Atlanta Braves Trade Aspirations Rising as Free Agents Go Wanting

Oct 2, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski (15) talks to starting pitcher Julio Teheran (49) during the fifth inning of their game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Teams are Looking at Trades First to Fill Needs Thus Far

Today is November 24th. A casual glance at the MLBTR Free Agent Tracker does show that a few signings have taken place, but there’s an interesting trend that seems to be spreading around baseball.

The big-name free agents are not getting a lot of play so far.

Some players may have seen this handwriting on the wall already:

Three free agents have taken their Qualifying Offers… none had ever done so before.
A fourth, Marco Estrada, has signed – to this point – the largest free agent deal this off-season. And that’s “only” for $26 million over the next 2 seasons.
Other than those, the largest deal inked so far is for $6 million (A’s pitcher Rich Hill).

What had happened by this week last year?

Billy Butler – A’s/3 years/$30m, Nov. 19
Michael Cuddyer – Mets/2 years/$21m; Nov. 10
J.J. Hardy was extended by the Orioles; Oct. 9
Adam LaRoche – White Sox/2 years/$25m; Nov. 25
Russell Martin – Blue Jays/5 years/$82m; Nov. 20
Victor Martinez – re-signed by Detroit/4 years/$68m; Nov. 14
Hanley Ramirez – Red Sox/4 years/$88m; Nov. 25
Pablo Sandoval – Red Sox/5 years/$95m; Same day

… and those were just the big deals. Sure – there were a ton of big signings done in the middle of December, and that’s likely when many of them will occur during this Hot Stove season, but at this point a year ago, there had already been plenty of “buzz” and quite a bit of action among the better free agents available.

This year? Not so much.

Some Money May Go Unspent

It seems that even the higher-budget teams are executing their own brand of fiscal responsibility this Fall.

More from Tomahawk Take

The Dodgers want to pare their payroll from $300m to something closer to $200m.
The Yankees started on a fiscal restraint plan a year ago
Cubs: not enough cash for a big spending season
The Blue Jays are not changing their payroll for 2016: $140m is the number

Only the Giants seem to be willing to spend more this year, but even so, they seem very willing to explore the trade market first… and thus the recent story that they have inquired with Atlanta about their front-line starters.

This is unusual based on trends from the last several years, but then again those trends were also unsustainable. Teams above the “luxury tax” already owe the league a percentage of the amount they exceed the payroll threshold, which is now set at $189 million.

The Dodgers have blown through the cap for 3 straight years and will be paying 50% extra for every over-cap contract dollar on the payroll in 2016. Sure, they’re getting better players with this plan, but if they re-sign a Zack Greinke, for instance, they aren’t just paying him $27-$30 million annually: it will actually be more like $40-$45 million after “taxes”.

Turning to Trades

As a result, the Atlanta Braves are getting some interesting play on Shelby Miller and Julio Teheran. The buzz about is a lot more about trades than in free agents right now. To this point:

The Cubs have ‘met with’ numerous free agents
David Price has opined that Tornoto is his far-away first choice… but can they afford him?
Meanwhile: nothing about Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, or Yoenis Cespedes. Well, excepting that the Angels are said to be ‘not ruling out’ a run at Heyward… depending on their payroll level (now roughly $150 million).

Next: What Was That from Fangraphs?

So with all of these teams looking for pitching and trying to exercise some sort of budget discipline… Atlanta is more likely than not to be parting with their better arms… and if I were to hazard a guess, I believe somebody ‘blinks’ and accedes to the Braves’ demands before the start of the Winter Meetings on December 6th.

As always, stay tuned.

Home/Braves News