2017 Opening Day Roster Taking Shape

[zbhargrove]

The Genius has determined it is better to keep Bonifacio on the roster instead of taking a chance on a 30 year old guy with a career OPS that's 66 points higher, who also has a non-zero chance to come back from that injury and be the 3 WAR player he was in TB.

A bench of Boni, D'Arn, Jace and Kurt may be the worst 4 man bench ever assembled in the history of MLB.

But whatever, in the The Genius we trust. Braves Way(tm)!

I don't think anyone's really happy with the bench

[Enscheff]

I don't think anyone's really happy with the bench

The end result of having a bad bench is one thing, but it isn't the most worrisome issue.

The most worrisome issue is that it indicates this FO is completely unable to construct a competitive 25 man roster because they do not know how to value players and project their contributions to winning MLB games.

The Braves FO is the only one who doesn't see the glaring need for an above average RHed hitting 4th OFer to semi-platoon with Markakis and replace Kemp defensively daily. They truly think Kemp and Markakis are average or better MLB corner OFers. It is a serious issue when a team's FO so erroneously evaluates players it sees daily.

The FO thinks so highly of their BP that almost zero additions were made to it. It is now projected to be one of the absolute worst units in the game.

They STILL think Adonis Garcia is the answer to any position on a 25 man roster.

They think it is wise to go with a 4 man bench, and then assemble 4 players who don't belong on 25 man rosters to fill that bench.

So what is the excuse now? Are they falsely feeding us the "we want to win this year" line for a 3rd year in a row? Or do they really want to win and are just too stupid to construct a competitive roster?

[Hawk]

^

+1

I am optimistic about this team, because I'm a Braves fan, but ... yeah.

[smootness]

The end result of having a bad bench is one thing, but it isn't the most worrisome issue.

The most worrisome issue is that it indicates this FO is completely unable to construct a competitive 25 man roster because they do not know how to value players and project their contributions to winning MLB games.

The Braves FO is the only one who doesn't see the glaring need for an above average RHed hitting 4th OFer to semi-platoon with Markakis and replace Kemp defensively daily. They truly think Kemp and Markakis are average or better MLB corner OFers. It is a serious issue when a team's FO so erroneously evaluates players it sees daily.

The FO thinks so highly of their BP that almost zero additions were made to it. It is now projected to be one of the absolute worst units in the game.

They STILL think Adonis Garcia is the answer to any position on a 25 man roster.

They think it is wise to go with a 4 man bench, and then assemble 4 players who don't belong on 25 man rosters to fill that bench.

So what is the excuse now? Are they falsely feeding us the "we want to win this year" line for a 3rd year in a row? Or do they really want to win and are just too stupid to construct a competitive roster?

I think they're trying to assemble a team that is at least somewhat entertaining to fans while keeping costs down for another year.

Do I think their goal is to win as many games as possible in 2017, no matter the cost? No.

Do I think it would be wise to spend small sums on guys like Angel Pagan? I do.

[smootness]

I think he has much more of an MLB future than Olivera or Kemp. Therefore, he is more valuable than the guys he was used to acquire.

But The Genius will make it all OK, so no worries.

I've already said a million times that it was a bad trade and my issue with it was the return, not who we gave up.

That's not the question.

[mfree80]

The end result of having a bad bench is one thing, but it isn't the most worrisome issue.

The most worrisome issue is that it indicates this FO is completely unable to construct a competitive 25 man roster because they do not know how to value players and project their contributions to winning MLB games.

The Braves FO is the only one who doesn't see the glaring need for an above average RHed hitting 4th OFer to semi-platoon with Markakis and replace Kemp defensively daily. They truly think Kemp and Markakis are average or better MLB corner OFers. It is a serious issue when a team's FO so erroneously evaluates players it sees daily.

The FO thinks so highly of their BP that almost zero additions were made to it. It is now projected to be one of the absolute worst units in the game.

They STILL think Adonis Garcia is the answer to any position on a 25 man roster.

They think it is wise to go with a 4 man bench, and then assemble 4 players who don't belong on 25 man rosters to fill that bench.

So what is the excuse now? Are they falsely feeding us the "we want to win this year" line for a 3rd year in a row? Or do they really want to win and are just too stupid to construct a competitive roster?

The way they open the season is not a real guaranteed indicator of where they are going. I predict it will be a very short time before some roster changes come to pass. Just because they haven't shared their plan with us doesn't mean they don't have one. It just means we don't have all of the information upon which decisions are being made. I, like most of you, am anxious to see how the season plays out... especially the first couple of months.

Should give us more to consider than we have now.

[Braves1976]

If the Braves are truly still looking for a LHH OF for the bench I'd claim this kid: Per MLBTR, "The Orioles have placed outfielder Aneury Tavarez, one of their two picks in last year’s Rule 5 Draft, on outright waivers, reports Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. If no team claims Tavarez, the 24-year-old will be offered back to the Red Sox organization, from which he was selected in December. Any club that claims Tavarez would need to follow the same Rule 5 restrictions facing the Orioles; in other words, Tavarez must be carried on a team’s 25-man roster or else be placed on waivers and, upon clearing, offered back to Boston. Tavarez’s waiver period ends on Friday, according to Meoli. If he ends up back in Boston, the Red Sox are free to option Tavarez back to the minor leagues. Tavarez faced an uphill battle to crack a crowded Orioles outfield picture this spring, though he performed reasonably well in the chances he was given, hitting .292/.382/.396 with a homer and eight steals in 48 at-bats."

I know we probably won't do so but I would as I like his potential and was surprised the O's didn't find a way to keep him after his strong spring. There sure has been a lot of interesting options available for the bench at the end of this spring training and yet it seems we might end up going with none of them.

[weso1]

The one chance that the Braves could surprise some folks is if Garcia returns to form and Folty becomes a TOR guy. Both are possible but pretty unlikely.

The bench is pretty awful though. We basically have 3 middle infield bats and a catcher. That's pretty horrible.

[Millwood1Hitter]

I like this team ALOT. I think they win 94 games, primarily because of starting pitching and a Freeman and Kemp mashing.

I think the bullpen is going to surprise and I think we make a big bat acquisition sometime early in the season to help on the bench, probably Hector Olivera or someone like that.

[striker42]

The one chance that the Braves could surprise some folks is if Garcia returns to form and Folty becomes a TOR guy. Both are possible but pretty unlikely.

The bench is pretty awful though. We basically have 3 middle infield bats and a catcher. That's pretty horrible.

Losing Rodriguez hurt bad

[bravesfanMatt]

I like this team ALOT. I think they win 94 games, primarily because of starting pitching and a Freeman and Kemp mashing.

I think the bullpen is going to surprise and I think we make a big bat acquisition sometime early in the season to help on the bench, probably Hector Olivera or someone like that.

would have been 10/10 if you would have thrown in Kemp protecting and something about genius.

[bravesfanMatt]

Losing Rodriguez hurt bad

this..

[nsacpi]

With the four man bench and only one lefty hitter on it (plus a switch hitter who bats better from the right side), getting good pinch hitting matchups is going to be a challenge for Snit.

Most closers are righty. So it would be nice to have a good lefty hitter on the bench in the ninth inning.

Second, it looks like our 6-8 hitters (Phillips, Adonis, whoever is catching) are all going to be right handed batters. That means when the other manager goes to his pen against that part of the lineup he will have a righty pitcher out there. So we come to the #9 spot in our lineup and there is a righty on the mound. Do we bring in Jace knowing that the automatic move by the other manager is to go to a lefty in his pen (it make sense for him to do it given how weak the righty hitters on our bench are and given that Ender is the next hitter).

Jace is not the greatest guy to have up there, but he happens to be our best pinch hitting option, certainly against righties. The problem is there are going to be a lot of situations where we burn him in the 6th or 7th inning (maybe he ends up not even batting in those situations if the other manager brings in a lefty) and have no lefty bat left come the 9th inning.

To me adding a left-handed bat to replace D'Arnaud on the bench or to replace the 8th guy in the pen is Roster Management 101. Remains to be seen if the front office sees it the same way.

[bravesfanMatt]

With the four man bench and only one lefty hitter on it (plus a switch hitter who bats better from the right side), getting good pinch hitting matchups is going to be a challenge for Snit.

Most closers are righty. So it would be nice to have a good lefty hitter on the bench in the ninth inning.

Second, it looks like our 6-8 hitters (Phillips, Castro, whoever is catching) are all going to be right handed batters. That means when the other manager goes to his pen against that part of the lineup he will have a righty pitcher out there. So we come to the #9 spot in our lineup and there is a righty on the mound. Do we bring in Jace knowing that the automatic move by the other manager is to go to a lefty in his pen (it make sense for him to do it given how weak the righty hitters on our bench are and given that Ender is the next hitter).

Jace is not the greatest guy to have up there, but he happens to be our best pinch hitting option, certainly against righties. The problem is there are going to be a lot of situations where we burn him in the 6th or 7th inning (maybe he ends up not even batting in those situations if the other manager brings in a lefty) and have no lefty bat left come the 9th inning.

To me adding a left-handed bat to replace D'Arnaud on the bench or to replace the 8th guy in the pen is Roster Management 101. Remains to be seen if the front office sees it the same way.

is Castro = Adonis?

I think we need to replace the entire bench sans the Cather.

[nsacpi]

is Castro = Adonis?

I think we need to replace the entire bench sans the Cather.

Yes Garcia. Fixed.

[nsacpi]

is Castro = Adonis?

I think we need to replace the entire bench sans the Cather.

At a minimum we need a second lefty bat. I would drop the 8th reliever.

[50PoundHead]

is Castro = Adonis?

I think we need to replace the entire bench sans the Cather.

Mike Cather is back?

[50PoundHead]

[QUOTE=nsacpi;374610]At a minimum we need a second lefty bat. I would drop the 8th reliever.[/QUOTE]

Agree 100%. If, for no other reason, the lucky bullpen guy who ends up in Gwinnett will still have an arm at the end of the season.

[Horsehide Harry]

Should just go with 25 pitchers. Screw offense.

[bravesfanMatt]

Mike Cather is back?

Nice!!..