House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves could have a big shortstop decision this Winter

By Alan Carpenter

TORONTO, ON - JUNE 20: Devon Travis #29 of the Toronto Blue Jays slides into second base with a double ahead of the throw to Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Rogers Centre on June 20, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JUNE 20: Devon Travis #29 of the Toronto Blue Jays slides into second base with a double ahead of the throw to Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Rogers Centre on June 20, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 17: Shortstop Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers fields a ball barehanded hit by Cameron Maybin #10 of the Seattle Mariners during the second inning of a game at Safeco Field on August 17, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. Maybin reached safely on the play. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 17: Shortstop Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers fields a ball barehanded hit by Cameron Maybin #10 of the Seattle Mariners during the second inning of a game at Safeco Field on August 17, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. Maybin reached safely on the play. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

Let’s take a journey this morning… a journey through time into the upcoming off-season.  It’s winter and it’s time to get these Braves ready for their ‘window’.

This 2018 version of the Atlanta Braves are running ahead of schedule.  But they aren’t ‘done’.  The trick is, how should Alex Anthopoulos proceed in adding the finishing touches?

There’s at least one scenario that might be a really tough call… and it involves the left side of the infield.

The Wild Card

In this case, ‘wild card’ isn’t a playoff reference… it’s more about Alex Anthopoulos.

One week ago today, Fred wrote about the trade deadline revelation we learned from Jon Heyman that the Braves “really wanted” Manny Machado.  He then (quite plausibly) surmised that Machado might very well be an off-season target once he hits free agency.

I’ve been considering that in the days since… and there are definitely some eye-opening implications of such a pursuit.

First off, let me establish this as an axiom for General Managers:  if there is a superstar/impact player available, he is worth pursuing.  This would seem to be common sense, but it still needs to be stated as part of the calculus here.

Now you might also apply such a statement about Bryce Harper, for instance, but I would argue that there are chinks in his armor that should cause reasonable people to disagree on his long-term professional performance projections.  Also, Scott Boras is involved.

Manny Machado has no such drawbacks.  His OPS is down in Los Angeles, but for him “down” means .831.  For the next 5-8 years, you’d expect to see consistent 800-900 OPS production and either excellent defense (at 3rd base) or average defense (at shortstop).

As a general policy, Alex Anthopoulos has not sought free agents as a means of building his teams.  His history shows that he prefers trades and he has stated as much on multiple occasions.

I would submit, however, that if Machado was a trade deadline target, a Winter pursuit – noting the axiom above – would also reasonably be in play.

So I have 2 scenarios to explore:

  • Scenario 1:  the Braves do not sign Manny Machado
  • Scenario 2:  the Braves sign Manny Machado

A lot of what follows will eventually be played out depending on scout’s opinions of future directions, so your mileage may vary.  First:  some profiles.

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