True. And whle the team supposedly has 30 million to spend that will get you a couple of average players these days. Hopefully Shanks is right and 15 million is all it takes to get Heyward.Originally Posted by nsacpi
True. And whle the team supposedly has 30 million to spend that will get you a couple of average players these days. Hopefully Shanks is right and 15 million is all it takes to get Heyward.
Nick Markakis with his .377 OBP and $11M salary is far from a problem with this team, and I wish folks would get off this tired notion. I would be completely shocked if he doesn't turn back into a 12-15 HR guy next year to go along with a ~.360 OBP.
No, he isn't Heyward, and probably needs to be playing LF when this team is ready to contend, but he also didn't cost $200M.
Bourn and Swisher...well that's wasted money that wasn't worth taking on just to unload CJ. Those guys are going to be the reason the Braves can't afford to field a team with a shot at being over .500 next year.
What's the point of just bringing up his OBP and acting like everything is ok? What about his power or lack of it? What about his defense? You have to consider everything. With that being said he's wasn't a problem this year and he played to his salary. But most peopel question the need for the deal and the years.
I don't see it happening this off-season either. But if things go right next year (our five starters stay healthy and effective and someone in AAA makes a strong case they should be in a ML rotation) we could then be in a position to deal some pitching for other needs. In that scenario I could see us sending a pitcher for a corner outfielder. I could also see us packaging a starting pitcher plus some other pieces to get a better starting pitcher. I think that is a more likely route for us to acquire a top of the rotation type guy.
Last edited by nsacpi; 10-01-2015 at 12:17 PM.
I like Markakis too.. most Braves fans I have talked to feel the same.. great player, just not worth 4 years at 11 mill for a rebuilding club.
I wonder if he will ever be traded.. I can't see him being attractive to too many teams until there is only a year left on his contract.
As far as catcher, I wish they would have given CB everyday playing time to see if the asset we have could work.. but when you start in back to back games only 4 times in a year and I think it was only 17 times last year and only have maybe a half a season of ABs total.... well how the hell do you know what you have.
And Bourn and Swisher are not the reason the Braves can't afford a high end FA this year. Tribe sent us 15 million of the 29 million owed to them.. we only owe 14 million to them next year. Sorry if you can't see the money win in that trade. The braves saved 4.5 million by not paying CJ for two more years..
Yeah, and that's the other thing: CJ had 2 more years left, these two will be gone after 2016.
They will most likely be gone by Aug. 1st 2016..
I didn't act like everything was OK. I literally said he needs to move to LF, and that I assume his power will return next year.
Seriously, what the **** else do you expect to get for $11M per year? It's not like the Braves have ANYONE else in the system to play in the OF. Markakis isn't an allstar, but you folks bring him up in literally every thread about 2016 and beyond as if he is some albatross contract that is preventing the team from promoting a top OF prospect, or signing a top tier FA.
Guess what? There isn't a single corner OFer that will be ready by the time Markakis is gone, and even if the Braves had his $11M free they STILL wouldn't sign Heyward or Cespedes or Gordon or Upton. The Braves can afford one $20M+ guy, and that guy is Freddie Freeman. The rest of the roster will be built with young cost controlled players and mid-tier FAs. And that's exactly what Markakis was...a mid-tier FA that was signed to fill a position of extreme need.
The trade essentially moved money owed to CJ over 2016-2017 to 2016. The idea was to spend more money in 2016 to free up money in 2017. Problem is there aren't any impact FAs available 2 offseasons from now when the Braves will be flush with money. This was the offseason to add an impact bat, and now $14M of the 2016 payroll is tied up in Swisher and Bourn vs about half that owed to CJ next year.
Those of you that think you know how the Braves work their books and say things like, "it's just an accounting line item to move salaries from one year to the next", have no idea what you're talking about. Not once have we seen any proof that the Braves operate that way, and consolidating CJ's money paid out over 2 into paying Swicsher and Bourn for 1 year to open up money for 2017 proves they operate on a year to year budget.
Actually we could pay someone 20m plus from the combined salaries of Markakis, Bourn and Swisher. Id argue we would be better off with Justin Upton in one corner and some combination of Perez, Cunningham and Terdoslavich in the other for the same price.
You had me until this.
I don't think anyone is saying that the Braves don't operate on a year to year budget. But I think I am saying that 6.5 million more next year is NOT the reason why we won't sign a big bat. 6.5 million is the difference between CJ 2016 and Bourn/Swisher 2016... there is 30 million to spend this off season. That is enough to bring in a big bat.. if they don't it is not because they have 6.5 million extra on the books.. expand your thought process a bit more..
You conveniently left out the part where the Braves are paying someone like Upton $20M+ for the better part of a decade vs Markakis for 3 more years.
yeezus (10-01-2015)
Yeah, do we want to be paying JUp $25 million for the next 8 years?
No, but adding 2 more OFers to the roster along with the additional $6.5M salary commitment seals the deal on adding a significant OFer this offseason.
Improve your logical deduction skills a bit more...
NO
A seven year deal would end in Justin's age 34 season. Markakis' deal ends in his age 34 season.
The thing I dont understand about clearing money is that the free agent pool after 2016 looks really bad. Like the best available looks like Carlos Gomez, Jay Bruce, and Aroldis Chapman. Gomez might have been a big free agent but hip problems dont bode well for him or his next contract. This is why I think we have to strike in the 2016 offseason.
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It’s over."
Little Thethe Nov 19, 2020.
$25M vs. $11M.
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