Around Baseball Offseason Thread

zitothebrave said:
THe Swisher/Bourn trade makes sense if you think of things in the context of 2017. Basically this year and the next 2 years of Johnson are about equal. What this trade allows the braves to do is backload a lot of money this year that will then be off the books.

WHen you look at our estimated payroll, for this year in guaranteed money we're at about 73M, next year we're at about 59M, that is including the steep rise in salary from Freeman and slight rises from julio and SImmons. That's why the move is made so next year we can still suck but the following year we can take the money from Swisher/Johnson and invest that into a premium talent.

Now I think the failure to that strategy is that next year's free agents aren't as nice as this year. This yhear we have Heyward, Justin, Price, Greinke, ZImmerman, and though we don't need him, Chris Davis is on the market to draw heat from one of those higher rated players. and there's lots of non-star but solid players like Desmond, Zobrist, etc. 2017 has a few interesting players, Baultista, Beltran and a few other old free agents, pitchers have Strasburg and not much more.

I would personally have rather kept Johnson and used him as a buffer for 2017.
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But you really have to buy the "2017" mantra for it to make sense.

I simply can't stand Chris Johnson as a baseball player, but your logic makes sense.
 
zitothebrave said:
THe Swisher/Bourn trade makes sense if you think of things in the context of 2017. Basically this year and the next 2 years of Johnson are about equal. What this trade allows the braves to do is backload a lot of money this year that will then be off the books.

WHen you look at our estimated payroll, for this year in guaranteed money we're at about 73M, next year we're at about 59M, that is including the steep rise in salary from Freeman and slight rises from julio and SImmons. That's why the move is made so next year we can still suck but the following year we can take the money from Swisher/Johnson and invest that into a premium talent.

Now I think the failure to that strategy is that next year's free agents aren't as nice as this year. This yhear we have Heyward, Justin, Price, Greinke, ZImmerman, and though we don't need him, Chris Davis is on the market to draw heat from one of those higher rated players. and there's lots of non-star but solid players like Desmond, Zobrist, etc. 2017 has a few interesting players, Baultista, Beltran and a few other old free agents, pitchers have Strasburg and not much more.

I would personally have rather kept Johnson and used him as a buffer for 2017.
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True, but there are ways to work around that if you cost average it out. If there is a free agent that fits long-term that we want, we can always backload the contract or write the contract so that that player will receive a larger sum during the years of lower payroll obligations. I'd like to know where we are going to be operating as far as budget wise going forward, as we've all heard that we can anticipate a higher budget. But in all reality, next years FA class is weak, really weak and if we are to have a competitive team going into the ballpark I think we need to make some hay this offseason and acquire one of the younger big names on the market that fits like Price. If not, than I fail to see how we expect to be competitive in the short term and during the opening of the new ballpark because then we're in a position where really the only thing that is going to work to acquire an upgrade is acquire a big contract that someone else needs to dump, which will also deplete some of the resources at our disposal that could still be used to fill other lesser needs whether it be at the acquisition level or on the roster. And if that doesn't happen, then I don't expect a magical turn around by the time of the opening of the new ballpark, and I'd be fully on board and believe a complete teardown is necessary and build from the bottom up all over again with all the talent at the lower levels. I hope that we're kinda laying in the weeds this offseason and that we are indeed going to make a splash and sign a big name or 2, but I have my doubts. I'm also very skeptical about payroll increases going forward despite the fact that we know we should have substancially better revenues going forward due to the TV deal and hopefully the new stadium. I can see a modest increase, but that won't be good enough, considering the increase in salaries that has taken place over the past years for even average MLB performers. If that is the case, then I see us being the modern day Minnesota Twins where we see an influx of good young talent that develops into a competitor only to see those players traded or gone during their prime years.

As far as Chris Johnson is concerned, while I think he is a good role player on a contending team, it was apparent that his attitude was not something that the Braves brass was willing to put up with anymore considering the amount of turmoil and roster turnover you can expect with youngsters trying to get experience for a club that is rebuilding/retooling like us, and I think they had a chance to move him and did so.

I mean when you look at the 2017 free agent crop, it's pretty pathetic, and I sure hope we aren't holding money out expecting to make a splash in it, because besides a few role type players there is no one that is going to be a significant upgrade, and with a less than stellar crop, I'm sure those players are going to get overpaid despite not being an elite type of talent.
 
50PoundHead said:
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People seemed to get more upset over the Olivera deal, but the Swisher/Bourn deal made less sense to me even if those two are off the books after 2016. There's no way Swisher goes anywhere unless he's carrying a big wad of Woodrow Wilsons ($100,000 bill for those who didn't know that) in a briefcase along with him.
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Teheran and Swisher to the Rockies for Car-Go.
 
I completely agree that if we are going to do something that it needs to be this offseason. Next year's FA class sucks. Backlog a contract a little bit bc in a couple of years our team will be graduating alot of cheap young talent and our payroll we be higher. I'm sure the FO knows this to, I just hope they don't rule it out. Bc there's no way we can do everything we need to next offseason to compete going into the new stadium.
 
Hudson2 said:
I completely agree that if we are going to do something that it needs to be this offseason. Next year's FA class sucks. Backlog a contract a little bit bc in a couple of years our team will be graduating alot of cheap young talent and our payroll we be higher. I'm sure the FO knows this to, I just hope they don't rule it out. Bc there's no way we can do everything we need to next offseason to compete going into the new stadium.
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A free agent class always looks better the year of, instead of the year after.

Spend if you absolutely need to, but I advocate keeping money freed up until we know we are ready. I don't think 2017 is realistic unless we see real improvement this year.

We should be looking at trades. Every offseason has a player traded that has no business be traded. Last year it was Donaldson, three years ago it was Justin Upton, etc. That's what I would like for us to identify and pursue.
 
Some news on the catching market this afternoon. The Twins have landed a primary catcher in Murphy. AJP has been rumored as a Twins option, and now it's easy to see how he could fit in with them as a LH bat and mentor. Also, action picking up on Salty. Wonder if the Braves are one of the teams who have inquired.

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Trade or Don't Trade:

Maybin: Don't Trade
Teheran: Trade in the right deal
Freeman: Don't trade
Peterson: Trade if it makes sense
Bethancourt: Trade, time to go in a different direction
Simmons: Trade if the moon is the return
Olivera: Trade if we can get Alex Wood, Perazza, and Johnson back....
 
dak said:
Some news on the catching market this afternoon. The Twins have landed a primary catcher in Murphy. AJP has been rumored as a Twins option, and now it's easy to see how he could fit in with them as a LH bat and mentor. Also, action picking up on Salty. Wonder if the Braves are one of the teams who have inquired.

[TW]664519047812263938[/TW]

[TW]664531788937695232[/TW]

[TW]664532418720854016[/TW]
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Always thought the Braves should have been in on Hicks when he found his way into the Twins' doghouse.
 
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