Braves should not let qualifying offer keep them from signing free agents

Now that qualifying offers have been handed out to impending free agents, we talk about whether or not the Atlanta Braves will go after them.

Last offseason it was pretty clear that Alex Anthopoulos and the Atlanta Braves were not going to pursue a free agent that had a qualifying offer.

The reason for that is because the Braves would have to forfeit a high draft pick in order to sign someone with a qualifying offer.

And with the international restrictions Atlanta is currently under, they couldn’t risk giving up such valuable assets.

However, that can’t be the case this offseason.

My biggest reason for saying that is that my favorite pitching targets are on that list.

Before qualifying offers were made, my hope was that the Braves would sign Zack Wheeler and Jake Odorizzi.

That would give them two solid top of the rotation pitchers to pair with Mike Soroka.

I was actually shocked to see that Odorizzi received a qualifying offer.

Madison Bumgarner is also on that list and is someone I think the Braves should go after this offseason.

But outside of those three, and obviously Josh Donaldson, I don’t see them pursuing anyone else.

What it would cost the Braves to sign them

"• A team that neither exceeded the luxury-tax threshold in the preceding season nor receives revenue sharing will lose its second-highest selection in the following year’s Draft, as well as $500,000 from its international bonus pool for the upcoming signing period. If it signs two such players, it will also forfeit its third-highest remaining pick and an additional $500,000.Teams in this group: Angels, Astros, Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Rangers and White Sox."

That comes straight from the MLB.com article in the tweet above. If I understand it correctly, the Braves would have to give up their second round pick to sign a free agent with a qualifying offer.

They’ll also lose $500,000 in international bonus pool money, which shouldn’t be a big deal since they are still under restrictions and don’t have much to spend anyway.

And then if the Braves sign a second player with a qualifying offer they’d have to give up their third-highest REMAINING pick, which would be their fourth round pick.

That is unless Donaldson signs elsewhere in which case they would give up their third round pick.

Why it shouldn’t matter

First of all, this team is in win-now mode and a draft pick shouldn’t keep them from making a move that gives them a chance to win now.

I can somewhat understand them being cautious last offseason, but not this time around.

Plus, I’m starting to get the sense that Donaldson will get a better deal elsewhere than what the Braves are willing to give him, which means they’ll get a draft pick back for him.

On top of that, the Braves international restrictions will be lifted after 2020, so they won’t have that holding them back much longer.

And the Braves farm system is still really strong even going through all these restrictions.

Who knows what the front office will do this offseason. I have a bad feeling they’ll continue to ignore players with a qualifying offer attached to them, but I think that’s a huge mistake.

If they feel like one of those players gives them a better chance to win now and they can get them at the right price, a single draft pick shouldn’t hold them back from making that deal.