Is this Braves team a World Series team? Answer: No, it is not

[Slippyjms]

As we approach the trade deadline I’m wondering if this Braves team at its core is a World Series team this year. Last year we made the playoffs but we all really knew that the first round was about as far we’d go.

This team is different. The lineup is one of the strongest in baseball. We have a lot of young arms and an incredibly strong bench.

To consider the team a World Series team though would mean you’d have to believe within a roster move or 2 we can beat the Dodgers in a 7 game series.

If you think that’s the talent level that this team has what types of trades should we look at to reinforce the roster?

If you don’t think the team is there in their development yet then what do you think our approach to the trading deadline should be?

[Buzzworm]

Our lineup and bench are.
Our pitching on the whole is not and it’s not even close starting pitching wise.
Dodgers are clearly superior in 3 of the 5 starting spots.
Can you honestly say you trust anyone besides Soroka and Dallas to give you a quality start against a Dodgers lineup thats as close to elite as our own?I like Fried but I don’t think he could hold them to less then 3 in 5 innings.Julio is Julio and who the hell knows with Gaus/Folty.
Unless we went for it and made a mega deal like Bauer and Hand for Wright/Gohara/Waters etc at the break to close the gap I still see them as the class of the NL but I do think we are the second best team in the league and with luck and injuries we could get there this year if everything broke right but I’m still aiming for next year after the Braves show even more financial commitment to truly contending, to go along with the continued infusion of our youth.

[cajunrevenge]

No. Probably need to add a SP and closer. No SP but Soroka is good enough to start a playoff game. We have enough good arms that hopefully atleast one like Folty or Gausman can step up by the end of the season. I have no confidence in Luke Jackson closing playoff games. Regular season I think he is fine. Dont want him closing 1 run games in the playoffs. Seen that movie too many times.



So imo we need a Game 2 starter for the playoffs.... and a stable closer.

[nsacpi]

No. Probably need to add a SP and closer. No SP but Soroka is good enough to start a playoff game. We have enough good arms that hopefully atleast one like Folty or Gausman can step up by the end of the season. I have no confidence in Luke Jackson closing playoff games. Regular season I think he is fine. Dont want him closing 1 run games in the playoffs. Seen that movie too many times.



So imo we need a Game 2 starter for the playoffs.... and a stable closer.

if the 2006 Cardinals could win a world series, I'd say about 20 teams still have some sort of chance this year

[cajunrevenge]

if the 2006 Cardinals could win a world series, I'd say about 20 teams still have some sort of chance this year

Every team that makes it has a punchers chance.

[The Chosen One]

if the 2006 Cardinals could win a world series, I'd say about 20 teams still have some sort of chance this year

They had Tony LaRussa. We don't.

[Freshmaker]

No. Probably need to add a SP and closer. No SP but Soroka is good enough to start a playoff game. We have enough good arms that hopefully atleast one like Folty or Gausman can step up by the end of the season. I have no confidence in Luke Jackson closing playoff games. Regular season I think he is fine. Dont want him closing 1 run games in the playoffs. Seen that movie too many times.



So imo we need a Game 2 starter for the playoffs.... and a stable closer.

Another aspect of getting one more SP is that we could potentially go from an 8 man to a 7 man bullpen. Having guys like Folty and Teheran not make it past the 5th inning frequently has caused us to tax the bullpen a lot. Imagine how much we could further solidify the bench if we simply called up Duvall? Or, I guess, Ender. *sigh*

[rico43]

Our lineup and bench are.
Our pitching on the whole is not and it’s not even close starting pitching wise.
Dodgers are clearly superior in 3 of the 5 starting spots.
Can you honestly say you trust anyone besides Soroka and Dallas to give you a quality start against a Dodgers lineup thats as close to elite as our own?I like Fried but I don’t think he could hold them to less then 3 in 5 innings.Julio is Julio and who the hell knows with Gaus/Folty.
Unless we went for it and made a mega deal like Bauer and Hand for Wright/Gohara/Waters etc at the break to close the gap I still see them as the class of the NL but I do think we are the second best team in the league and with luck and injuries we could get there this year if everything broke right but I’m still aiming for next year after the Braves show even more financial commitment to truly contending, to go along with the continued infusion of our youth.

Aside from the fact that Waters won't be included in any deal as part of a package -- only a slight chance he would be THE package -- well thought out.

[Snowman]

Just get there and roll the dice. For all intents and purposes every team has the same odds in a short series. Hell, put the Marlins or Orioles in there, and even they could still win a short series at least 30% of the time.

[Carp]

Our lineup and bench stacks up well against the Dodgers, imo. They are a little better overall, but both offenses are among the league's best.


Starting pitching wise, we're still ok, especially with DK on the staff and the Dodgers lefty heavy lineup. Although, I'd like to add Wheeler at the deadline and I think that can be done while not really affectng our farm depth very much at all. But if not, we have to hope Folty can get his mechanics right and get back to what he was last year. If that happens, our Top 3 is definitely on par with LA.

RP they clearly have the advantage, though we've played better as of late. Really need to grab a high leverage reliever at the deadline to help out in the later innings.

[nsacpi]

we have used up most of our midseason stash of cash on Keuchel, which imo was a good move

we have a small amount left...the priority should be a reliever with the experience and ability to pitch some high leverage innings...preferably a lefty

the rotation should be competitive given the internal candidates available

[Carp]

we have used up most of our midseason stash of cash on Keuchel, which imo was a good move

we have a small amount left...the priority should be a reliever with the experience and ability to pitch some high leverage innings...preferably a lefty

the rotation should be competitive given the internal candidates available

Money can be picked up by the other team if necessary.

[Mrs. Meta]

I'd just like to win a playoff series first.

[nsacpi]

I'd just like to win a playoff series first.

I'd rather we get a bye to the WS.

[Southcack77]

we have used up most of our midseason stash of cash on Keuchel, which imo was a good move

we have a small amount left...the priority should be a reliever with the experience and ability to pitch some high leverage innings...preferably a lefty

the rotation should be competitive given the internal candidates available

I think they used up the money they had allocated to someone like Brantley. I think there is flexibility to acquire another salary, though I don't think they could take on Grinke level dollars say without the the other team picking up maybe half of it.

[nsacpi]

I think they used up the money they had allocated to someone like Brantley. I think there is flexibility to acquire another salary, though I don't think they could take on Grinke level dollars say without the the other team picking up maybe half of it.

I base my take on payrolls mostly upon what McGuirk said a few months ago, which was that 2018 payroll (whole year not opening day) was $126M and that the target for 2020 was 140M (whole year not opening day). We are left from those two numbers to figure out 2019. The numbers McGuirk gave seem to include roster churn and the guys on the 40-man but not 25 man, which accounts for 4-5M.

After the Keuchel signing, we are at about 129M. When you add roster churn we are at 133M. Exactly halfway between the 126M McGuirk cited for 2018 and 140M target he cited for 2020. There is probably a little bit left for this year but not much.

As Carp mentioned, we might be able to get other teams to assume some of the contracts they trade. But that will involve dipping into the prospect pool.

[Southcack77]

I base my take on payrolls mostly upon what McGuirk said a few months ago, which was that 2018 payroll (whole year not opening day) was $126M and that the target for 2020 was 140M (whole year not opening day). We are left from those two numbers to figure out 2019. The numbers McGuirk gave seem to include roster churn and the guys on the 40-man but not 25 man, which accounts for 4-5M.

After the Keuchel signing, we are at about 129M. When you add roster churn we are at 133M. Exactly halfway between the 126M McGuirk cited for 2018 and 140M target he cited for 2020. There is probably a little bit left for this year but not much.

As Carp mentioned, we might be able to get other teams to assume some of the contracts they trade. But that will involve dipping into the prospect pool.

I guess it just depends on what their limit is this season.

They're well under 140m for 2020 at this point before declining any options or making any salary dump trades with relatively few needs.

I do think they're unlikely to take on a big salary that is a continuing obligation. But I wouldn't want them to anyway.

I think they're probably gonna be equipped to make two or three solid moves, but we'll see.

[smootness]

Our lineup and bench stacks up well against the Dodgers, imo. They are a little better overall, but both offenses are among the league's best.


Starting pitching wise, we're still ok, especially with DK on the staff and the Dodgers lefty heavy lineup. Although, I'd like to add Wheeler at the deadline and I think that can be done while not really affectng our farm depth very much at all. But if not, we have to hope Folty can get his mechanics right and get back to what he was last year. If that happens, our Top 3 is definitely on par with LA.

RP they clearly have the advantage, though we've played better as of late. Really need to grab a high leverage reliever at the deadline to help out in the later innings.

Let's not get carried away. If Folty got right, a Folty-Soroka-Keuchel rotation is certainly not bad...but it's still not Ryu-Kershaw-Buehler, and not really all that close.

[Southcack77]

Let's not get carried away. If Folty got right, a Folty-Soroka-Keuchel rotation is certainly not bad...but it's still not Ryu-Kershaw-Buehler, and not really all that close.

Realistically, the Braves aren't going to be able to make acquisitions that would match up to the Dodgers top three in perception and likely not in reality. This is your rose colored comparison using 2018 stars for Folty and Keuchel as a best case.

Ryu .266
Buehler .278
Kershaw .304

Folty .275 (2018)
Soroka .285
Keuchel .295 (2018)


When you survey the available pitching on the market it looks something like this:

Syndegard .272
Greinke .284
Stroman .290
Minor .291
Boyd .292
Wood .293 (2018)
Wheeler .303
Means .307
Bundy .313
Roark .315
Bauer .315
Ray .318
Kluber .329
Bumgarner .332
Leake .348
Cashner .350
Sanchez .361

A lot of these names are actually not yet on the market and a lot of them are unrealistic for Atlanta or probably too expensive in terms of prospects. Maybe there are more names that this, but this is most of them I would think.

I wouldn't spend a lot of time fretting over matching up with the Dodgers top 3. That's simply going to come down to who pitches well during that series, if that is even who the Braves end up facing.

[Southcack77]

I don't think the Braves necessarily have to be better than the Dodgers to make the World Series.

They are going to need Folty and/or Gausman to return to form and they will need to have a dependable bullpen, but if those two things happen the Braves have a shot to beat anyone in a series. I think the offense makes it worth it to take a conservative swing at it. They don't need to be moving their better prospects for rentals or to be making godfather offers though.