Braves Have Several Non-tender Candidates this Offseason
We take a look at some players for the Atlanta Braves who could be non-tender this offseason as the team looks to save money.
The Atlanta Braves have eight players who are arbitration-eligible this coming offseason, including Max Fried, Mike Soroka, Adam Duvall, A.J. Minter, Dansby Swanson, Johan Camargo, Grant Dayton, and Luke Jackson.
That process will be really hard to predict this offseason considering how short and unique the 2020 season was.
MLB Trade Rumors did a great job of giving a couple of different projections for what each player could make in arbitration.
They also listed the players they think could be non-tendered by teams. What that means is, the team refuses the opportunity to extend that player a contract, making them a free agent.
Among those for the Braves who they think could be non-tendered are Camargo, Jackson, and Dayton.
Combined, that could save the Braves around $5 million this offseason.
I think all three of those make some sense.
Camargo is coming off another disappointing season but did show signs of life in the NLCS with a couple of hits in 8 at-bats.
His versatility still makes him a valuable player, and at $2 million he’s still not very expensive. The question is whether or not the Braves think they can find someone with his versatility who can hit better for around the same price on the free agent market? I think you can.
And honestly, Camargo just probably needs a change of scenery at this point on a team not in contention where he can get regular playing time.
I know there are Luke Jackson defenders out there, but he was just straight horrible in 2020. And with the depth of the Braves’ bullpen, there just isn’t much of a need for him in 2021.
As for Dayton, I thought he would get cut after the first spring training in 2020 when he looked terrible. But he ended up having a very good regular season.
But the Braves already have a ton of lefties in the bullpen, which makes him expendable.
At the same time, none of these players will make a ton in 2021 and have some value as depth peices, so I could very easily see the Braves extending all of them a contract and then seeing how the rest of the offseason plays out.
They could still cut them during spring training and not pay their full contract. Or, because they do have some value, they could be included in a minor trade.
Also, something to think about, a year ago Minter would have almost certainly been considered a non-tender candidate this offseason and now he’s a vital piece of the bullpen.
That’s why it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see the Braves hang onto all three of these guys as cutting them doesn’t save a ton of money. But Jackson and Dayton seem the most likely to be non-tendered considering they don’t have any minor league options left.