As HH mentions, they're pretty much what was expected. Realistic expectations prior to the start of the season were 75-ish wins with an upside of being around .500 with a chance to back in to the playoffs if a few things went their way. They didn't - Big Sexy and Julio performed far worse than expected, Freeman missed two months in the middle of a career year, Folty hasn't quite taken that next step, too much weight was placed on Swanson's shoulders, etc. - and they're about where you'd expect them to be.
The good thing (for those who aren't complete naysayers) is that several of the moves to take that next step are now much closer to within reach than they were 4 months ago. Offensive production at 3B will be improved in 2018 regardless of which way they decide to go - adding a Moustakas/Frazier/even Cozart as a bridge to Maitan or even bringing back Phillips as a bridge to Riley if you're buying Austin's AA numbers thus far is an obvious upgrade from Adonis at the beginning of 2017. Acuna appears to be as ready as it gets, and will likely provide a serious upgrade to one of the corners as early as Opening Day (but preferably a little later) however the brass attempts to go about unloading one of the veteran OFs and those contracts. Gohara, Wright, Allard, and Soroka are all coming fast, and Touki's made at least most of the adjustments many want to see - and he could be in line to be that serious breakout guy next season.
I know there's still all those who scream that they're going to do something "stupid", but you have to balance those statements with where they're coming from. When they make a blatant mistake that really hurts the franchise long-term, everybody's willing to call them on it - the truth is simply that they haven't yet. Swanson looks much better after they finally sent him down to clear his head. Could calling him up early ultimately cost a few million dollars several years down the road? Sure, but I'll worry about that when it becomes an issue. Same goes for Albies - I don't think they're going to trade him, and I also don't think that few million bucks 4 or 5 years from now is a big issue. At this point, they simply need to lay everything on the table at the organizational meetings going into this offseason and be HONEST about whether the pieces they could land will make them legitimate contenders before 2020.
Does adding a bat like Moustakas and a good rotation piece like a Lynn or Cobb do that? Maybe. Do they really have to trade for a #1 even if it costs Albies? I sure hope not. The simple fact is that I believe in our scouts quite a bit more than I believe in fans posting on message boards - no matter how much knowledge they have of advanced metrics. The Braves have their people in place to present that side of the argument when it's decision-time, and I trust that they'll be given the proper input.
As for the "worst MLB team", I don't think the Braves are really close, but they've still got a good way to go to be "good" - and when and how quickly they get there will likely be completely dependent on the moves made this winter. Are they close to being a playoff team, even as early as 2018? They could be. As far as actually being a "contender" - that's another discussion altogether.
