Atlanta Braves are in a great position, even with no moves
Lately Braves fans have been getting even more impatient, or nervous, or just bored with Frank Wren’s inactivity so far this off season. I feel like I have said this over and over again but people keep freaking out so I guess I have to dedicate yet another post to calming all of the crazies down.
Before going into the reasons why Atlanta is still a top notch baseball team let’s look at what other teams in the division have done. Here is what DOB says about other teams in his post, which is really what all you crazies need to go read because he is making the same point as I am. So what have teams done?
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are obviously in a ‘win now’ mode so they over paid for Jonathan Papelbon, and signed Ty Wigginton and Jim Thome. Ryan Howard is going to be out for a bit of the first part of the season and that is a pretty big hit to the offense no matter what Thome does in that time. I would argue that Papelbon really isn’t that much better than Madson and that plus the money that they gave him is a good thing for Braves fans. In case you were wondering Craig Kimbrel, the best closer in baseball isn’t even making $1 million.
The Phillies are still a really good team, and they are probably still better than the Braves because of their starting pitching but their window is now. They are an old team, and have really thrown all their prospects at teams in order to win now. They better hope this pays off because the Braves will be just as good when their window finally closes.
the rest of the division and the Braves situation after the break…
Miami Marlins
The Marlins had a completely new mentality this off season and signed two of the biggest names in free agency, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle. Reyes significantly improved the offense and exponentially improved the defense at short but they put a lot of money in an injury prone player and really hurt Hanley Ramirez‘s feelings in the process. I can just see him demanding a trade or being even more lazy now that he isn’t the team’s best player. So the Reyes signing is good, but it could prove to be extremely costly.
Beuhrle on the other hand is a quality pitcher, but a guy who really took advantage of the terrible starting pitching market. They gave $58 million to a guy with a career K/9 of 5.07. He will give them a bunch of innings but he is definitely not an ace and he definitely got over paid, in my opinion.
The Marlins should have a fantastic offense but they still don’t have good pitching after Josh Johnson -who is also an injury risk- and Beuhrle. That should lead for a pretty nice battle for third place with the Washington Nationals…
Washington Nationals
The Nationals were in a great position to become a real threat in 2013 until management decided they wanted to try and win now. I am not really sure why because they don’t have an outfield, and even with Gio their rotation is weak compared to the Braves and Phillies. They traded 4 good prospects (3 of which were in the organizations top ten. #3, #4, and #9) to get a pitcher who has really been helped out by his home ballpark and his good outfield defense. Aaron Somers at District on Deck breaks down the trade and explains why he really doesn’t like it.
Here is what Aaron says about Gio:
"But Gonzalez isn’t one of the Top 25 starting pitchers in all of Major League Baseball. In fact, he isn’t even one of the Top 5 left-handed starters. And yet the Nationals paid a price to acquire him as if he was – surrendering three quality arms who had barely begun to collect service time and a quality catching prospect who seems to fit perfectly into the direction the A’s organization is heading."
It seems like the Nationals were the team that felt pressured into making a move. They made a trade that really hurts them in the long term and for a pitcher who was going to be too expensive simply because Billy Beane was trading him and the amount of teams with an interest in him. The Nationals are the perfect example of what a lot of Braves fans are asking for; a reaction trade. The Nationals might have made it a more interesting battle for third with the Marlins but they made Frank Wren (and Billy Beane) more excited for the future.
New York Mets
No disrespect for the Mets organization and their fans but they really don’t even need to be discussed. They are in a mess and it’s going to take a few years to get back into the mix.
Braves are fine
Hopefully I have shown you all that you really don’t need to worry. Despite the Marlins brief spending spree and the Nationals snagging one of the most sought after starting pitchers the Atlanta Braves are in great shape. If anything the moves made by division rivals so far has made life easier for us, at least in the long term. I had brief chat with Seedlings to Stars editor, Nathaniel Stoltz and he agreed with me on the subject:
"@CarlosCollazoTT: If you think the #braves are getting left behind in the NL East you have forgotten how good we were with down years from multiple players@stoltz_baseball: @CarlosCollazoTT IMO the Braves’ long-term outlook just got significantly better. Nationals are now all-in on a smaller group of pitchers.@CarlosCollazoTT: @stoltz_baseball yep, Phillies got older, Marlins invested $100 mil in an injury prone SS, and the Mets are a mess@stoltz_baseball: @CarlosCollaz0TT All the while, the Braves’ young arms mature, and they may yet get more goodies for Jurrjens."
I think the biggest issue with the worried Braves fans is that they are forgetting the most important thing. The biggest improvement that we are going to have is coming from players already on the team. Improvements from Jason Heyward, Dan Uggla, Martin Prado, and Brian McCann will be enough to get us back to the playoffs and make a serious push for a World Series Championship. We don’t have to make a move and we shouldn’t make a move just because of the activity in the division so far this off season.
The Atlanta Braves are in a good situation both short term and long term. Frank Wren is making sure that he makes a deal that actually improves the club, instead of just trading someone asap while also holding on to the team’s best prospects. Don’t be surprised if nothing happens for a while as DOB says that Wren might not do anything until Spring Training.
In the meantime have a merry Christmas and start playing 2K11 if you want a trade that badly.
Follow Nathanial Stoltz on Twitter @stoltz_baseball and check out Seedlings to Stars. You can follow me on Twitter @CarlosCollazoTT and feel free to ask me any questions or just talk Braves baseball.