6 million? Professional sports keep driving up the money so hard even though 87% of them aren’t worth the money they are getting.
Sorry, I can’t see how a team pays $150M to Dansby. Guy has hit better than league average once (per OPS+) in a full season, and it was his contract year. Even then 115 OPS+ isn’t incredible, though high marks for him playing every game. Give props to Dansby putting it altogether (finally), but guy has a career 95 OPS+ with above average defense that should regress soon (29 y/o for next season). I appreciate a Marietta boy and class act, but he’s not consistent enough to think that would be well spent unless intangibles have gotten really expensive.
100% agree. Out of all the top SS that could be available Swanson is the one I’m staying away from. Solid player but not worth what he’ll ask for in Free Agency. My guess is he comes back to Atlanta on the qualifying offer.
RunDMC;
I’ve always liked Dansby, but….
All things being equal, were I the Guardians I wouldn’t trade Amad Rosario even up for him – Amad is 2 years younger and is estimated to get $9m in arbitration this year (although I think they negotiate a multi-year extension with him)..
Samuel, your comps for a lot of players are…..odd, to say the least. Saying that Rosario is better than Swanson because he makes less money is definitely not the way to judge his worth on the field. Cheaper, yes. Better? Sorry, but totally disagree. “All things aren’t equal” in the comparison of the two. Swanson is clearly the superior player.
NashvilleJeff;
Your reading comprehension the post above is…..odd, to say the least.
I would take Rosario over Swanson if their salaries were the same.
The fact that Rosario is younger and cheaper makes it a slam dunk.
No problem understanding your intent w/that post and the others you’ve written on your preference for Rosario. As I said, your player evaluations are “odd, to say the least.” You’re obviously a Cleveland fan expressing your homerism on Rosario. While it’s true that Rosario is younger and cheaper, he isn’t the quality SS Swanson is. No power and defense is much worse. May be a bit faster than Swanson. Don’t be surprised if the Guardians trade or non tender him after 2023. Rosario would be a “slam dunk” over Swanson only if you intended to downgrade your SS position.
That’s so dumb Samuel. Swanson is head and shoulders better than Rosario. Awful player comp.
I love me some Dansby Swanson but giving him a deal like that would be like Anthony Rendon all over again. His numbers were good not great not even close to great. $200 million for a guy with a career .255 average to go along with his .738 OPS and his 95 OPS+ seems a bit over the top. He’s more of a 5 years at $75 million type of player. The best part about Swanson is that he’s only missed two games over the last two seasons which by today’s standards is iron man type stuff.
When I compare Swanson to Rendon I’m not talking numbers I’m talking long term contracts. Rendon obviously had much better numbers than Swanson has put together.
Mystery: I agree w/your take on Swanson, but imo he’ll probably get a 6 year deal w/an AAV of at least 20 mill per.
Totally cool is RIGHT!
@ Ignorant
Checklist:
#1 priority: Resign Swanson
Trade Acuna
Trade Albies
Release/trade Rosario and Ozuna
Don’t bring back Jansen or Odorizzi
Unless you plan to resign him, trade Fried.
If payroll allows, sign deGrom.
Ukininam
Hey, we know that is what Acuna is, but you don’t have to be vulgar.
Also, it seems like you have some sort of hatred for Trump and you are displacing it on me. Relax, he is just chopping and celebrating last years win. No big deal i think!
No, that is what you are and I am stating what you represent.
Now tell me why you so upset that you resort to insults? Is Acuna your cousin? Did Trump say something mean about your ancestors? It is alright man. You don’t have to agree with what I think.
Acuna isn’t going anywhere.
Probably not. The guy can be a game changer, but I don’t think he will put it together. His mind is too fragile and that impacts his play on the field. I’ll be surprised if they finally move on for sure, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if there are some rumors buzzing around him this off season. He is not a winning player, period.
I think he had a bad day at the office, but if he makes those plays, the Braves still lose. So part of me thinks the Acuna hate is overblown. He was a big part of their 1 win. He’s a dynamic player. The good outweighs the bad.
First off, I 100% agree that Acuna is NOT the reason the Braves lost.
However, this is who Acuna is and was pre-surgery. He is lazy when he wants to be, whether it is on the field or on the bases. His head is not in the game every day he plays. This is not the first time he received criticism on the field and won’t be the last. Again, it speaks volumes they won the ring without their “best player.” People need to jump off the bandwagon because he is not the kind of player they think he is…at least not yet. He can mature into one for sure, but right now, he is not that.
I’m 100% serious here, I consider myself a pretty casual baseball fan and I’m completely baffled by the acuna hate! Is all bec of a defensive mishap in the Phillies game? Pls explain, thanx!
Yea. This whole comment is fair.
Why don’t we trade Harris and Strider while we’re at it? And maybe throw in Olson to sweeten the pot. Bring back Odorizzi? Bro are you on drugs? Not even sure why I’m responding to this imbecile. Has to be a troll. No serious person could be this dumb.
Sure why not. If Strider and Harris did not emerge, the Braves were going to be a 81 win team at best. Harris and Strider are the best things to happen to Atlanta in recent memory and the reason the future is bright.
Yeah, bring back Odorizzi like I clearly said in the original post. He is the better pitcher than Strider and Fried combined. Give him a 20 mil contract.
I’m incredibly glad you’re not the GM. I’d have to start an online petition to get you fired- and believe me, I would. I’d plaster that thing all over the internet because your ideas are largely terrible.
You don’t trade Acuna Jr OR Albies.
Trading Ozuna sounds great, but who’s taking him? You tell me that. The same reason you want to trade him is why no one else is going to take him. Takes two there. I’d be onboard with releasing him but it does nothing to improve the team.
Why in the world would you trade Fried -extension or not- just to turn around and spend a ton of money on DeGrom? There’s no logic there. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch.
Because if they have no plans on extending him, then trade him while you can get a load of very solid players back and retool your farm/the team. I’m all for extending him though.
Acuna has one okay year so we should trade him. Swanson has one good year so let’s resign him at all expense. Sure, that makes sense.
^^
Ignoring contracts, who has been more important to the Braves since 2018, Swanson or Acuna?
and you know better. I’ve been advocating to trade Acuna since 2020. He has done nothing for this team since then ironically.
Nonsense, Acuna carried the Braves in the first half last year before he got hurt. The year before he should have been 40/40 but Snitker suddenly shied away from stealing. Meanwhile, Dansby spent those two years swinging like a drunk lumberjack trying to launch everything into the stratosphere. This year is a dead cat bounce and someone will overpay to find out.
Also, remember the first words out of Dansby mouth at the ceremony after they won? “Resign Freddie.” AA didn’t listen (regardless of who did what/when). Dansby is in no mood for a discount or the Braves would have already hammered out an extension. If AA won’t pay an extra year for Freddie (whose swing will age far more gracefully than Olson) he’s definitely not paying what Dansby wants.
Yeah get rid of the 25-30 year old stars and sign a pitcher over 30 that barely stays healthy and will cost more than Acuna and Albies and Fried put together….this is why you are not a GM….
Perfectly said….deGrom would cost far too much….to pitch in what 20 games….lol
deGrom costs more than Albies and Acuna and Fried put together….
They are not going trade Ozzie Albies or Ronald Acuna Jr there contracts are too team friendly.
Charlie Morton people forget is just going on a year since breaking his leg. So he could be better at worst a 5th starter to eat innings.
If Atlanta and swanson can’t reach a deal Atlanta is going have to go with a known
Shortstop as Vaugh Grissom struggles defensively.
Hope Atlanta doesn’t overpay for someone like Jacob Degrom who has probably seen his best years of making it a full season healthy in the past
Resigning Swanson is worth it just for his defense alone. Looking at last season, the Braves defense was elite all the way to the playoffs (they didn’t have Ozuna or Acuna in the outfield). Even Rosario had his great moments on defense despite being a ****y defender objectively.
Of course, there are many reasons why the Braves lost this season, but defense should not be the issue and it was. They will lose so much and more if Swanson walks. The fact that players view Swanson as the leader speaks volume. You don’t have to be the best player to be the most important player. Trust me, no one will say anything about Acuna leaving other than, “he was a good kid and loved the game.” No one looks up to him because he is there for himself. Freeman echoed that after leaving.
I think Shewmake is the starting SS next year over Grissom for the defense alone (though I think Grissom is better than he gets credit for, but that still probably puts him in the bottom half of the starting SS’es in MLB.
.967 fielding % at SS in AAA last season for Shewmake. Not sure what people see in him as a defensive player. Swanson had 2 less errors, in about 900 more innings played. That would put Shewmake in the bottom 1/3 of the NL. If Swanson isnt resigned, I’d expect the 2023 SS to come from outside the org, IMO.
I wonder If Bobby Cox was the Manager what would have happen with Ronald Acuna Jr.
Also like to Ozzie Gullien get hire as a 3rd coach / Future Manager
Nothing. In the 90s, people were straightforward and put their foot down.
With the culture today, any criticism towards a non-white man/woman ends up with racism in the title. Remember the criticism Snit received for benching Acuna for not running the bases?! He is still the same player.
Agree Bobby would have benched him. He did that to Andruw Jones for lollygagging.
Disagree about Ozzie, He’s too inflammatory for the Braves.
Andruw Jones played in the Bobby Cox years. He was never benched in the playoffs. It wouldn’t happen.
Congrats Von on PHI’s success. Glad Bryce is getting to the big stage.
You’re right, not in the playoffs, but I do believe Bobby would have dealt more forcefully with Acuna during the regular season.
I’m at peace with the Phillies winning. They played a much better series. I look at MLB like I do football. If Alabama doesn’t win the National Championship, I want another SEC team to. If the Braves can’t win it, I want another NL East team to.
I think AA is too much of a bean-counter to re-sign Dansby at anything close to market value. If he let Freddie walk, he’ll let Dansby walk.
Maybe bham, but Dansby’s 5 years younger than FF. Think that matters in the negotiations.
Dansby is not 5 years younger than Freeman.
About 4 years, 5 months younger.
Close enough Sid, lol. 4 years and 5 months.
Will John Kruk throw out the first pitch in Philly AND San Diego?
Pay the man, Shirley…
outside the box thinking there,DC. sort of like when Phil Collins played at both live aid shows
If SD goes all the way does El Nino get a ring?
Sure. Tatis is a member of the team.
Can’t argue with that
Fans are so fickle , lose and it’s trade Bichette , trade Acuna , trade Vladdy , trade trade trade , don’t resign Turner, on and on lol
NYY fans booing Judge for a bad 3-game postseason stretch after breaking a 61-year old record? Nah, not fickle at all.
007, they get the same way with the FO and Managers/Coaches etc….Take the Dodgers as an example…Their bats have been cold as ice all playoffs….Lost 2-0 the other night, SQUEAKED out 3 runs last night. That is on the PLAYERS….Yet I’ve already seen the obligatory “Fire Roberts” “Fire Freidman” “Fire Magic.” Bats were wayyyyy too cold to do jack sh!!tt!!
TrumboJumbo;
I’d agree if it was just this year.
But that team has been (shall we politely call it) “underperforming” for years in the playoffs. That was the point of the post I made that disappeared.
I wrote in late August that since Terry Francona got to Cleveland whenever he had a decent team, they peaked in September and on. This is not a coincidence (and of course he was working closely with the FO).
A team cannot have what is widely considered the best team in MLB and year-after-year “underperform” in the playoffs.
I do expect there are going to be some changes made in the Dodgers Baseball Ops area.
Cold bats sam!!!!! Ice cold bats!!!!!
Braves MO would be to let Swanson leave and turn SS over to Grissom. Swanson would have to give the Braves a significant discount and I doubt that’s going to happen.
No way they “turn SS over to Grissom.” The Braves are too good at evaluating their own players to believe that Grissom can play a competent ML SS. He doesn’t even fit their hitting philosophy. Most of his at bats are spent fighting off pitches. Just another weak contact hitter that can’t field. Dime a dozen. They should deal him before he loses what little prospect shine he still has left so the Braves can recoup a little value. He’s going to spend a lot more time in the minors in his career. They should dump him now.
Dansby Morton and Charlie Swanson has a better ring to it.
Charlie Swanson sounds like a gameshow host or a luxury brand name.
I don’t know Trumbo, those guys sound like pikers………….
Damnnit Jeff I was waiting for an opportunity to throw that out there and you jumped me!!! Hahaha Friggin Pikers!!
Dansby has played his last game in Atlanta. Will sign with the Dodgers this off-season. Dodgers will also ink deGrom.
Halo’s don’t get a crack at him?!?
They signed two former Mets last offseason (Loup, Thor) and that did not work out too well. Whoever signs deGrom will end up with buyer’s remorse, and I dont wish that on Halos or rheir fans. The crazy owner has already messed things up with all of his meddling (based on stuff Ive read) Stay away from injury-prone pitchers who are over 30 years of age.
I want no part of deGrom. Dude has pitched in all of 38 games in the last 3 years and didn’t look good at the end of the season and in the playoffs. I’m not writing a big check for what he maybe can’t do anymore.
DeGrom won his start vs. SDG (WC series) with a QS going 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER (1 HR), 2 BB, 8 K. That’s pretty good to me.
Love all the Braves fans looking for answers. Same ones who were harassing Mets fans about a “collapse”. Well now you all know what a real collapse looks like first hand.
Real collapse? NYM, MLB’s highest payroll in 2022, was in 1st place for over 175 days (300+ in the last 2 seasons) and ATL in sole possession of 1st place for less than a week — and won the NL East. GTFOH!
Looking for answers? Oh please. We know what a hot team looks like. We had one last year. A seven game lead lost after August 10 is a collapse. Losing to a hot team in the playoffs is just a part of the playoffs.
You still Metted, as always. 1986.
Another desperate troll job from one of the Mutts angriest little trolls. Troll on books.
I could see all 3 of those guys playing for the Red Sox next year
QO offer to Jansen & Swanson. They likely won’t resign Swanson but Morton gets 20mil. Go figure.
Braves have depth pieces in the minors on pitching – ynoa, Ian Anderson. Iglassias was horrible in the post season. He could close but add another reliever if Jansen signs elsewhere.
Iglesias got beat in the last Philly game on a weak Texas Leaguer pop fly, a dribbler to 3B, and a seeing eye groundball that snuck through an over shift. Very weak contact. Ynoa isn’t starting depth. He’s likely only a reliever going forward (Braves moved him to the pen the last few times he pitched before shutting him down due to injury.) Muller, Elder, Tarnok, and Shuster are the best AAA starters. Even money the Braves trade Anderson unless he develops a cutter. Decent chance Anderson’s been pitching w/a bad shoulder for over a year anyway.
I’d be shocked if we see Jansen again unless he’s leaving a lot on the table (i.e. childhood favorite team; WS contender). AAA team has a lot of ‘pen option arms that the big team will need to give an opportunity to if the offseason doesn’t see any deals (rare with RP for last few offseasons). Paying Iglesias 16M per for 3 seasons is not a setup man.
Yeah, w/you on Jansen DMC. Thinking Victor Vodnik and Kyle Muller get long looks out of the pen in ST. Luke Jackson might be back too.
Dansby is a very good SS, not sure he fits in with a few others as an elite type, but is very very good! I’m no Braves fan but do enjoy the type of game they now play and I’m sure will get a very good contract whether in Atlanta or else where.
Craig Kimbrel come on home!
Yea I think the Astros have something to prove winning without cheating. So I can see them vs SD
The Astros have prob the best pitching all together. Having McCullers back with hunter brown in long relief has been a huge help for them.