Official 2024 Off-Season Thread!

Ready for some rumor mongering? My financial advisor (also my company's main banker) has a lot of current and former baseball players as clients. One of whom sits on the board with AA himself. This is what he hears (so third-hand info, and about a week and a half out of date):

-The Braves hope to acquire two starting pitchers this off season, but are dead focused on at least one.
-The Braves are solidly “in” on Yamamoto, but cautiously. The concern is all the 160+ pitch complete games.
-The current focus is solidly on Snell.
-Sonny Gray is not a current priority.
-They are much higher on Grissom than any of us would have thought and seem serious about starting him in left field, with the idea of moving him back to the infield later. They believe he has the hands to hit at the big league level and will develop power.
-They intend to upgrade both the bench and minor league depth.
 
JohnAdcox said:
Ready for some rumor mongering? My financial advisor (also my company's main banker) has a lot of current and former baseball players as clients. One of whom sits on the board with AA himself. This is what he hears (so third-hand info, and about a week and a half out of date):

-The Braves hope to acquire two starting pitchers this off season, but are dead focused on at least one.
-The Braves are solidly “in” on Yamamoto, but cautiously. The concern is all the 160+ pitch complete games.
-The current focus is solidly on Snell.
-Sonny Gray is not a current priority.
-They are much higher on Grissom than any of us would have thought and seem serious about starting him in left field, with the idea of moving him back to the infield later. They believe he has the hands to hit at the big league level and will develop power.
-They intend to upgrade both the bench and minor league depth.
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Did he stay at a Holiday Inn last night?
 
JohnAdcox said:
For the record, none of that makes a lick of sense to me.
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Honestly it makes a lot of sense. Snell makes sense because we desperately need a LHSP since Fried is likely gone after this year. It makes sense what is said about Yamamoto because he is significantly smaller than recent success stories like Ohtani and Darvish, hence the worry about how his arm will hold up. I don't think Grissom has the trade value that can get us a significant player back so he might be more valuable to us holding down LF on a pre-arb contract. If the options are a Rosario caliber LF and Gray or Grissom in LF so we can afford Snell or Yamamoto I think most people prefer the second option. If Grissom puts up a low .800 OPS for the season I think his trade value sky rockets despite less years of team control left simply because he would be a proven commodity at that point
 
JohnAdcox said:
For the record, none of that makes a lick of sense to me.
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It all makes just as much sense as every other rumor we hear.

I can understand the desire to get MLB average offense in LF for $700k, even if I don’t agree with the plan.

I can understand a team thinking Snell is the best choice, even if he tends to be volatile and injury prone. He could be a real weapon in the playoffs. My opinion is he will be an awful contract though.

I can certainly understand them being in on Yamamoto. Every single contender abound be in on a potential TOR guy who’s 25.

I can understand not being in on Gray because I don’t think he’s worth his contract plus losing picks.

Upgrading the bench is a no brainer…mostly because there is not bench at the moment.

What I don’t understand is the supposed offer Nola and the recent narrative that AA may not have anymore cash to spend. There is simply no way those can be true. I suspect they see Lopez as a SP and will be after another. I expect the payroll to blow past last years figure.
 
A trade may not be in the works and just let the farm keep building itself up and keeping the big team stocked. If we can spend just money then that’s the best play. Snell does scare me bc of his up and down track record but he has a ton of talent no doubt. I think Snell would make a bigger impact than Gray and he is LH which would slide in nicely when Fried leaves. Go get a really good LHH LF to pair with Grissom and a good infield backup.
 
Enscheff said:
It all makes just as much sense as every other rumor we hear.

I can understand the desire to get MLB average offense in LF for $700k, even if I don’t agree with the plan.

I can understand a team thinking Snell is the best choice, even if he tends to be volatile and injury prone. He could be a real weapon in the playoffs. My opinion is he will be an awful contract though.

I can certainly understand them being in on Yamamoto. Every single contender abound be in on a potential TOR guy who’s 25.

I can understand not being in on Gray because I don’t think he’s worth his contract plus losing picks.

Upgrading the bench is a no brainer…mostly because there is not bench at the moment.

What I don’t understand is the supposed offer Nola and the recent narrative that AA may not have anymore cash to spend. There is simply no way those can be true. I suspect they see Lopez as a SP and will be after another. I expect the payroll to blow past last years figure.
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Could the Nola contract have been backloaded with very little this season?
 
My guy said the Braves are prepared to spend. There was no qualification on how much. I can’t believe they will be stupid.
 
I'm iffy on Snell. He benefitted from a great deal of luck and his FIP was more than a run higher. But this is probably why I’m in the casual fan camp.
 
JohnAdcox said:
I'm iffy on Snell. He benefitted from a great deal of luck and his FIP was more than a run higher. But this is probably why I’m in the casual fan camp.
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I like Snell and he’s clearly very talented, but he’s a solid No. 2 or No. 3 most seasons with a high ceiling that’s often hampered due to injury. I would be beyond shocked if Atlanta signed him, but he’d make for a great add. Fried - Strider - Snell - Morton - Elder would be absurd.
 
UNCBlue012 said:
I like Snell and he’s clearly very talented, but he’s a solid No. 2 or No. 3 most seasons with a high ceiling that’s often hampered due to injury. I would be beyond shocked if Atlanta signed him, but he’d make for a great add. Fried - Strider - Snell - Morton - Elder would be absurd.
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With AJSS and Waldrep as backup. A Snell deal would be all about the years. If he could be had at 5 years or less it may not be terrible. I can’t see him getting much more than Nola.
 
If we could do a little magic and cut Snell’s walk rate, he’d be amazing… don’t know if that can be done at this point when he’s 30 tho
 
4/10/22 Adductor
9/12/21 Adductor
7/9/21 Gastroenteritis
6/29/21 Illness
7/25/19 Elbow
7/20/18 Left shoulder fatigue

That’s Snell’s injury history. No arm issues in 4 years. If AA feels he’ll be healthy and doesn’t go over 5 years it’s not terrible.
 
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