Fixing the Braves

[Enscheff]

Mark Bradley just asked for help fixing the Braves:

https://www.ajc.com/sports/mark-brad...CRVKLIJEK6CXY/

Well, here's how you do it...

C: -0.1 fWAR, 26th in MLB - We knew AA needed to add a backup catcher, and this is why. Now the narrative is TDA will come back, so upgrading here doesn't make sense.

1B: 0.7 fWAR, 17th in MLB - Freeman's fluky bad luck has certainly hurt, but they aren't upgrading here.

2B: 1.5 fWAR, 10th in MLB - Albies shook off the bad luck and is now producing as expected. No room to upgrade here.

SS: 0.6 fWAR, 25th in MLB - Despite calls for a Swanson extension on this board, this position could use an upgrade.

3B: 1.2 fWAR, 14th in MLB - The lone positive development of this season. No need to upgrade here...unless it forces a position change.

RF: 2.9 fWAR, 2nd in MLB - Next.

CF: -0.2 fWAR, 28th in MLB - Pache flopped, Heredia pumpkined, Ender isn't even a bench player anymore, and Waters deserves a shot. After that, an upgrade is needed.

LF: 0.7 fWAR, 21st in MLB - Ozuna isn't coming back...maybe ever. The Almonte experiment is fun, but an upgrade is needed.

SP: 3.3 fWAR, 20th in MLB - An upgrade is warranted, but we just heard "Ynoa and Soroka are coming back", so that's setting things up for the status quo.

BP: 0.9 fWAR, 17th in MLB - As much as folks complain about the BP, it isn't THAT bad. A rental RH BP arm should be cheap, so go get one just to scratch that itch.

The positions to fix that don't already have a "fix" projected to rejoin the team are SS, CF, LF, and BP.

I don't see SS being addressed this season, but it may need to be addressed this off season when Swanson will be due close to $10M. Just PLEASE don't do something foolish like extending him.

Waters should get a look in CF, and then an upgrade acquired if needed. A cheap upgrade like Naquin could cleanly replace Ender and should cost very little.

LF bats should be available, from expensive guys like Haniger, to rentals like....some rental. It doesn't matter who, just get an actual MLB cOF bat. A real one, not some AAAA filler.

BP arms are also plentiful, and rentals are cheap to acquire. Get one.

The free fix for the Braves is to stop allowing Snit to botch the usage of the pitching staff while also throwing away PAs to make the wrong tactical pitching decision possible. We just watched 2 weeks of baseball where Snit made the same bad decision almost every single night, and it cost the Braves the game almost every single time. He punted a PA in a close game to watch the overextended SP give up runs the very next inning, turning a close game into a deficit. It needs to stop, period.

This is a mediocre team that needs some augmentation and isn't good enough to mask poor tactical decisions night after night. AA needs to plug the holes...both on the roster and in the decision making processes, and then hope they can catch the Mets somehow.