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Why the Atlanta Braves Won’t Re-Sign Dansby Swanson

By Seth Carter

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 11: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after a hit against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning in game one of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on October 11, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Adam Hagy/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 11: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after a hit against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning in game one of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on October 11, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Adam Hagy/Getty Images) /
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atlanta braves dansby swanson makes a play at shortstop
Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves  (Photo by Adam Hagy/Getty Images) /

Atlanta Braves star shortstop Dansby Swanson could be playing his final games for his hometown team.

The Atlanta Braves‘ magical march to a World Championship in 2021 will also be remembered as the end of the Freddie Freeman era. Dansby Swanson took the crown as the longest-tenured Atlanta Braves player and took the mantle as team leader.

Just one year later, could we be watching the final days of another (de facto) team captain?

Like most of you, I am not rooting for Swanson to hit the road but you have to look at the reality of the situation and Alex Anthopoulos’ tendencies in the contract situation.

Is this the Real Dansby Swanson?

Some have asked if this 2022 version is now the ‘real’ Dansby Swanson. The fear of the contract year performance boost is looming. It can be terrifying to tie your franchise to a big-money player only to have them never achieve the past results for which you paid them.

  • In the past two seasons, Dansby has hit 52 of his career 102 homers.
  • After slugging .385 over the first four seasons of his career, Dansby has turned up the heat since the beginning of 2020 with a .451 SLG and a .775 OPS (108 OPS+).

Offensively, Dansby appears to have turned that corner after the 2019 season. If you look more closely at the 2019 season, he was on an MVP pace in the first half prior to suffering an injury that really slowed his production in the second half.

Swanson has sustained a high level of offensive production for such a long period of time. I think it’s safe to trust in what he did this year.

Between this season and last, Swanson has put up the single greatest offensive seasons by a Braves shortstop, setting records for home runs and RBI, and fWAR.

Dansby is going to get a big contract. Are the Braves willing to pay market value?

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