Has there EVER been a statement and question a certain someone should absolutely never have made and asked publicly more than...
Kinda pathetic to see yourself as a message board knight in shining armor. How impotent does someone have to be in real life to resort to playing hero on a message board?
My goodness. Get this offseason over with for the sanity of some posters here.
Chopping With The Braves And Rolling With The Tide
So Schoenfeld on ESPN just listed the Braves as one of the 5 teams that would be a fit for JD Martinez if he walks away from the Red Sox offer. I just can’t see it. Taking on another bloated contract for a below average OF defender. Plus the article made me laugh because it said the Braves have plenty of salary space as he alluded to 2019 and beyond, but how on Earth would we pay Martinez in 2018? Just nonsense.
I suppose they could somehow swallow a high AAV for a season or two, but I think one thing that is emerging this off-season that is probably playing into the slow movement of free agents is the reluctance on the part of teams to give out long contracts. As of today, the only two FAs who have gotten more than three year deals are Cain and Upton the Younger. Martinez fits the same offensive profile as those two and probably wants a similar deal. At this point, it doesn't seem the suitors feel the same way and I don't see him as a fit for the Braves unless it's a one- or two-year deal and the McGuirk decides to open the wallet. Both are unlikely.
Not sure I see the logic in a short term and marginal 3B signing for a non-competitive year. Does anyone really believe that whatever potential improvement Nunez may provide over Camargo or Ruiz is worth the opportunity cost of not learning more about those two guys? I do not.
Go get him!
Founding member of the Whiny Little Bitches and Pricks Club
Super (02-09-2018)
Evad (02-09-2018)
Agreed. Upgrading 3B only made sense if the Braves also upgraded the OF at the very least. This current roster with Nunez at 3B and someone projected for 2+ wins in LF would probably be projected to be a .500 team, and maybe looked at as a possible WC contender if some young guys really took off.
Now? What's the point? Just answer the "does Camargo really have power?" question once and for all.
Interesting note from Bowman -- Aaron Blair lost 30 pounds this offseason. https://www.mlb.com/news/predicting-...er/c-266154114
Not exactly betting on him to be good all of a sudden, but we might have our first "best shape of my life" of the spring.
50PoundHead (02-09-2018), Braves1976 (02-09-2018), bravesfanMatt (02-09-2018), jpx7 (02-10-2018), thewupk (02-09-2018)
Braves1976 (02-09-2018), Chico (02-09-2018), jpx7 (02-10-2018)
We could if we wanted to. We have about 106M committed this year. Now if we deicide to pay Kazmir's deffered money this year and sandbag some other money for next year it's because we want to tank again and we're under the assumption the new ballpark will be enough of a draw to keep attendance wher it is. It's not because we have to, no matter what is said.
One question I have is if we have the option to pay the money this year on Kazmir's contract, why in the world wouldn't we do that? Assuming that we are capable of doing so and have no plans to add anyone else of significance. In that circumstance paying Kazmir this year is the only thing that makes sense right?
A few possibilities:
1. Payroll is at $106M, and if they only have $110M to spend they can't afford to pay it all now.
2. They may want to keep financial flexibility just in case they are in position to add a contract at the deadline.
3. A FA may fall into their lap that represents a bargain value too good to pass up.
I imagine they are going to set aside whatever portion of that deferred money they can every year. It might $2M every year until it must be paid. Who knows.
Another thing to keep in mind is that his 2021 payment is due on Dec 15th, well after the 2021 season. That also opens up the ability to possibly borrow from the 2022 budget to spread the cash around even more. Spreading $8M out over 5 seasons of payroll ends up being nearly unnoticeable.
In short, the Braves may very well have already dumped $8M into an account somewhere to pay Kazmir in 2021, but I'm guessing they have quite a bit of flexibility with how they actually put that money together, and I would be shocked if they aren't taking advantage of that flexibility.
Last edited by Enscheff; 02-09-2018 at 01:43 PM.