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Atlanta Braves Looking to Buy Draft Picks? Where is this Money Coming From?

By Alan Carpenter

Sep 5, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators hold up a money down sign on the sidelines on third down against the New Mexico State Aggies during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators hold up a money down sign on the sidelines on third down against the New Mexico State Aggies during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 17, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Matt Garza (22) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 17, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Matt Garza (22) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Sources are Reporting that Atlanta wants bad contracts in exchange for draft picks… but where are they getting that kind of money?

This report of a few days ago, from Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan has yet to be echoed from other sources, but certainly rings true from the actions John Coppolella took last year to bring the Braves more prospects and more draft picks:

Passan’s report has been picked up by both NBC Sports and CBS Sports web outlets, though neither had any detail to corroborate the initial report.  Mike Axisa of CBS did, however, go the extra mile by going through the teams with the tradable Competitive Balance Picks, and tried to find a match for Atlanta.

His conclusions on the possibilities?

  • OAKLAND – Pick #37 (worth $1,745,700 in bonus pool value) for taking Billy Butler and the roughly $18 million remaining on his contract through 2017.  He’s a RH hitter, which the Braves could use, but…that’s more than they had to eat with Nick Swisher.  And there’s reason to believe that Swisher might have actually hit better (Butler is starting at .219).
  • MINNESOTA – Pick #73 (worth $878,500).  Ricky Nolasco and his $25 million contract (2016+2017) are in play here.  The pick is quite low, by comparison, so this is a problem given the size of the contract… unless the Braves could flip him to another club to recoup some of that money.  Note that the Twins also have pick #74, but that one is not tradable since it’s a compensation pick.
  • MILWAUKEE – Pick #75 (worth $851,900).  Axisa mentioned Matt Garza, whose contract mirrors Nolasco’s, but recall that I had visions on Ryan Braun and his $100 million contract for a different purpose.

Given these options and the needs of the teams involved, I would think that such a deal might already be done … if all were inclined and and if it was all that simple.  But I do expect that there could be additional complexities involved, which would include these:

  • Hector Olivera.  We know that the Braves were asking for takers… what if that was in conjunction with these draft pick discussions?
  • International draft slots.  Passan mentions tradable draft picks, but we also know that the Braves have an affinity for collecting International bonus pool slots as well.  As Atlanta expects to be busy in this arena, these will be as important as compensation picks… and tend to be more available.
  • The Cash thing.

Ah, the cash…that’s what I really wanted to talk about…

Next: Let's Add it All Up

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