Atlanta Braves Monday Morning Chop – Nick Swisher and/or Michael Bourn On The Trade Block?
By Jeff Schafer
How do Bourn, Swish factor into Braves’ plans?
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn both came to Atlanta mid-way through the 2015 season as the Braves traded them in exchange for Chris Johnson. Since, Johnson has been released from the Indians. As we sit on January 4, 2016, the current “plan” is to have Nick Markakis in right field, Ender Inciarte in center field and Hector Olivera in left field. Will Olivera find his place in left? Or will need to go back to third base? If he does need to go back to the infield, Bourn and Swisher’s value increases a lot.
"Though Swisher and Bourn are positioned to serve as backup options for the projected starting outfielders (Olivera, Inciarte and Markakis), the Braves are trying to trade at least one of them with the understanding the team would have to eat a significant portion of the salary.Swisher is owed $15 million this year, and Bourn will draw a salary of $14 million. There is a chance that the Braves could end up carrying both of these veterans, who they received via the contract swap that sent Chris Johnson to Cleveland in August. But it is clear they would like to trade at least one of them before the start of the season."
MLB Faces Antitrust Trial Over Telecasts: Are Small-Market Clubs Doomed By Cord-Cutters?
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: A very interesting court date has been set for MLB, all 30 teams, DirecTV and Comcast for two weeks from today. Over the past few years, I’ve put thought into purchasing the MLB package, but haven’t pulled the trigger. Luckily, I’m in the Braves market and the games aren’t blacked out. Will anything be settled in time for the 2016 season? We will soon find out.
"On January 18, roughly two months and 15 miles away from the time and place where Wade Davis struck out Wilmer Flores to give the Kansas City Royals a World Series championship, a trial will commence. At a United States federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan, Major League Baseball will do its best to lay wood on the equivalent of a spitball, a pitch with the potential of disrupting both the game of baseball and the television landscape. Lawyers for the league could harken back to that moment when the Royals beat the hometown New York Mets. After all, the event signified that it was indeed possible in professional baseball for a small-market team to prevail over a large-market one. Isn’t that the essence of a healthy competition?The question comes up because MLB, its teams, DirecTV and Comcast are on deck to defend the charge that they are colluding in their TV deals and harming competition. The league is teasing the stakes in court documents. As one of its lawyers wrote to the judge this past week, if the rulebook on television is overhauled by judicial fiat, it “would reduce the ability of certain small-market teams to invest in players and other resources, hampering their ability to compete on the field — and could, over time, prevent certain clubs from remaining viable.”"
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: Now that the holiday’s are over, it’s time to start thinking about baseball just a little more. As Kevin McAlpin informed us this morning, the season opener is inching closer and closer for the 2016 season. Atlanta will take on the Washington Nationals on April 4, 2016 to kick off the 2016 MLB season. The two-game series with the Nationals will be at Turner Field. After that the Braves stay at home for a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals. How about this…pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on February 18. (roughly the date, not certain when the Braves report)
#Braves Home Opener against the Nationals is three months from today. Morning, everyone.
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) January 4, 2016