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Braves Showing Interest in Nick Markakis

By Alan Carpenter

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Not surprising that the news is picking up steam this week:  and this one catches my interest for multiple reasons:

"Veteran outfielder Nick Markakis, who seemed for a while to be a pretty good bet to return to the Orioles, is listening to outside offers now and said to have interest from the Braves, Blue Jays and Giants, among others.Atlanta is an interesting entry since Markakis grew up in Woodstock, Ga., went to Young Harris College and has a home in Georgia (as he does in Maryland). The Braves traded right fielder Jason Heyward and are listening to offers for another top outfielder, Justin Upton, so there definitely is room for Markakis.– Jon Heyman, CBS SPORTS.COM, 11:35am Tuesday, Dec, 2"

All right… but so what?

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    • Atlanta has been “interested” in a lot of different players… why should this be “interest

    ing

    ” to us?

    • LHH Right fielder.  Yep – we need one… even if Justin stays with Atlanta.
    • Veteran presence; local guy
    • Good hitter – solidly in the upper .200’s (.290 career average, roughly 10-15 HR per year)
    • This news might suggest that something else is going on, trade-wise

    HOWEVER, there are also several things that prevent me from giving an outright endorsement of Markakis:

    • The mullings I’ve seen suggest that Atlanta is interested in ‘young, controllable’ outfielders.  Markakis is 31 and wants a long-term deal (4-5 years).  That doesn’t fit the definition of “young, controllable.”  I don’t think such a deal would be “B.J. Upton bad”, but that 4th or 5th year could be a drag.
    • Markakis’ best recent season was 2014… but only at a 2.5 WAR level.  His best season was way back in 2008.
    • His defense isn’t the greatest, and is liable to fade, given his age.  Yes, he has a Gold Glove.  So does Derek Jeter.  The Fielding Bible awards put him 9th this year with 6 voters (of 11) leaving him off the ballot and one of those voters apparently confused Markakis with Kevin Kiermaier.
    • Made $15 million over each of the past 2 seasons… that would rank #1 on the Braves.

    Markakis does put the ball in play and gets on base often (.340-.350 OBP lately, 12% K rate).  Has some pop.  But on balance, he’s probably the equivalent of Jason Heyward offensively – and costs more.  I don’t know that he would command $15m on average for 4 or 5 years, but probably at least $12-13 million.  Either way, that’s a significant chunk to swallow.

    At the same time, he’s also the best available free agent outfielder available (whether you consider Nelson Cruz an outfielder is now irrelevant – he’s signed).

    Doesn’t Add Up For Me

    While I do believe there’s some “interest” in the “due diligence” sense, I do not believe that Atlanta will go to Markakis.  He’s not that much better than more other, cheaper options on the free agent market (especially given that he will be ages 31-35 over his next deal).

    Look for the Braves to replace outfielders via trade, then, and not via the free agent market.

    At least not this free agent.

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