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How best to spend $150 million of Atlanta Braves money

By Alan Carpenter

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: Newly redesigned $100 notes lay in stacks at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on May 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. The one hundred dollar bills will be released this fall and has new security features, such as a duplicating portrait of Benjamin Franklin and microprinting added to make the bill more difficult to counterfeit. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: Newly redesigned $100 notes lay in stacks at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on May 20, 2013 in Washington, DC. The one hundred dollar bills will be released this fall and has new security features, such as a duplicating portrait of Benjamin Franklin and microprinting added to make the bill more difficult to counterfeit. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) /
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – FEBRUARY 22: A South Korean banker carries US dollar bank notes at the Korea Exchange bank on February 22, 2005 in Seoul, South Korea.  (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – FEBRUARY 22: A South Korean banker carries US dollar bank notes at the Korea Exchange bank on February 22, 2005 in Seoul, South Korea.  (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) /

Spending other people’s money can be fun, but let’s see if the Atlanta Braves money can be spent to get a 2020 team to be reckoned with.

The final numbers for 2019 aren’t quite in yet – at least on the Cots website – but it appears that the Atlanta Braves spent something in the neighborhood of $140 million (perhaps a bit above) for 25-man roster player salaries in 2019.

That amount would necessarily include the extra $1 million they spent on Friday to buy out their half of Billy Hamilton‘s mutual contract option for 2020.  That move was roundly expected… probably why it was announced ‘early’ in this window of day where teams have to declare their intentions on such clauses.

That deadline is today – three days after the conclusion of the World Series.  Later today we will know the fates of Tyler Flowers, Nick Markakis, and Julio Teheran for their 2020 options.

UPDATE/EDIT:  the prior info I had on this was in error – it’s five days, so Monday is that deadline.

Best guesses on those?  There are arguments for either accepting or rejecting them all, and the answer will depend on vibes they are getting on other available players… assuming that the team is intent on pursuing such.

In order, though, here’s my priority assessment on those options:

  • Flowers – accept.  The Braves probably don’t want to do this at $6 million, but there’s a $2 million buyout and they do not want to be ‘caught’ without a catcher.
  • Teheran – accept, but with the intent on a later trade.
  • Markakis – decline.  He has the same terms as Flowers, so it costs the Braves $2 million in severance.  In what follows, we won’t include that in the 2020 money.

So with that in mind, let’s figure out how to spend some money.  For this effort, we’ll set a budget of $150 million… and I’ll explain later the reasons behind that figure.

Creating a 26 man roster

Yes!  It’s 26 for 2020… that’s a new change.  It may not amount to a big deal, but it’s going to factor into the numbers.

Let’s start with the arbitration eligibles, and assume that the numbers come out as projected by MLB Trade Rumors:

  • GREENE $6.5m
  • FOLYNEWICZ $7.5m
  • CULBERSON $1.8m
  • DUVALL $3.8m
  • MURPHY – to be non-tendered
  • SWANSON – $3.3m
  • JACKSON – $1.9m
  • DAYTON – 800K
  • CAMARGO – $1.6m

These add up to $26.3 million.  $123.7 million to go.  Let’s do the rest by positions.

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