Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: decisions and plans are needed soon

David O’Brien proffered a list of possible General Manager candidates, though the official word is… that nothing is happening yet.

Atlanta Braves‘ organizational meetings are underway, but right now ‘organization’ is probably the wrong word to use.  Without a GM in place and the front office in a state of shell-shock, whatever work is done this week will probably have to be re-done in the near future.

Among the coming decisions:

• R.A. Dickey‘s option… though he may end up deciding that the “known” (retirement) is better than the “unknown” (an uncertain next season despite $8 million of extra income).
• The Tyler Flowers option (at least this one is a no-brainer)
• Arbitration calls (Jace Peterson (1st), Dan Winkler (1st), Arodys Vizcaino (3rd), Mike Foltynewicz (1st)).  Guessing all get picked up for arb.
• Non-tender calls.  Guessing Ian Krol, Adonis Garcia, Danny Santana are in this group.
• Rule 5 draft/40-man roster moves.  That’s beyond the scope of this post.

But one decision may have been made:  since Dayton Moore isn’t already riding in on a white horse, it is probably safe to conclude that he hasn’t been given the offer that he wants to hear:  that John Hart (at least) would back away from the team and allow him full control of baseball operations.

That might change if MLB concludes that Hart had any role in matters related to rule violations of the sort that got Coppolella ousted, but given the swiftness in which the Braves deposed Coppy, it could be that Hart emerges with – at worst – a story of plausible deniability.  That or the ‘good ol’ boy’ network protected him.

But it is here that Dave O’Brien somewhat uncharacteristically chimes in with an opinion statement – one that I have been hinting at, but he’s said better:

"You need to win, Braves. In 2018. And that starts now, with hiring the right GM and giving him a payroll that’s not in the bottom third, or even the bottom half, of baseball. You’ve got no choice, really. You gave yourselves no choice by embarking on a massive rebuild, then not improving the product on the field fast enough to suit the masses in a market that was used to winning for so long. … And then, on top of four straight losing seasons, you go and become embroiled in an ugly scandal involving the acquisition of some of the very players you are rebuilding around."

A Recipe for … better Success

Here’s why Dayton Moore should be the choice for Atlanta:  because he’s recently taken a team of emerging prospects to the World Series.  He also did it on a budget, too, so he isn’t going to go all-Ben-Cherington and sign a free agent sure to fail like Pablo Sandoval.

Coppy was still telling us that it wasn’t the right time to be trading the better prospects.  I disagree.  Now is precisely the right time.

Here is one formula:

• Matt Kemp is a net $19 million cost to the team in 2018 and 2019.  If you can’t find a taker in the AL for him at any price, then either buy out the contract or make him the most expensive bench bat in baseball.
• [ I really like Fred’s idea for Boston to take Kemp for Rusney Castillo – dunno if they do that, but it’s worth exploring. ]
• Buyout Jim Johnson.
• Trade Nick Markakis for whatever you can get… which still might include a cash payment of $2-5 million.
• Insert Ronald Acuna into the outfield.
• Look for a viable trade to get a solid OF bat if you don’t have Castillo (yeah, I’d like Stanton too, but that’s not going to happen).  Be willing to trade almost anyone.
• Sign Moustakas for 3rd base.  That’s much easier if Moore is running the show.
• Keep Camargo and Lane Adams for the bench.  Having Kemp, Matt Adams and Suzuki also there aren’t bad options (though Micah Johnson might be necessary).
• Right now your rotation is Teheran, Dickey, Folty, Gohara, Newcomb, and … somebody with a ‘go bag’ at Gwinnett.  Soroka is close.  Allard is kinda close.  Upgrades might be difficult to obtain.
• Look for bullpen upgrades.
• Ask Kansas City for permission to discuss Ned Yost – yes, that despite having re-upped Snitker.

Is all of that enough?  It’s probably a little weak on the pitching side, but should be good enough offensively.  But I would not go after a pitcher unless he’s going to be at least a 2-3 year contributor.

At 72-90 in 2017, the 2018 Braves would need to improve by around 15-18 wins to sniff the playoffs.  That’s is a tall order.

The ‘bones’ are already in place for this team, but a good amount of flesh and muscle are still needed.

Next: Freeman Needs Your Vote

But with the old guard still entrenched, it’s hard to imagine such activity this Winter unless the Braves can pull their act together – and quickly.