Atlanta Braves possible non-tender candidates as deadline nears

With the deadline approaching to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players, we look at those the Atlanta Braves could non-tender.

The Atlanta Braves and every team in baseball have until December 2 to decide whether or not to give a contract to their arbitration-eligible players.

There are nine players who the Braves have a decision to make on before that date.

That list includes: Shane Greene, Mike Foltynewicz, Charlie Culberson, Adam Duvall, John Ryan Murphy, Dansby Swanson, Luke Jackson, Grant Dayton, and Johan Camargo.

We could see a lot of player movement between now and the Monday deadline as teams announce they’ve non-tender players, or as teams try to trade players before non-tendering them.

The Baltimore Orioles already made a shocking decision to non-tender Jonathan Villar – perhaps their best player.

And many Braves fans have already started to speculate, as has Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, that Greene could be non-tendered.

Greene is projected to make between $6-$7 million in arbitration for 2020, and the Braves may find that too expensive with the other bullpen additions they’ve made.

And after the signing of Travis d’Arnaud, it seems pretty obvious that John Ryan Murphy will be non-tendered before Monday.

With five catchers on the active roster after the Braves had to add William Contreras to avoid losing him in the Rule 5 Draft, Murphy and the $1.2 million he’s expected to make in 2020 are no longer needed.

Folty, Culberson, Swanson, Jackson, Dayton, and Camargo are pretty safe bets to receive a contract.

The only one I’m not so certain about is Duvall. He’s projected to make close to $4 million in arbitration this year.

Right now the plan is to platoon him with Nick Markakis in left field. My hope is that the Braves find an everyday player for left this offseason and move Markakis to the bench.

In that scenario, Duvall is no longer needed and the Braves can use that money elsewhere.

If it were me, I’d non-tender Duvall.

By non-tendering Greene, Murphy, and Duvall the Braves could save close to $12 million towards the 2020 budget.

If Atlanta plans on having a big season and is serious about making upgrades at SP, 3B, and OF then it makes sense to let these guys go now.

Of course, the Braves could tender a contract to all of these players and the full amount isn’t guaranteed until Opening Day.

My prediction is that the only player they non-tender is Murphy. I think they’ll try to trade Greene and Duvall before the deadline. But if they can’t they’ll keep them and continue to try and trade them throughout the offseason.