Atlanta Braves roster building: Has Alex Anthopoulos done well?
By Fred Owens
After two early signings, the Atlanta Braves postseason is snoozing in its recliner, as it’s done the last three offseasons. How long will that strategy succeed?
Since Alex Anthopoulos took over as Atlanta Braves‘ President of Baseball Operations and GM, his roster-building approach is best classified as conservative. It wasn’t until the success of the 2019 team that he made moves to increase payroll and meaningful veterans.
Tthen the pandemic hit and we have no idea how successful that build was.
Prior to the last podcast, Jake asked if fans had any issues they wanted to hear discussed. Patrick McCarthy wanted to know whether the GM was now predictable, if his strategy was working, and how well he’s done since taking over. Answering those questions requires a look back.
Atlanta Braves and the last three years.
After the 2017 season, Anthopoulos engineered a trade of Matt Kemp that netted Charlie Culberson, Brandon McCarthy and a cup of coffee with Scott Kazmir, and it also cleared money he would try to use in 2019. The rest of that offseason consisted of signing depth pieces adding Anibal Sanchez on March third.
While the rest of the NL east spun its wheels, the Atlanta Braves got off to a roaring start, and at the deadline, Anthopoulos added Jonny Venters, Brad Brach, Adam Duvall, Kevin Gausman and an Injured Darren O’Day — without giving anything significant away.
Buoyed by reaching the postseason, Braves fans expected additions to take them to the next level. It started well, with the addition of Josh Donaldson who proved a resounding success, and Brain McCann signing for almost nothing.
In January, fans saw the return of Luke Jackson and Nick Markakis, followed by Matt Joyce as camps closed in March. When Dallas Keuchel’s price included only money without loss of a draft pick, Anthopoulos added him to a rotation that needed help.
In his biggest deal since taking over, Anthopoulos added Shane Greene, Chris Martin and Mark Melancon at the deadline, without losing a significant piece.