2018 Offseason And Targets

[clvclv]

If you sign Grandal to a 5 year deal you go in understanding the last two years likely won't be that good offensively.

And as a mid-market team, those are the types of contracts that kill you. The Yankees could spend more to cover up the A-Rod, Jeter, and other conrtracts. So can Boston, the Cubs, the Dodgers, and a few other teams.

An $18 million hole in the Braves payroll when they were trying to contend would be completely crippling.

[thewupk]

And as a mid-market team, those are the types of contracts that kill you. The Yankees could spend more to cover up the A-Rod, Jeter, and other conrtracts. So can Boston, the Cubs, the Dodgers, and a few other teams.

An $18 million hole in the Braves payroll when they were trying to contend would be completely crippling.

He should still provide good value defensively. Also overall I think he would out perform a 5 year deal at 18 per even if he's meh the last two years. Freeman would be off the books so the team wouldn't be hurting for money.

What the team needs to avoid is sinking big money into pitchers.

[salmagundy]

Freeman off the books at age 31/32??? what makes people think this way?? Will he quit?? Will the Braves just not tender him?? IMO, he'll be better those last 2 years of Grandal 5 year contract than will be Grandal,

[Pacheaholic]

Freeman off the books at age 31/32??? what makes people think this way?? Will he quit?? Will the Braves just not tender him?? IMO, he'll be better those last 2 years of Grandal 5 year contract than will be Grandal,

Maybe the fact that is when his contract ends? Just a guess though.

[clvclv]

If the Giants rebuild, Brandon Belt might be one to consider. He's been mainly a first baseman, but has also played a passable left field over the years. His hitting stats have undoubtedly been depressed by the hitting environment he's played in. Peralta, who I also like as a trade possibility, has had his hitting stats inflated by his home field environment. Things to keep in mind.

Belt's contract calls for $16M for each of the next 3 years, his ages 31-33 season. It is the kind of contract that implies minimal expected surplus value. Which for me is an attractive thing because it implies we would not have to trade a premium prospect for him. He would be pretty much a salary dump for the Giants. If we can get Pollock (another one whose hitting stats are inflated by his home environment) for $16M/3 years, he would be preferable. But both the AAV and years might end up higher. In which case Belt would be a good alternative.

Belt and Pollock would both be 31 next season. Brantley would be 32. Peralta would be 31 for most of the season.

I (as well as most, I expect) keep writing MadBum off as a potential target, but with AA continuously mentioning a TOR arm in interviews, can we?

Not sure I care much for Belt as an OF option, but like you mention with him - how much surplus value can Bumgarner actually have with one year of control left coming off of 2 injury-plagued seasons and with declining stuff and numbers? They're obviously not going to give him away, but if we're now talking about a volume deal including Gohara/Fried/Allard/Wilson/Wentz/Muller/Waters/Beck types, you could possibly pair Culberson with Belt in LF until Riley comes up, then you might have Camargo to use out there as well.

Assuming you could get the two of them for secondary-level prospects, AA could even expand the deal to include pen help like Will Smith or Tony Watson.

Something like that potentially frees up enough money (Bumgarner, Belt, and Watson would cost $31.5 million, and you could then DFA Duvall, Ramirez, and Lindgren to free up a little money) to actually make a run at Grandal while addressing every other spot AA has talked about so far.

[thewupk]

Freeman off the books at age 31/32??? what makes people think this way?? Will he quit?? Will the Braves just not tender him?? IMO, he'll be better those last 2 years of Grandal 5 year contract than will be Grandal,

Freeman likely would be better than Grandal in year 4 and 5 of a deal with him. But how much will it cost to extend Freeman and for how many years. Signing him until his late 30s would be a mistake imo.

[clvclv]

Freeman likely would be better than Grandal in year 4 and 5 of a deal with him. But how much will it cost to extend Freeman and for how many years. Signing him until his late 30s would be a mistake imo.

All the more reason to tack on 2-3 years at the end of his current deal now (which I mentioned months ago only to be growled at). Offer him 3 years and $72 million ($24 million per) to extend his current deal through his age 34 season (2024). That would line up to control him just as long as you do Albies, Acuna, Riley, and several of the young arms - if he's only a 3 win player at that point, it's still not going to be a terrible contract.

Chances are, he'll be ready to retire at that point - or at the very least go year-to-year if the Braves still think he's got enough left to keep him.

[NYCBrave]

All the more reason to tack on 2-3 years at the end of his current deal now (which I mentioned months ago only to be growled at). Offer him 3 years and $72 million ($24 million per) to extend his current deal through his age 34 season (2024). That would line up to control him just as long as you do Albies, Acuna, Riley, and several of the young arms - if he's only a 3 win player at that point, it's still not going to be a terrible contract.

Chances are, he'll be ready to retire at that point - or at the very least go year-to-year if the Braves still think he's got enough left to keep him.

I dunno how much you guys pay attention to Freeman off the field, but he's very humble and grounded, and not the type to chase money at all. He lost his mother at a young age and family is important to him. Not only has he expressed a great desire to stay with Atlanta for a long time, but he's not the type with ego who would stop trying hard and let his skills fade. He's got the make up I would bet on to be successful past his prime.

I'm not saying that to say I'd extend him for 10 years, but I'd consider figuring out what it would take to keep him past his current deal. He's also close friends with Chipper, so you have to know he understands the importance of remaining with one team.

[Enscheff]

If Freeman is open to signing an extension that adds 2-3 more years to his current deal, then by all means do it.

If he decides to play out his current deal and hit the FA market it will make no sense to resign him.

If he requires an extension that locks him up into his late 30s, extending him makes no sense.

Of course folks here assume he will be giving the Braves a hometown deal, but reality suggests it’s not overly likely.

[NYCBrave]

If Freeman is open to signing an extension that adds 2-3 more years to his current deal, then by all means do it.

If he decides to play out his current deal and hit the FA market it will make no sense to resign him.

If he requires an extension that locks him up into his late 30s, extending him makes no sense.

Of course folks here assume he will be giving the Braves a hometown deal, but reality suggests it’s not overly likely.

Hometown discounts rarely ever happen these days. But based on the reasons I stated, I could see Freeman be willing to work something out with the Braves that's fair for both sides.

[bravesfanforlife88]

Bowman article says braves will have at least $60m to spend this offseason after arbitration...that includes several DFAs such as Duvall...

That would be a significant increase over some of our projections

[nsacpi]

Bowman article says braves will have at least $60m to spend this offseason after arbitration...that includes several DFAs such as Duvall...

That would be a significant increase over some of our projections

have reason to believe bowman is off

[clvclv]

Bowman article says braves will have at least $60m to spend this offseason after arbitration...that includes several DFAs such as Duvall...

That would be a significant increase over some of our projections

It would, but I'll believe Bowman when we see it. Think about it, if his numbers are right there's little reason for AA to already be telling fans not to expect the Braves to be in on Harper or Machado (unless he simply doesn't believe they'd come - which could be a reasonable doubt) - if you gave one of them $30 million per, you could still play on Grandal and Kimbrel. Does anyone honestly think they're in that position? If there's $60 million lying around and he's seriously interested in a TOR arm, a Catcher to pair with Flowers, and help at the back-end is there any real reason not to trade Newk for Peralta, sign Corbin, Grandal, and Britton, and hold onto all the prospects?

[cajunrevenge]

If Freeman is open to signing an extension that adds 2-3 more years to his current deal, then by all means do it.

If he decides to play out his current deal and hit the FA market it will make no sense to resign him.

If he requires an extension that locks him up into his late 30s, extending him makes no sense.

Of course folks here assume he will be giving the Braves a hometown deal, but reality suggests it’s not overly likely.

I agree. I think we should offer him 4 year 100 million extension. I think thats fair enough to get it done.

[Carp]

Signing a FA pitcher to more than a 2 year deal is an incredibly poor use of our assets. If AA is serious about acquiring a TOR starter, use our prospects to acquire someone under control for at least 2 years.

[salmagundy]

have reason to believe bowman is off

As usual!!

[NYCBrave]

I know, small sample size and all that. But it can't make too many people feel good that Grandal has been benched for over half of the NLCS for the light hitting Austin Barnes. If he's truly an elite defender/framer, shouldn't he be in there just for that? He's looked poor on both sides.

[thewupk]

I know, small sample size and all that. But it can't make too many people feel good that Grandal has been benched for over half of the NLCS for the light hitting Austin Barnes. If he's truly an elite defender/framer, shouldn't he be in there just for that? He's looked poor on both sides.

You answered your question in the first sentence.

[nsacpi]

I'm expecting Grandal to get 5 years with AAV of 20K. There are several teams with money to burn looking for a catcher. There will be a strong market for his services.

Suzuki or Maldonado makes more sense for us.

[Carp]

I'm expecting Grandal to get 5 years with AAV of 20K. There are several teams with money to burn looking for a catcher. There will be a strong market for his services.

Suzuki or Maldonado makes more sense for us.

5 years at $100,000 is pretty sweet. Just have to get the players union to sign off on a 20k per year salary and hope Grandal is ok with making slightly over minimum wage.