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Atlanta Braves: it’s time to start merging into the traffic lane

By Alan Carpenter

TORONTO, CANADA - APRIL 4: General manager Alex Anthopoulos of the Toronto Blue Jays talks to media before MLB game action against the New York Yankees on April 4, 2014 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - APRIL 4: General manager Alex Anthopoulos of the Toronto Blue Jays talks to media before MLB game action against the New York Yankees on April 4, 2014 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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Okay, I lied.  This will be the fifth in a 4-post series about the NL East and the off-season thus far.  But this one is about our Bravos.

You simply can’t blame new Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos.  Today will be his 47th day on the job.  He was interviewing during a World Series that he was participating in. He barely got started before Winter Meetings were held.  His family was 2500 miles away.  His best recollection of Braves baseball before November probably involved an upside-down Canadian flag (yes, I know he was 15 then… go with it).

When I was reviewing the NL East teams over the past week, it struck me about a hundred times just how dysfunctional each team really is:

  • The Marlins.  I don’t even think this needs an explanation right now.
  • The Phillies.  Their current idea of team-building involves writing checks and hoping some free agents cash some of them.
  • The Mets.  They have more holes in their lineup than a box of Krispy Kremes, yet refuse to spend or otherwise do anything about it.
  • The Nationals.  The singularly good team, built for the first round of the playoffs… and yet that required a new manager.

So with all of that we have our Braves, who look like they’re trying to figure out exactly when to hit the gas to merge into traffic, but are uncertain how well the car will get up to speed.

I can tell you from experience:  most people don’t bother to worry about things like that… they’ll go ahead and jump into the lane whether they’re driving a Ferrari or a Yugo.  I’m pretty sure that most Atlantans would agree.

On the Cusp, But …

We’re seeing a lot of trends around baseball like this today:  free agents aren’t signing.  Trades are not being made.  The off-season is painfully slow.

There’s reasons for this.  Pick your favorite:

  • ‘Superteams’ are emerging – stacked for deep playoff runs.  Those clubs are ‘going for it’ and are immediately going after the best options to help them get there.
  • Rebuilding clubs are numerous… and they figure there’s no point in free agency season.
  • Clubs on the fence are numerous.  Teams like Kansas City and Pittsburgh, and Toronto can’t decide whether they are ‘in’ or ‘out’ for 2018 and beyond.
  • Other teams like San Diego and Philadelphia really really want to be players in the 2018 season, but nobody actually wants to play there.
  • The free agent class itself is flawed (Jake Arrieta, Todd Frazier).  Or expensive (J.D. Martinez).  Or expensive and flawed (Yu Darvish).  Or without an interested party (virtually any ex-Royal).  So you’d commit your organization to a 3+ year deal with any of these guys?
  • But next year’s class… whoa!  That’s going to be the one to play in!  If you are willing to pay for it, then maybe you can actually get one of those premium players.
  • Collusion!  (Okay, that’s what Scott Boras would say, but he always slow-rolls his clients’ signings, so he can be ignored)
  • Finally:  organizations only get one or two shots in their guns each year.  Missing the mark has consequences.

The Braves are probably only a couple of players away from at least being in a position to place second in the NL East in 2018.  That’s not even a hot take – it’s reality based on the frailty and failures of their rivals.

But because they have a new GM – and new co-horts from a past Front Office also learning about the pile of gold they’re sitting on – they don’t want to blow this either.

My message to them today is this:  it’s okay.  GM’s make mistakes but you’ve got a lot of room for error.  The Braves actually have both depth and options.

The Here and Now

The Braves could use a veteran starting pitcher, a real third baseman, one or two relief arms, and – if you get lucky – an outfield upgrade.

It doesn’t all need to be done during one off-season.  But it would be a good idea to get started on that.

If you think third base might actually get handed over to Austin Riley in another year… great.  It’s okay to wait for him.  Johan Camargo will do nicely in the interim.

If you think the bullpen needs help, then go get Peter Moylan (because we like him) and somebody like J.J Hoover (because he didn’t walk the world when he was a Brave) or Tony Watson and be done with it.

If you think we need a veteran starter then there’s one of two ways I’d suggest:

Any of these would help, but none would be risky moves that would cripple the franchise for years to come.  They might help buy time to allow us all to figure out what we’ve really got.

Next: Old Faithful Friends to Return?

But with all these flaws around the Braves in the NL East… the traffic really isn’t that bad.  Hit the gas.

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