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What would happen with the Atlanta Braves in an expansion draft?

By James Kunkle

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 03: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves hits a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning in game one of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 03: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves hits a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning in game one of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves Ronald Acuna Jr. Freddie Freeman
NORTH PORT, FL – FEBRUARY 22: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 and Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

A lot of chatter has been out there lately about the possibility of an expansion draft not being that far off on the horizon.

So naturally, we started to wonder what would happen with the Atlanta Braves if an expansion draft were to happen? Of course so much would (and will) happen between now and a couple of years from now when one would presume the next expansion draft will take place, to really start making concrete decisions.

So for this experiment, we have decided to act like one is coming up right after this (hopefully soon to begin) season takes place.

The last expansion draft took place in November of 1997 when the league brought in both the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 23 years since that draft is the longest period baseball has gone in the modern era without conducting an expansion draft.

So with cities like Portland, Montreal, Nashville, Charlotte, Las Vegas, and Orlando possibly looking to get an MLB team added, and with the league always (of course) looking to make more money, it seems almost inevitable that over the next few years, at least two more teams will be added to the league.

So a quick recap of the expansion rules before we dive into names and all the heavy stuff. The league is currently constructed to host a expansion draft the same way it did in the late 1990’s, however, I believe with the announcement of future teams, the league would make changes to the way the draft would be handled.

Obviously for this experiment though, we will have to abide by the rules that were in place back then.

Those rules are the following

  • A team can protect 15 players before the first round, and that can be anyone within the organization
  • All teams will lose 1 player in both rounds 1 and 2
  • After the first and second round, teams may add three names to their exempt list
  • The only players completely exempt would be any player with less than three years experience that was signed at age 19 or older, or any player with less than four years experience that was signed at age 18 or younger.

Let’s get the ball rolling, shall we?

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