there was never a chance of someone taking on markakis in this market without us paying pretty much the entire salary.
Speaking of Markakis, will he move to lf once acuna is called up?
I think the plan is to keep Markakis in RF since there's more ground to cover in LF at Suntrust.
Same logic behind sticking Cutch in RF at ATT despite his noodle arm.
I can see that line of thinking. But I think arm is more key in RF over range. Keeping a guy from going 1st to 3rd is a huge boost to the pitching staff. Neck is horrible at that.
The Giants obviously disagree. Defensive contributions of an OFer's arm are dwarfed by contributions dependent on their range. ATT's RF vs LF difference is much larger than Suntrust's, so range in LF vs RF may not be super critical for the Braves.
However, if we were talking bets, I'd still bet on Acuna playing LF if Markakis is still in the lineup.
The corner OF market is moving very fast now. Colby Rasmus, Carlos Gomez, Cameron Maybin, Jabari Blash, and Michael Saunders all signed today. Jon Jay and Corey Dickerson still out there. With Maybin and Gomez signing in the $3-4m range, I expect Dickerson to pass through waivers and become a FA in the coming days.
How much would jay cost?
I assume $3-4m as well. Both Jay and Dickerson are from the South, so maybe there will be mutual interest with at least one of them.
I don't see us signing Jay for that, he is too much like Markakis with the bat. Dickerson makes sense though as he has power and we need to replace at least some of the power we let go (Adams, Kemp). That said, I am not sure someone won't claim or trade for Dickerson before he reaches free agency. He would be more likely to favor us in free agency being a Mississippi boy.
Speaking of Markakis:
@jonesbwp
Feb 18
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Nick Markakis - 24 HR in 3 years as Braves RF
Corey Dickerson - 27 HR in 2017
Neck is finally past his neck surgery and really lifted this off season. I call 35 bombs.
The Giants obviously disagree. Defensive contributions of an OFer's arm are dwarfed by contributions dependent on their range. ATT's RF vs LF difference is much larger than Suntrust's, so range in LF vs RF may not be super critical for the Braves.
However, if we were talking bets, I'd still bet on Acuna playing LF if Markakis is still in the lineup.
I didn’t phrase that well. Yes he is over paid. I just meant 11 million isn’t hard to eat.
Neck is finally past his neck surgery and really lifted this off season. I call 35 bombs.