Atlanta Braves have $. What will they do with it?
By Ryan Cothran
Now that all the good ones are gone, the Atlanta Braves…
…have the ever so sought after double Fs, and no it’s not Freddie Freeman. It’s FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY! That’s great…but what to do with it now that every living, breathing hole-filler in the entire Major Leagues is all but gone. But wait…there’s still a few players out there that could help the Braves compete in 2015. First, let’s discuss the dollars we’re talking before we get all crazy and go sign Poolholes for a billion bucks.
In a post of what seems like a lifetime ago, I discussed how the Braves could land Jon Lester by making a few trades (oh to be young and naive), but there’s a lot of that post that still holds liquid and that is “tha numbas”. If you could be so kind as to click on the link provided above, it showed the Braves payroll broken down into guaranteed contracts, arb-salary estimates, and pre-arb estimates. With the 22 players calculated, the Braves were sitting at 86.8 million. But we all know that there has been some changes to that old number…and here they are:
Nick Markakis– +11MM for 2015
Alberto Callaspo– +3MM for 2015
Jim Johnson– +1.6MM for 2015
Dian Tuscano- +1.5MM for 2015
Justin Upton– -14.5MM for 2015
(the subtractions and additions of players such as Anthony Varvaro, Tommy La Stella, and Arodys Vizcaino are evened out by the other pre-arb players that will take their places, therefore the cost evens out)
Being the math wizard that I am, I can clearly see that the salaries of Markakis, Callaspo, and Tuscano combine to equal the salary of one Justin Upton, leaving the only surplus being Jim Johnson at 1.6MM. So as of now…
Atlanta Braves 2015 Payroll for 22 players is 88.4MM
Now, reaching back further into the offseason abyss, one can recall a man by the name of John Hart discussing the payroll to a bunch of ne’er do well season ticket holders, informing the privileged that the payroll will be “North of 100MM, south of 120MM”. Using the midpoint as the best guess estimate to Hart’s statement, and for the ability to do this exorcise…I mean, exercise, let’s say the Braves plan to spend 110 million for the 2015 team. That gives the Braves 21.4MM to complete this team. Ok, so what are the needs?
1. Starting Pitcher
2. Left fielder (Some might say this isn’t a need as the Braves plan on putting Evan Gattis there. However, I’m bull-headed stubborn and until I see him penciled in as the LF, I’m calling for one via free agency. I also think that it would be “value suicide” for the Braves to move him to LF as his value is at peak if he provides above average power and average defensive catching).
Atlanta Braves…time to put the Money where the Hart is…
There have been times in the past where the Braves were mislead as far as offseason spending is concerned, only for the payroll to end up millions and millions short of what was told to the media. Then last year happened and the Braves shocked us all by spending over projected budget to grab Ervin Santana after the TJ bug struck the rotation (that TJ bug is a downright nasty one, said to put elbows on the shelf for at least a year). So, if the Braves do expect to spend this so called money, who should it go to? My opinion follows:
1. James Shields– Projected to sign a 5/95 million dollar contract, the Braves could afford Shields. With Scherzer still on the market, Shields might have dropped his asking price a bit. Regardless, the team that signs Shields will likely be paying an AAV between 16 and 20 million, so let’s put it right in the middle: 5/90 million with 16MM year 1 and 18.5 the next 4.
2. That leaves only 5.4 million to make left-field happen, and frankly there’s nothing at that price that would even be worth taking a risk on. However, there is 1 player that really fits the mold of what the Braves are looking to do (speed, contact, good defense) and that is Nori Aoki. I’d like to see the Braves extend their budget out by 2-3 million and put Aoki in LF. a 2/16MM contract should suffice for Aoki.
In my opinion, this team would have a rock-solid pitching staff that could be top 2-3 in the majors (factoring in both starting and relieving), a below average offense that could scrape together to be league average, and a very solid defense.
I’d also be happy with just getting Yoan Moncada and punting the 2015 season…
What’s your opinion on how the Braves could spend for 2015?