Atlanta Braves Trying to open 40-Man Roster Spots

The Atlanta Braves have made a splash in the last month…

…some might call it the equivalent to an 8-year old completing a jackknife splash into an above ground pool, and others are happy with the new direction the Braves are headed.  What are your thoughts on…

1. The return brought back in the Justin Upton trade?

2. High risk/high reward signings of Jim Johnson, Jason Grilli, and A.J. “most hated man in baseball” Pierzynski?

3. The replacement of Anthony Varvaro with Minor League equivalent Anthony Varvaro who’s birth name isn’t Anthony Varvaro, rather Aaron Kurcz?

4. The rule 5 draft pickup of J.R. Graham‘s equivalent that goes by the name of Daniel Winkler that corresponded with the loss of the actual J.R. Graham in the rule-5 draft?

5. The signing of effectively wild Michael Kohn to a minor-league contract with an invite to Spring Training?

6.  The signing of a very much unknown Dian Tuscano, a Cuban prospect who profiles as a 4th outfielder who could be more, but could be less, or could be just right, or could be very wrong?

My thoughts? 3 little letters.

"Meh."

"me/informalexclamationexpressing a lack of interest or enthusiasm.“Meh. I’m not impressed so far”"

"adjectiveuninspiring; unexceptional"

My beloved Atlanta Braves, why have you done this to MEEEEE???

Without any further trade/acquisition, the Braves are looking at running this team out there for 162 games:

Starters: Markakis, Callaspo/Peterson, Freeman, Gattis, CJ, Andrelton, BJ/Almonte, Bethancourt/Pierzynski:
Rotation: Teheran, Wood, Miller, Minor, Hale
Bullpen: Kimbrel, Grilli, J.Johnson, Simmons, Russell, Shreve, Carpenter
Bench: Callaspo/Peterson, BJ/Almonte, Bethancourt/Pierzynski, Gosselin, Terdoslavich

Simply put…that wreaks of Meh. For the Braves to win the division, Andrelton Simmons, Chris Johnson,  and B.J. Upton would all have to rebound and produce at least a .750 OPS, Freddie Freeman and Evan Gattis will both have to have career years, Nick Markakis will have to repeat 2014, and Christian Bethancourt, Jace Peterson, and Zoilo Almonte will have to prove to the world that they can duplicate their Minor League numbers.  If 3/4 of these go right, we’re looking at 2nd place.  If 1/2 goes right, we might squeak into the 2nd Wild Card.  I guess you can see where this is going. And that’s just the offense.

To me, the pitching will be ok.  There’s enough talent there in the rotation, and enough interchangeable parts in the bullpen that I think the pitching will once again be top-5 in the National League. However, pitching is fickle and 1 injury to a key guy like Julio Teheran or Alex Wood, and the whole system could collapse.

What’s next for the Atlanta Braves?

Well, they’re not done. They can’t be. The club is said to be “listening” on Evan Gattis, though not actively shopping him.  The club is also said to be in the market for a back-end rotation pitcher.  I still like the idea of re-creating the Gavin Floyd type deal with former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley (who is coming off of Tommy John surgery and should be ready by late May), letting David Hale, James Russell, and Arodys Vizcaino stretch out for the 5th starter spot, and see what they have to offer for 6-7 starts at the beginning of the year. And truth be told, that’s about it.  But why is it that the Braves “can’t” be done?  Surely they could just send this motley crew out and give it a whirl.  Well yes…and no.

Atlanta Braves 40-Man Roster

There’s 39 players currently accounted for on the 40-man roster, so there’s room, right? No so fast, muchacho. If you’ll look closely, there are a few names that you will not see:  Jason Grilli, Dian Tuscano, A.J. Pierzynski.  Do the math 39+3= 42.  That means 2 will likely be getting the boot off of the 40-man, yet that’s not likely to be all.  If the Braves do end up signing a starting pitcher, the sacrificial lambs go up to 3.  That means the Braves will be forced to either trade a few off of their 40-man, remove players from their 40-man and risk losing them to other teams, or simply release a few players from the 40-man.  So, the Braves aren’t done moving parts and we should be excited, right? I’m not so sure.  Take a look at the listed players below before we pull out the jump to conclusions mat:

Jose Constanza, Todd Cunningham, Tyler Pastornicky, Ian Thomas, Juan Jaime.

Now ask yourself this:

1. What trade value do you think any of these players currently possess for other teams to waste a 40-man roster spot on?.

2. Would you as a Braves fan be upset should any of these players not be in a Braves uniform next year, sentimentality aside?

The point I’m trying to make is this: there’s likely going to be some action over the course of the next few weeks, and it could be big should the Braves trade Evan Gattis, or find a suitor for Chris Johnson, or if the Braves sign a starting pitcher.  However, I’d like for the fans to taper back their expectations (and I’m really talking more to myself than anyone else) when it comes to major 40-man roster moves, as the moves made will likely be of less impact.  It is true that the Braves are trying to open 40-man roster spots, and it’s mandatory that they do so.  However, the opening will likely come by designating a few of the above players for assignment, rather than any significant trade.  If trades occur, expect a Anthony Varvaro-like return, no more.